Military | Futurismic

Geolocational tags for soldiers

Paul Raven @ 22-07-2008

soldiers disembark from a vehicle Good old DARPA comes up with some comparatively solid practical ideas in between the really bat-shit crazy stuff. Take the “Individual Force Protection System”, for example, which is essentially a way of tagging troops with traceable devices so they can be found if things get hairy on the battlefield. [via grinding.be]

The Land Warrior hardware can be used to locate its wearer too, but that might understandably get ditched by troops in a rout due to its bulk. By contrast, the IFPS is a little plastic cylinder that could be strung next to a soldiers dogtags, and allegedly allows him or her to be detected from up to 150km away without the use of GPS technology. [image by SoldiersMediaCenter]

Soldiers as spimes, anyone?

The Army’s Iraq Simulator

Tom Marcinko @ 09-07-2008

robotmannequin Last November, Public Radio International’s Here and Now broadcast a news story about the U.S. Army’s 1,000-square-mile National Training Center at Fort Irwin, in California’s Mohave Desert — an urban warfare simulator now being used to train soldiers bound for the real Iraq. Now a documentary film about the site, Full Battle Rattle, follows an Army battalion and role-playing insurgents “as they attempt to quell an insurgency and prevent Medina Wasl, a mock Iraqi village, from slipping into civil war.” Fake body parts, robot mannequins, costumed American and Iraqi actors, and Killed In Action cards are all part of the mix.� The film’s site includes a trailer, a statement by directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss, and a blog with links to reviews.� It’s playing in New York City, and the DVD is coming soon.� Salon.com’s Andrew O’Hehir writes:

In response to the most obvious question about this movie — why did the Army allow two documentary filmmakers from New York inside this training facility, unfettered and uncensored, for two full weeks? — Gerber and Moss have observed that the military is proud of the Iraq Simulation, perhaps more so than of the real thing. “It is one aspect of the war effort that has gone according to plan,” they write. Indeed, as the likable but bewildered [Lt. Col. Robert] McLaughlin and his troops lurch from one blunder to another, and the violence accelerates in this plywood Iraqi town (where the casualties are latex dummies with gruesome, photo-realistic wounds), the simulation comes to seem like an eerily effective replica of the real war.

[Image: Full Battle Rattle site]

Exoskeletal Awesomeness

Tom James @ 13-06-2008

Human augmentation and science fictional brilliance collide with real life in the HULC - the Human Universal Loads Carrier. According to sales-jabber from the Berkeley Bionics website:

The Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC™) is the third generation exoskeleton system from Berkeley Bionics. It incorporates the features of ExoHiker™ and ExoClimber™, exhibiting two independent characteristics:

1) It takes up to 200 pounds without impeding the wearer (Strength Augmentation)

2) It decreases its wearer’s metabolic cost (Endurance Augmentation).

Like most people I’m ambivalent about the idea of a runaway military industrial complex, but aside from the military applications this sort of technology has a lot of applications for paraplegics and the disabled. Check out the video for more corporate propaganda and quasi-transhumanist possibilities:

Fans of Iain M Banks’ wonderful Player of Games will be fully aware of the dark side of exoskeletal systems. My bet is it’ll be about 10 years before these are available to consumers: and will probably be expensive, heavily regulated and licensed when they are.

[via Gizmodo]

Los Alamos’ Roadrunner supercomputer breaks petaflop barrier

Paul Raven @ 09-06-2008

Roadrunner petaflop supercomputer Los Alamos, New Mexico is now home to the aptly-named Roadrunner supercomputer. [image from linked NYT article]

Built by IBM computer scientists using hundreds of Cell microprocessors - hardware originally developed for games consoles, and which power the Playstation 3 - Roadrunner will be used to run simulations of exploding nuclear warheads, although the US military are giving it a run at more pleasant tasks like climate simulation before it settles down to its grim career. [via SlashDot]

Roadrunner clocks in at 1.026 quadrillion calculations per second - that’s nearly twice the speed of IBM’s own Blue Gene/L supercomputer, the previous champion. To put that into perspective, the NYT article equates a petaflop as follows:

“… if all six billion people on earth used hand calculators and performed calculations 24 hours a day and seven days a week, it would take them 46 years to do what the Roadrunner can in one day.”

So, yeah - pretty fast.

I Can’t Believe How Clean Your Bombs Are

James Boone Dryden @ 31-05-2008

Bombs being dropped from a B-52 Two scientists have put together a bomb that could be (and I quote) “more powerful and safer to handle than TNT and other conventional explosives and would also be more environmentally friendly.”

Environmentally-friendly bombs? I’m not a war-monger, but what’s the sense in that? Bomb the hell out of their city, but make sure the trees don’t die? It just seems ridiculous. In an age when being “green” is marketable for a politician or trendy for soccer-moms, even this seems a bit of a stretch. I think Tony Stark would have to laugh at that. [image by James Gordon]

Carpet-bombing in cyberspace - the case for a military botnet

Paul Raven @ 12-05-2008

Bombs in an aircraft bomb-bay More botnet news, this time in the form of military fist-shaking bluster! Here’s an article [via SlashDot] in the Armed Forces Journal that suggests the US military apparatus should build its own botnet for “the ability to carpet bomb in cyberspace”:

“The time for fortresses on the Internet also has passed, even though America has not recognized it. Now, the only consequence for an adversary who intrudes into or attacks our networks is to get kicked out — if we can find him and if he has not installed a hidden back door. That is not enough. America must have a powerful, flexible deterrent that can reach far outside our fortresses and strike the enemy while he is still on the move.”

If I’m not very much mistaken, Colonel Williamson has only partially grasped the whole “internet as a non-locational space” thing.

“As much as some think the information age is revolutionary, local networks and the Internet are conceptually similar to the ancient model of roads and towns: Things are produced in one place and moved to another place where they have more value.”

Well, yes - things are produced in one place, sometimes (er, crowdsourcing?). But with the web, that thing can then be everywhere, all at once. Data is an infinite good. Colonel Williamson’s talk about roads-and-towns and “states competing against one another” goes a long way toward suggesting why traditional military organisations have struggled to combat terrorism - they simply don’t have a clue how it (or the internet) works.

But back to the carpet-bomb botnet - Colonel Williamson says that “[t]he U.S. would not, and need not, infect unwitting computers as zombies.” Instead, he thinks it best that the power be built up legitmately - which, again, kind of misses the point of a botnet, in that they’re designed to leverage an amount of hardware that would be financially impractical to buy, build and maintain. [image by TailspinT]

Here’s a better idea - how about a kind of “Milnet@home” project? Show your love and pride in your nation by letting it use some of your spare cycles for smiting the enemy! Come on - you’d trust Uncle Sam with your computer, wouldn’t you?

Military hardware on eBay - the black market is only a click away

Paul Raven @ 13-04-2008

Chain gun United States Defense Department investigators have discovered that it’s surprisingly easy to purchase restricted or classified items of military hardware; all you need to do is have a scout on eBay or Craigslist. [via SlashDot][image by swotai]

” Among the items purchased include two components from F-14 fighter jets …”

The article mentions the risk of items being reverse-engineered or countermeasured by enemies of the United States … though I’d hazard to suggest any enemy worth being worried about has probably decided that it’s best to continue letting bureaucracy and internal discontent do all the hard work of wearing their opponents down.

I think the thing that astonishes me most, though, is the fact that I’ve had eBay auctions delisted for tiny marginal breaches of the site’s code of conduct, yet their eagle-eyed monitoring teams don’t notice or investigate people selling chunks of fighter jets. It’s a weird world, and no mistake.

Ender’s Game, here we come

Jeremy Eades @ 21-12-2007

The military and video games have had a long history together, going back to flight simulators before WWII. Of course, there’s been America’s Army, but that was a recruitment tool, a way to gloss over the downsides of the Army, namely the permanency of death and having to follow orders.

So where are our “Nintendo soldiers”? Turns out they’re currently working on a suitable training simulation for the US Army. Heck, there’s even a trade magazine devoted to these simulators.

The question isn’t “what are these simulators?”, but “what are they not?” Well, they’re not going to teach you how to shoot and they won’t get you buff. What they will do is provide tactics lessons in a classroom environment that can then be put to use on the training grounds. For more info on the what and why, check out this essay by a training games company, and this paper from the National Defense University. They’re not just random commercial games slapped together, but designed from the ground up to meet training demands.

I’ve played FPS games online since the good ol’ days of Doom II. And with some of the squad-based ones simple tactics can make or break your game. Me? I charge in and promptly die. And then proceed to do it again.

(via DailyTech) (image from renato guerra)

The voice of God as a non-lethal weapon

Stephen Years @ 17-12-2007

The US military continues to develop and deploy non-lethal weapon systems like the directed energy weapon from Raytheon. The latest system to come to light is the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) that focuses sound waves into a beam that induces unbearable pain in anyone it strikes:

Anyone whose head was touched by this beam, heard a painfully loud sound. Anyone standing next to them heard nothing. But those hit by the beam promptly fled, or fell to the ground in pain.

It turns out that the device also functions as a pretty effective psychological operations (PSYOPS) tool:

LRAD can also broadcast speech for up to 300 meters. The navy planned to use LRAD to warn ships to get out of the way. This was needed in places like the crowded coastal waters of the northern Persian Gulf, where the navy patrols. Many small fishing and cargo boats ply these waters, and it’s often hard to get the attention of the crews. With LRAD, you just aim it at a member of the crew, and have an interpreter “speak” to the sailor. It was noted that the guy on the receiving end was sometimes terrified, even after he realized it was that large American destroyer that was talking to him. This apparently gave the army guys some ideas, for there are now rumors in Iraq of a devilish American weapon that makes people believe they are hearing voices in their heads…

It appears that some of the troops in Iraq are using “spoken” (as opposed to “screeching”) LRAD to mess with enemy fighters. Islamic terrorists tend to be superstitious and, of course, very religious. LRAD can put the “word of God” into their heads. If God, in the form of a voice that only you can hear, tells you to surrender, or run away, what are you gonna do?

Blowing things up from far away

Jeremy Eades @ 03-12-2007

Everyone knows spaceships will have laser guns that go “pew, pew” and kill the fat guy in the x-wing. But until then, we’ll have to make do with blowing the crap out of stuff at 220 miles with the most powerful rail gun ever. The 32-megajoule Electric Laboratory Rail Gun (a name only a military bureaucrat could love) is four times more powerful than the previously-most-powerful rail gun, capable of accelerating steel slugs to Mach 7.

The scary thing is, this model is only half as powerful as the specifications given by the Navy - they want a 64 megajoule weapon. BAE’s got a ways to go, the current model only lasts a few shots before blowing itself out of alignment.

(story and image via DailyTech)

Military exoskeleton prototype - mech-warriors in the offing

Paul Raven @ 28-11-2007

It’s not quite the loader that Ripley uses to ass-kicking effect in Aliens, but it’s a (mechanically augmented) step in the right direction. A robotics startup called Sarcos has been demoing a prototype robotic exoskeleton that mimics the movements of its human operator while amplifying his (or her) strength. Don’t rush off to your local recruiting station just yet, though - Sarcos estimates a five year development process before the suit is ready to rock. There’s a video if you want to click through on the link, by the way. [Via OhGizmo!][Image lifted from linked article]

New fighter pilot helmet makes plane "invisible"

Edward Willett @ 09-11-2007

Not invisible to other pilots: invisible to the pilot him (or her) self. (Via DefenseTech.)

Unlike modern fast jet aircraft the Joint Strike Fighter, which is planned to replace the famous Harrier, does not have a ‘traditional’ head-up display – instead the computerised symbology is displayed directly onto the pilot’s visors.

This Helmet Mounted Display System provides the pilot with cues for flying, navigating and fighting the aircraft. It will even superimpose infra-red imagery onto the visor which allows the pilot to ‘look through’ the cockpit floor at night and see the world below.

It’s being developed by Vision Systems International and Helmet Integrated Systems, and is currently being evaluated by defence scientists at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire.

As you can see from the photograph, it also makes anyone wearing it look wicked cool. Or maybe just wicked. (Photo from U.K. Ministry of Defence.)

Building a better bulletproof vest

Edward Willett @ 31-10-2007

Bullets don’t just bounce off Superman, they don’t even slow him down. Real-life police and soldiers can’t say the same, even when they’re wearing a bulletproof jacket of Kevlar or something similar. Although bullets don’t penetrate–the bulletproof material spreads their force–the force is still tranmsitted to the tissue underneath the bulletproof shell, causing severe bruising or even organ damage.

Now engineers from the Centre for Advanced Materials Technology at the University of Sydney have found a way to use carbon nanotubes to not only stop bullets penetrating material but actually rebound their force, so bullets can be repelled with "minimum or no damage to the wearer of a bullet proof vest.” (Via Science Blog.)

If they can just nail the X-ray vision, super-strength and flying stuff, they can break out the red-and-blue tights. (Image from Wikimedia Commons.)

Video games make better soldiers

Stephen Years @ 25-10-2007

Traditionally, vehicle mounted weapon systems required the operator to be exposed, usually with his head and shoulders sticking out of the top of the vehicle. Obviously this presents an enticing target to the enemy. To overcome this deficiency the US military has developed CROWS (common remotely operated weapon stations). With CROWS, the gunner is inside the vehicle, and observes his surroundings using video cameras with night vision and telephoto capabilities. CROWS also has a laser rangefinder and a stabilization mechanism that allows more accurate fire while the vehicle is moving. But it turns out that the real reason CROWS has been successful is that today’s soldiers grew up playing video games, very similar to the CROWS experience:

Since many troops have years of experience with video games, they take to CROWS quickly, and very effectively. That’s one reason, not often talked about, for the success of CROWS. The guys operating these systems grew up playing video games. They developed skills in operating systems (video games) very similar to the CROWS controls. This was important, because viewing the world around the vehicle via a vidcam is not as enlightening (although a lot safer) than having your head and chest exposed to the elements, and any firepower the enemy sends your way. But experienced video gamers are skilled at whipping that screen view around, and picking up any signs of danger. The army even has a CROWS trainer built into its America’s Army online game.

(Image source: GlobalSecurity.org)

US military proposes space-based solar power station

Jeremy Eades @ 17-10-2007

A few weeks ago, Tobias posted about the US military and eco-technology. In it, he jokingly suggested an eco-DARPA. As it turns out, the military seems headed in that direction, specifically with a space-based solar power station that would beam energy down to the surface.

The idea is that the Pentagon has decided that energy independence is now a national security issue, and as such falls under their purview. In addition, this orbiting power station would negate the need for long fuel supply lines. Units could have needed energy beamed down directly from orbit. Another benefit of having the military act as the early adopter is that prices should begin to decrease almost immediately, making it more affordable for commercial enterprises to license the technology for civilian consumption.

As with all things governmental, we’ll have to wait and see. This may just be pie-in-the-sky, it may be an enormous financial boondoggle for no-bid contracts, it may work spectacularly, or more probably something in between. But keep your eyes peeled on this one over at its very own blog.

(via DailyTech)) (image from NSSO/Pentagon pdf)

Military and eco-technology

Tobias Buckell @ 26-09-2007

Earth 2 Tech has a list of ways the military is using eco-technology. It includes solar power tents, aviation bio-fuel, micro fuel cells, hybrid drive technologies, and personal solar cells for recharging in the field.

There is a great deal of money in the military, and often research and innovation comes out of the military side that trickles down to civilians (night vision, Hummers, etc). It would be intriguing if green technologies are invented in the military industry have an effect on daily life. So far, however, most of these innovations look like they’re being taken from civilian industries and being tested in military arenas.

Now all we need is a eco-DARPA and we might see some very interesting results!

When cybermoths attack!

Paul Raven @ 09-08-2007

Orange fuzzy moth - cybernetic status uncertain I’ve blogged this here before, but it deserves mentioning once again just for its sheer science fictional majesty - good old DARPA have been implanting minute electro-mechanical devices into moth pupae, so that when the insects hatch they’re fully wired for … well, that’s the thing. They’re still working on a viable application for the idea (which is an odd methodology, but what the hell, they have the budget for it), but the idea of using the bugged bugs as some sort of reconnaissance companion for fighter pilots seems to be the way they want to go. [Gizmodo]

By the way, Wired’s Danger Room blog is on-site covering the current DARPATech convention, should you hunger for more weirdness of a similar ilk. [Image by Jurvetson]

Armed robots roam Iraq

Paul Raven @ 03-08-2007

Battlefield robots have been around for a few years now, but only now are fully-armed ~~autonomous~~ machines patrolling danger zones in the Middle East. They apparently have yet to actually open fire on anything (or anyone), but that’s a mere technicality. So, repeat after me: “I, for one, welcome our new …” [SlashDot]

Groom lake growth spurt - Area 51 to expand

Paul Raven @ 30-07-2007

Tin foil at the ready, conspiracists - Area 51 is expanding! Wired’s Danger Room blog reckons it’s probably to do with R&D being done on new aircraft designs that could be copied if easily seen. But of course, that’s what they would say, having long ago been subsumed by the Conde-Nast alien hegemony. Or something.

Still, if it’s a US military design, they’re unlikely to share even when it’s finished. The Japanese defense agency is rather miffed at being refused the opportunity to buy a few F22 stealth fighters, despite being BFF with the Pentagon, but apparently that export ban applies to everyone. So we can assume that F22s aren’t included with the forthcoming Saudi Arabian transaction.

New shapes for aircraft seem to be the order of the day; Boeing have just successfully tested what they call a “blended wing body” aircraft prototype that moves away from the tube-with-extras format we’re used to seeing in passenger planes. The idea is that the resulting design will be stronger, more fuel-efficient and able to carry more cargo. Added bonus - it looks a bit more cool.

More tech for the military

Paul Raven @ 18-07-2007

HUD helmet Thanks to the huge budgets involved, the military forces of the world tend to get a chance to play with all the best new technology before anyone else. The US Army Flight School is adopting a new augmented reality helmet for training purposes, which enables the wearer to see tactical information and thermal imagery, and to focus on distant objects. A more long-term Pentagon plan is to adopt militarily useful iterations of directed energy technology - to build laser blasters, in other words. Another technology that soldiers are more likely to get before the rest of us, albeit due to the most unpleasant of circumstances, are cybernetic limbs like the iHand prosthesis, a myo-electric replacement hand that can lift delicate objects without crushing them.

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