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Application Briefs Manned Systems
Armor Kits for Heavy Trucks
Over the last several years, the Army has initiated and implemented a Long Term Armor Strategy (LTAS). The LTAS provides modular armor protection for vehicles that vary dependent upon threat levels. The B-Kit...
Articles Aerospace
Modeling and Simulation Techniques for Unmanned Vehicle Systems
Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle (UAV) systems have become possible in recent history thanks primarily to the effects of Moore’s Law — the doubling of processing power every 18...
INSIDER Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers Aim to Create ‘MacGyver’ Robot
Robots are increasingly being used in place of humans to explore hazardous and difficult-to-access environments, but they aren’t yet able to interact with their environments as well as humans....
Application Briefs Aerospace
Vertical Take-Off and Landing UAV
The Air Force has announced that the MLB V-Bat Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAV from the MLB Company (Sunnyvale, CA) has been selected for a Phase II SBIR award. The military branch seeks a vehicle that...
Articles Aerospace
Airflow and Thermal Analysis of UAV De-Icing Systems
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been increasing around the world as many countries have been rapidly adding UAVs to their arsenals during the past decade. One of the most...
Articles Aerospace
UAV Applications Challenge the Limits of Embedded Computing Technologies
Unmanned Vehicles (UAV/UAS) have proven to be vital, strategic new weapons in the military’s arsenal by providing needed critical intelligence, surveillance and...
Application Briefs Aerospace
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Engine
Schiebel Technology, Inc. Manassas, VA (540) 351-1736 www.schiebel.net Schiebel recently conducted the successful first flight of a heavy-fuel-powered CAMCOPTER® S-100 UAS (Unmanned Air System). After extensive...
INSIDER Robotics, Automation & Control
Researchers Build Robot Jellyfish
Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas and Virginia Tech have created an undersea vehicle inspired by the common jellyfish that runs on renewable energy and could be used in ocean rescue and...
Application Briefs Electronics & Computers
Silicone Cables: Silicone Encased Cables Make Military Robots More Reliable
Cicoil’s highly flexible and durable flat silicone cables are being used on unmanned ground based military robotic vehicles that require absolute reliability in mission critical and extreme environment conditions. Unlike bulky and stiffer round cables, flat silicone...
INSIDER Aerospace
Navy Tests Sensor-Equipped UAVs
The Naval Research Laboratory Vehicle Research Section has successfully completed flight tests for the Autonomous Deployment Demonstration (ADD) program. The final demonstration took place at the Yuma Proving...
Articles Aerospace
Using Java in Avionics and UAV Applications
Though developers of avionics software are among the most conservative in the software engineering community, and rightly so, Java is beginning to penetrate even this very specialized industry. The...
Articles Robotics, Automation & Control
Making Unmanned Ground Vehicles Operate More Autonomously
The US Army has announced plans to increase the autonomy of its Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs). “We are moving along that spectrum from tele-operating to semi-autonomy where you can...
Articles Unmanned Systems
Designing Future Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
So far, defense companies have done a credible job fielding Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), or other water-borne robots to address critical capability...
Briefs Physical Sciences
Robot Vision System for Precise Object Retrieval in Unmanned Systems
Automating large-scale material handling systems that involve picking up or retrieving items via cranes or robot arms can yield big benefits, particularly in harsh or...
Articles Defense
Multi-Robot Operator Control Unit for Unmanned Systems
The U.S. military has incorporated many robotic systems into battlefield scenarios over the past several years, ranging from a single vehicle or unattended sensor to multiple vehicles and...
Briefs Information Technology
Planning Observations by Unmanned Surface Vessels
Three algorithms, and software that implements the algorithms, have been conceived and analyzed as means of effecting automated planning of scientific observations by a fleet of unmanned surface...
Articles Aerospace
Micro Air Vehicles Serve as Eyes in the Sky for Ground Troops
Honeywell Aerospace has developed the Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based on ducted-fan technology that recently was deployed in Iraq to identify...
Articles Defense
Data-Centric Distributed Application Architecture for Shipboard Systems
System architects design distributed applications leveraging computer resources connected by a network infrastructure: CPU-intensive tasks may be located on powerful core...
Articles Unmanned Systems
Update on NASA’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
In the August issue of Defense Tech Briefs, we highlighted NASA’s Altair/Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for Earth science missions. A lot has happened in the past two months, so we’re...
Briefs Manned Systems
Corrosion Suppression Technologies and Techniques
Members of AFRL's Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office (AFCPCO) teamed with corrosion experts from Warner Robins Air Logistics Center to assess environmentally induced damage to...
Briefs RF & Microwave Electronics
Unmanned SkyTote Demonstrates Capabilities
AFRL scientists are working on SkyTote, a novel unmanned air vehicle (UAV) that will take off and land vertically like a helicopter (see figure) but also transition into horizontal flight like a...
Briefs Manned Systems
AFRL Supports Desert Hawk Program
AFRL aeronautical engineers collaborated with the Electronic Systems Center's (ESC) Force Protection Program Office, Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB), Massachusetts, to conduct an in-house effort assessing the...
Briefs Software
Coordination of Autonomous Unmanned Air Vehicles
Future autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAV) will need to work in teams to share information and coordinate activities in much the same way as current manned air systems. Funded by AFRL,...
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Advantages of Smart Power Distribution Unit Design for Automotive &...
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Sesame Solar's Nanogrid Tech Promises Major Gains in Drone Endurance