Robot Radio Relays

Communications between troops in an urban area can be a problem due to interference and line of sight blocked by buildings.
Can you hear me now?
DARPA is looking to robots for a solution to the dropped call problem.
They are looking for proposals for mobile robots that act as radio relays around a city. The robots, called LANdroids, would be dropped by soldiers around the city to create a network of communications nodes. The robots should be smart enough to know how to stay online under changing conditions - for example if some of them get destroyed. The robots would position themselves so they can always hear someone else in the network.

DARPA would like the disposable robots to be about the size of a deck of cards, cost under US $100 each and stay online up to 14 days.

There will be an information day on July 6 for potential bidders.


DARPA Information Processing Technology Office

PDF LANdroid Proposal Information

Hummingbird Unmanned Helicopter

Boeing announced that they have successfully completed first flight tests on its unmanned helicopter the A160T Hummingbird.
The A160T is the turbine-engine version of the A160 unmanned helicopter under development by Boeing since they purchased Frontier Systems in 2004.

The Hummingbird is an advanced design helicopter with performance advantages over a traditional manned craft. It can fly up to 2500 miles and stay aloft for 24 hours with a 300 pound payload. It is expected to be able to fly at up to 140 knots forward speed at altitudes up to 30,000 feet.
It has variable speed rotors so that it can hover longer, fly quieter and use fuel more efficiently than a regular chopper.
The Hummingbird is 35 feet long with 36 feet diameter rotors.


Boeing: Boeing Completes First Flight of A160T Hummingbird Unmanned Helicopter

Robots to Guard Israeli Border Kill Zone

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are deploying automated weapon robots along the border of the Gaza Strip to create a buffer kill zone to prevent unauthorized infiltrations.

The system, called the "See-Shoot" system, is currently being installed and will be fully operational by the end of 2007. It consists of automated weapons stations connected through a command center to visual, ground andairborne sensors.

The system is the culmination of years of development by defense contractors Rafael, Elbit Systems and IMI.

The system is part of an IDF strategy of low-signature/no-signature warfare. The no-signature doctrine strives to keep soldiers out of harms way as much as possible.

However, "no-signature" warfare does not mean 'no responsibility' yet.
Eventually the See-Shoot system will be able to operate as a completely autonomous closed-loop system. But for now, the sensor data will be monitored by soldiers and a commanding officer will approve activation of the automated kill function.

The system is designed to enforce a 1500 meter(almost 1 mile) wide area along the border. Future plans include adding anti-tank missiles to extend the width of the no-mans land to several kilometers.

I wonder if they made plans for removing the dead bodies from the kill zone. Will they have to disable the whole system or do they have a robot that can drive through the zone and clean up? Maybe they will just leave the dead bodies laying around to mark the boundary of the buffer zone.

Similar automated systems are under development for the border in Korea.

DefenseNews.com - Israel Wants Robotic Guns, Missiles To Guard Gaza Border - 06/01/07 17:55

Scorpion EOD for The Big Jobs

Isreali police forces have recently used the Explosive Ordinance Disposal, EOD, robot Scorpion to dispose of a hidden bomb.

The Scorpion is from Autonomous Solutions, Inc of Utah. It is made from a modified Bobcat excavator with ASI's command and control brains.

Six Scorpions were delivered to Isreali police in 2006 and this is their first success on active duty.

The large size of the EOD robot makes it unique in the growing family of bomb disposal robots.
According to ASI:
The Scorpion's size, strength, and its ability to cut through steel introduces new capabilities which are changing the way the Israeli Police plan and execute their explosive ordnance disposal operations.


Autonomous Solutions, Inc.

War Machine Protest in Pittsburgh Update

The Pittsburg Organizing Group has declared their planned blockade of the National Robotics Engineering Center a success.

They succeeded in closing the research facility for the day on Friday and drawing attention to military connections to the center.

They blocked various entrances to the site with people connected together with PVC pipe and duct tape. There was also a person on a 20 foot high tripod set up in front of the main entrance.
The action started around 7 AM and lasted until about noon. 13 (or 14) people were arrested for "failure to disperse, obstructiong of a public highway, and possession of instruments of a crime with criminal intent."
The "instruments of crime" were reportedly the PVC pipe that they used to bind themselves together.

There were about 20 people directly involved with the barricade plus over 100 supporters and observers.
News reports said that CMU officials told police that a few of the protesters who were on CMU property, rather than a public road, could stay of they wanted. They were not arrested.

There was a moderate amount of local news coverage but they had to compete for television attention with the funeral of that rich blonde chick. People have their priorities.



I do not know personally whether the work done at NREC is good or bad for world peace, etc. But I do appreciate the efforts of these few protestors to raise the issue and maybe cause people to ask questions about the consequences of their engineering work. Many times engineers become so enamoured with the elegance of their technology that they forget to ask for what it is to be used.

Barricade the War Machine in Pittsburgh

Planned Action

Abu Dhabi UAV Investment Company Launched

The government of Abu Dhabi announced last week the creation of the Abu Dhabi UAV Investment Company, AD UAV.
The company will design, develop, manufacture and integrate unmanned aerial vehicles for both civilian and military customers.
They will have fixed wing and vertical take off type vehicles.

AD UAV is an offshoot from the UAE military's UAV Research and Technology Center based in Abu Dhabi.
The largest client for AD UAV is expected to be UAE's military forces.

UAE has had an active interest in producing domestic UAV technology for a few years. The US declined to sell them Predator UAV's in 2002.

They currently operate two models of VTOL aircraft for patrolling their borders. The APID 55 was built in partnership wiuth Swedish company CybAero. The Al-Sber was made with Austrian company Schielbel. The ground control systems for both aircraft were developed cooperatively with the Korean company Ucon System. Locally, Gulf Aircraft Maintenence Company, GAMCO, provides ground support.

Abu Dhabi UAV Investment will help to kick-start the local manufacture of UAV's by providing an incubator for new UAV businesses as well as a matchmaker for international cooperative efforts. They hope to grow a worldwide client base with a globally recognized brand.

albawaba.com middle east news information::The Abu Dhabi Government launches Abu Dhabi Uav INVESTMENT Company IN Abu Dhabi: "Abu Dhabi Uav INVESTMENT Company"

Anti Robot Action Planned

An olde time civil disobedience action is planned for Pittsburg on March 2.
The organizers, Pittsburg Organizing Group, plan to shut down the National Robotics Engineering Center, at Carnegie Mellon University with a blockade. Uh oh.

They chose ths target because, "The military research done by CMU and NREC is a glaring example of the increasing militarization of academia; students and faculty are knowing, and often unknowing, cogs in an expanding and terrifying war machine."

The schedule so far:
7:00am: Gather in Friendship Park (Friendship Ave and Mathilda St in Bloomfield)
7:30am: March to barricade NREC facility (40th and Willow St in Lawrenceville)

But there will be some surprises in store.
"Alongside large marches, there is a need for actions that are direct and compelling: actions that speak to public refusal of the war, that are demands -- not requests, that directly confront militarism itself rather than one particular manifestation of it."

They seem like they are planning for a loud event. The webpage even includes tips on how to prepare - like dressing in layers and bringing quarters for a phone call after you are arrested.

I applaud their efforts. Someone needs to raise the ethical issues and force engineers and scientists to confront them.
However, unless they bring some robots of their own, they won't stand a chance.

Barricade the War Machine in Pittsburgh

See more information at Infoshop News

Human Immobilizer Light on UAV

US Army researchers are working on fitting a high powered human-immobilizing spotlight onto an autonomous flying robot.

The light is a modified Maxa Beam light from Peak Beam Systems Inc. The high intensity xenon light is already available in a handheld and remote perimeter security models.
The powerful light can shine up to 7,500,000 candlepower and switch from spotlight, floodlight or stobe mode. By varying the frequency of the strobe the light can be used to disable and disorient enemies.

The army plans to use the unmanned autonomous non-lethal weapon as a "immobilization / deterrent device."

It could also be used to goof on people into thinking they were abducted by a UFO. That would be fun.

PRESOL | A | Design and fabricate a light-based immobilization / deterrent device and integrate it with an UAS. | 11-Feb-07 - FBO#1903

Robot Jockeys Amuse the Rich

A good article in Christian Science Monitor about the revitalized sport of camel racing by the introduction of robot jockeys.
Before oil, the article says, the owners of the camels would race them. After the money began pouring into the Middle East, the landowners could no longer afford to go outside of their air-conditioned homes. They began buying and selling young boy slaves to ride the camels while they cheered from the sidelines.

Finally someone from the UN told them, look, jockeys are not like camels, you are not allowed to buy and sell them. The sport went into a decline after it was forced underground.

Along came robot jockeys and to bring new life to the pastime. The sheiks can run their jockeys from the luxury of their air-conditioned SUV without the UN breathing down their necks. It turns out that the robot jockeys are much cheaper to maintain too.

From the article:

Races today – typically six miles long – feature parallel tracks. The camels – with robots dressed up in colorful cotton jerseys and jockey caps strapped on – run on the inside racetrack. And the sheikhs , owners, and trainers – piled into four-wheel drive vehicles – follow the races on an outside, paved lane, screeching instructions into the remote controls and pressing the "whip on behind" button like there was no tomorrow.

In other Middle East news...
Foster-Miller and iRobot were showing off the latest models of hazardous duty robots this month. Both the Talon and the Packbot are continuing to get improved skills in finding and disarming bombs and detecting Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMD's.

I think we should just sell the robots to sheiks instead of sending our soldiers. Let them fight their own wars. It would probably be a lot more fun for them anyway. They could chase the robots around in their Mercedes and fight their own battles without ever having to get out of their plush leather interior.


Backstory: Rein of the robo-jockey | csmonitor.com

Armed Border Guard Robots

The border between North and South Korea may become automated on the south side.

South Korea's Minister of Commerce Industry and Energy, Chung Sye-kyun, announced that they are opening a new era by replacing human soldiers with armed robots along the militarized border with the North.

The guard robot can fire a machine gun or rubber bullets. Its visible and infrared vision systems can spot moving objects from four kilometers (2.5 miles) away during the day. It recognizes different objects from 2 km and it can identify friend from foe from 10 meters away.

South Korea could deploy hundreds of the robots along the 155 mile (250 km) border, but they have not committed to the plan yet.

They also said that they are kicking off a project to make robots that can perform more military tasks such as roving patrols, mine removal and even combat soldiers.

The guard robot was developed by a consortium led by Samsung Techwin and Korea University over three years.

SKorea unveils armed guard robot for possible use along tense border with North - smh.com.au

Phantom Sentinel Invisible Flier

Minnesota company VeraTech Aero Corporation makes the Phantom Sentinel, a powered unmanned flying vehicle for surveillance that is invisible in flight.
"Invisible," you say?

The UAV is sort of like a powered boomerrang. The whole aircraft spins so fast that it simply disappears from sight. It relies on human 'persistence of vision'.
Watch the videos here!
The Phantom can fly by GPS or remote control and can hover in place. They can be any size from 2 to 10 feet across and are foldable for storage.
It runs off batteries - the specs do not say how long it can stay aloft.

VeraTech Aero Single Rotor Phantom Sentinel

US Patents: 7104862, 7101246, 7059931

Predator MQ-9 Dubbed "Reaper"

The US Air force chief of Staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, announced that the UAV Predator MQ-9 has been named the "Reaper"

Says the general, "It's fitting as it captures the lethal nature of this new weapon system."

The Predator MQ-1 was originally designed for unmanned aerial surveillance but was modified to carry hellfire missiles.
The Predator B MQ-9 version from General Atomics is much larger and was created as a weapons system. The Reaper has a 64 foot wingspan and is powered with 900 hp turboprop engine. The reaper can carry up to 14 hellfire missiles or 500 lb (227kg) JDAM 'smart' bombs.

General Mosely says the Reaper has, "a true hunter-killer role." The most important advantage of the Reaper, the general says, is the "persistence and precision." It can stay aloft for over 14 hours with a full payload.

I would really not like to have one of these things after me.

'Reaper' moniker given to MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle

UAV Development Draws Protests

Aberporth, Wales.
"Non-violent direct action" are planned for the site of a UK national UAV center.
The West Wales UAV Centre is a partnership of West Wales Airport and defense corporation QinetiQ for testing and coordinating unmanned and autonomous flying machines. The center is part of the national ASTRAEA (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment) program with the goal of getting UAV's to routinely fly unrestricted in UK airspace. The Welsh Assembly Government has given its full backing to the programme and is providing approximately £3M (US$5.6M) over 3 years to help industry open up UK airspace for routine operation of UAVs.

The protests were called for at the monthly meeting of activist group Bro Emlyn for Peace and Justice. The reason for the demonstrations are to raise awareness of the nature of the work being done at parc Aberporth.

Harry Rogers of BEPJ is reported as saying, "This project is extremely worrying for we ordinary mortals living in west Wales as most of us only get to hear about the... trumpetings of new jobs and economic development opportunities, but nothing about what is actually being planned at Parc Aberporth.
To put it simply, what kind of jobs are they going to be and what will the products arising out of this industrial development be used for?"

This shows that not everyone is impressed by the recent innovations in unmanned warfare. To many, flying robots are just another weapon.

Peace Demo For Uav Sites (from Tivyside Advertiser)

Flying Robots Behaving Badly

In just a few years incidents involving UAV's will be so commonplace that they will not make the news. But for now robots are still pioneering into new territory...

UAV escapes from captivity in western New York state...
FORT DRUM – Shortly before 1 p.m. today, Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome Research Site personnel lost contact with an unmanned aerial vehicle being tested here.

In the unlikely event the aircraft has left Fort Drum, information about the vehicle's location can be provided to Fort Drum Range Control.

Maybe it took off to Canada.
Fort Drum News Release / Media Advisory


Israeli UAV fires on its own forces...
The IAF revealed on Tuesday that it had prevented a severe disaster on the previous day when it had halted the fire that a UAV was shooting at Israeli troops.

A senior Air Force officer said that the UAV opened fire on ground troops operating in Bint Jbeil after receiving the coordinates from the Golani Brigade. The fire was stopped when the IAF realized the mistake.

No one was wounded in the incident.

Oops.


Israel.jpost.com

North Dakota Is UAV Country

If there is ever a war between the Dakota's then you would want to be on the side of the North. They will not even need an army because they will be ready with fleets of unmanned flying warriors.

The population of Unmanned Arial Vehicles in North Dakota has been gaining momentum lately and the UAV future looks bright.

Some of the recent headlines:
Grand Forks Herald: UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES : 'Victory for North Dakota'
"The vice chiefs of staff of the Air Force and the Army signed the agreement June 20. The agreement is a significant step in ratifying the Air Force's plan to place a "family of UAVs" in Grand Forks and is good news for Fargo, said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Conrad has said that Grand Forks could become a hub for new UAV technology being tested and developed, such as the next generation of unmanned bombers."

The University of North Dakota UAV Radar System
The University of North Dakota is working on a project to install a system of ground-based radars to help general aviation aircraft detect unmanned aerial vehicles.
The radar system would create ground-based systems to monitor all of the air traffic above North Dakota and steer commercial aircraft away from UAV's. This would allow UAV testing and training without worry about sharing the sky.

UND gets grant for unmanned aerial vehicle research
Richard R. Schultz, Associate Professor & Chair of Electrical Engineering at the University of North Dakota, was recently awarded $457,985 from the U.S. Army Research Office for a three-year project to develop higher resolution techniques that sharpen video captured by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and to help with automatic target recognition and tracking.

Lockheed Martin to Provide UND with UAV
Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors (LMMS2) has agreed to provide the University of North Dakota (UND) with access to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of $1M of in-kind support for UAV studies.

Governor Hoeven to Award UND Aerospace With $1M Check
Governor Hoeven will present a $1 Million Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Center of Excellence award check. Through the Centers of Excellence program, the state is funding the UAS Center of Excellence at University of North Dakota Aerospace

UND Aerospace

Explosives Robot 'MoonBuggy'

Smith Engineering's Moonbuggy unmanned ground vehicle is an 1800 pound, six-wheeled vehicle that can be controlled via radio or an umbilical. It runs at up to 12 kph with a 33 hp diesel engine.

It can be decked out with various scoops and shovels on the front and back.
It includes 4-camera front and rear view with pan and tilt.

In the configuration shown in this picture it looks like it would also be a perfect alternative for cleaning the cat box.

Nigeria Buying Robot Navy to Protect Coast

Nigeria is developing a national coastal defence based mainly on unmanned platforms.

Under a US $260 million contract signed in March, Israeli Aeronautics Defense Systems will design and build the naval array, providing manned and unmanned naval and aerial systems, coastal radars and command-and-control centres.
This structure will cover all of Nigeria's 853 km coastline and will be designed to protect its territorial waters and the offshore oil platforms in the Niger River delta.

The array will be based on Aeronautics' Aerostar tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the Seastar unmanned surface vehicle (USV). Three Aerostar systems will be provided, each including three to six platforms, and three Seastar systems, including several USVs.

Both systems are controlled through Aeronautics' Unmanned Multi-Application System terminal and software.

The 11 m-long Seastar USV provides a mission range of 350 n miles and can carry payloads up to 2,500 kg. It could be equipped with day/night sensors, electronic surveillance measures, electronic intelligence/communications sensors, sonar and a stabilised gun system.


For Aeronautics, the new contract marks substantial growth. "It is one of the largest projects in the world in the area of unmanned systems," a spokesperson for Aeronautics told Jane's.

Aeronautics Press Releases

European Land-Robot Trial, ELROB

The German Armed Forces are sponsoring a robot challenge for unmanned ground robots.
They state that it will not be a competition so much as a demonstration of skills - and who has the best skills - but it is not a competition. In other words, there are no cash prizes.

The European Land-Robot Trial 2006 (ELROB 2006) begins May 15, 2006 near Hammelburg, Germany. It will consist of 3 seperate contests and a robot exposition.

The first contest will be for long range non-urban navigation by unmanned robots. The robots will have to navigate up to a kilometer through the countryside over ditches, berms, dirt, around fences, up to 40 degree incline and they may also have to face secret obstacles that could disable the robot if they are encountered.

The second contest is for urban search - "Tactical awareness in urban environment."
The robot could run into all kinds of trouble, " Examples of obstacles include standing water, fire and smoke, boulders, narrow underpasses, construction equipment, concrete safety rails, power line towers, barbed wire fences, and cattle guards. In addition to the existing natural obstacles, the organisers might place obstacles (e.g. military equipment) on the route that may disable a vehicle if struck. The buildings may be partially collapsed. These obstacles must be detected and circumnavigated for a vehicle to successfully complete the route. To enter the houses and floors there will be stairs and ramps if necessary."

The thrid contest is called EOD/IED/UXO. Even the name sounds dangerous. It will include finding explosives:
Explosive Ordinance, Improvised Explosive Devises, Unexploded Devices. The robot will have an hour to search through cars, trucks and buildings to find as many bombs as possible. Of couse they will have to face all the obstacles. I hope they include some real bombs too, just for the excitement.

The website does not mention if this will be televised but it sounds like it would make an exciting show. Especially the part about the "might place obstacles (e.g. military equipment)" along the route.
As the race begins, the announcer reveals the obstacles, " And for this next race the secret hazard will be.... Acme rocket powered robot exterminator spay!!"


1st European Land-Robot Trial 2006

SkyTote Vertical Take-off UAV

Engineers at the US Air Force Research Lab and AeroVironment Inc are working on the SkyTote unmanned aircraft.

The SkyTote takes off vertically like a helicopter then flies like an airplane at up to 200km/hr (125 mi/hr).


The SkyTote is 8 feet tall, weighs just over 200 pounds and has a 52 horsepower engine. It can carry a 50 pound payload up to 150 miles to land and take-off vertically.

The unit operates autonomously but a pilot can take control if it runs into trouble.


UVonline.com

Military Killer Bee UAV

SAN DIEGO, March 14, 2006 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has demonstrated its KillerBee low-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the U.S. Air Force, highlighting its ability to provide real-time streaming video and precision targeting information to warfighters.

Designed by Northrop Grumman and Swift Engineering, the version demonstrated for the Air Force has a 9-foot wingspan and carries electro-optical and infrared sensors.

Bill Walker, Northrop Grumman's director of business development for the KillerBee program said, "We demonstrated our ability to launch and recover the aircraft without a runway, provided real-time video, displayed low-altitude flight and the potential for autonomous long-endurance operations."

This concept will provide unprecedented situational awareness as multiple KillerBees work together to form a robust, tactical UAV system.

Northrop Grumman Corporation