Articles: Aerospace

Fast-Tracking Autonomous Vehicles with Simulation

Artificial intelligence developments are set to fundamentally transform mobility, whether it is mobility of weapon payloads, supply deliveries, urban commuters, warehouse goods,...

Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control

Developing a Multi-Modal UGV Robot Control Interface

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) are currently being used or developed for operational maneuvers (e.g., reconnaissance and IED defeat), maneuver support (e.g., route clearance), and...

Articles: Energy

Solar Powering UAVs

One of the largest problems facing the aerospace industry involves size, weight, and power (SWaP) analysis and the increasing size of payloads with typically a finite amount of power to drive ever more demanding systems....

Articles: Aerospace

Deploying COTS Subsystems in UUVs

In December, 2016 the newest class of unmanned vehicles, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) made international headlines after China, in an unprecedented act, seized an unclassified “ocean...

Articles: Aerospace

Interoperability Standards Pave the Way for Modular Robotic Manipulators

Unmanned vehicles have long been used by the military to handle situations characterized by the three Ds: dull, dirty, and dangerous. As the use of unmanned ground...

Briefs: Aerospace

Experimental Confirmation of an Aquatic Swimming Motion Theoretically of Very Low Drag and High Efficiency

It has been established theoretically that self-propulsion of deformable bodies in ideal fluid can occur with a careful specification...

Briefs: Aerospace

Gesture-Based Controls for Robots: Overview and Implications for Use by Soldiers

Afuture vision of the use of autonomous and intelligent robots in dismounted military operations is for soldiers to interact with robots as teammates, much like...

Briefs: Aerospace

A Guide for Developing Human-Robot Interaction Experiments in the Robotic Interactive Visualization and Experimentation Technology (RIVET) Simulation

ARL's Intelligent Systems Enterprise vision is to enable the teaming of autonomous...

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

The Scaling of Loss Pathways and Heat Transfer in Small Scale Internal Combustion Engines

The rapid expansion of the remotely piloted aircraft market includes an interest in 10 kg to 25 kg vehicles (Group 2) for monitoring, surveillance, and...

INSIDER: Aerospace

How NASA Tracks the Asteroids Flying by Earth

On Wednesday, April 19, an asteroid missed Earth by 1.1 million miles – a distance closer than you might think. This week, Tech Briefs spoke with NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer about the...

INSIDER: Defense

NASA Tests Robotic Ice Tools

Since 2015, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has been developing new technologies for use on future missions to ocean worlds. That includes a subsurface probe that could burrow...

INSIDER: Defense

New Robotic System Finds and Destroys Explosive Threats

In combat, land mine and improvised explosive device (IED) clearance is a slow, painstaking, stressful job that physically and mentally drains soldiers and military working dogs....

INSIDER: Defense

Swarms of Autonomous Aerial Vehicles Test New Dogfighting Skills

Aerial dogfighting began more than a century ago in the skies over Europe with propeller-driven fighter aircraft carried aloft on wings of fabric and wood. An event held...

INSIDER: Aerospace

Morphing Wings Make Jets More Efficient

University of Michigan engineers have developed improved wing designs capable of burning less fuel, as well as tools that help the aerospace industry build more efficient aircraft. In areas where new...

INSIDER: Aerospace

Heated Concrete Could Pave the Way for Ice-Free Runways

Iowa State University tested slabs of electrically conductive concrete at Des Moines International Airport. The test slabs are made up of 1 percent carbon fiber and a special mix of...

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

NASA Puts Dummies to the Test for Airplane Safety

Ten crash test dummies buckled into seats in a cut-out section of a regional jet fuselage will soon help NASA and the FAA develop new crashworthiness guidelines for future airplane...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Report from SPIE 2017: Drones Spot Gas Leaks from the Sky

ANAHEIM, CA. During last week’s SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing 2017 conference, panelists from industry, academia, and government demonstrated how miniaturized sensing platforms,...

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

Sandia Labs Takes Modern Approach to Evaluating Nuclear Weapons

Sandia National Laboratories is transforming how it assesses nuclear weapons in a stockpile made up of weapons at different stages in their lifecycles — some systems that have...

INSIDER: Data Acquisition

Next-Generation Fire Support Systems Boost Lethality

Soldiers view live-stream full-motion video from unmanned aerial vehicles via a smartphone. They access 3-D digital maps to send precision target coordinates. Soldiers are now relying on...

INSIDER: Materials

Navy Chemists Develop Field-Repairable Transparent Armor

Research chemists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have developed and patented a transparent thermoplastic elastomer armor to reduce weight, inherent in most...

INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping

The 3D Printing Landscape: Then and Now

Frequently used as a design validation and prototyping tool in its early days, the 3D printer now supports a much wider range of applications, from shape-conforming electronics to the creation of...

Application Briefs: Defense

Commando Helicopter

Leonardo-Finmeccanica
Rome, Italy
+39 06 32473313
www.leonardocompany.com/

Leonardo-Finmeccanica announced recently that the first AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin Mk4 successfully completed its maiden...

Application Briefs: Defense

Touchscreen Tablet Mission System

Inzpire
Lincolnshire, UK
+44 1522 688 231
www.inzpire.com

GECO, from UK-based Inzpire, is a military grade rugged touchscreen tablet mission system that is currently in frontline...

Application Briefs: Defense

M1 Abrams Tank Engine Updates

Honeywell Aerospace
Phoenix, AZ
602-365-3099
https://aerospace.honeywell.com

The Honeywell-powered M1 Abrams tank has been a mainstay of the U.S. military’s heavy armored forces for more...

Application Briefs: Defense

Aircraft Automation System

Aurora Flight Sciences
Manassas, VA
703-369-3633
www.aurora.aero

Aurora Flight Sciences is breaking ground in the world of automated flight through its work on the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit...

News: Robotics, Automation & Control

Exo-Brake Enables Safe Return for Small Spacecraft

Articles: Aerospace

Pulse Analysis Techniques for Radar and Electronic Warfare

Pulsed signals are widespread in radar and other electronic warfare (EW) applications, and they must be accurately measured for manufacturing, design of countermeasures, and threat...

Articles: Aerospace

Flat Cable Technology for Aerospace Applications

There are those who think all cables are created equal. Well, they're not.