Stanford University researchers have already figured out how to build a drone that can land on the side of a wall, perch there for a while, and then take back off into air again. The Pentagon would like to make its robotic aircraft even more bird-like. The military recently handed out three contracts to design legs that will let these “micro air vehicles” hang onto a branch in high winds, and run around on the ground if need be. The question is whether these Pentagon-backed firms can top Stanford’s already-impressive results.

Noah Shachtman writes that the Stanford robot uses “miniature spines” as talons that grab onto a wall. Biorobots, LLC will use its Defense Department contract to give its robo-bird four legs with Stanford spines. The legs “will enable the MAV to crawl around the perch to reposition/reorient the on-board sensors for an optimal view of the target,” according to a Pentagon project summary. “The tail feet will provide the primary braking force on landing, eliminating the MAV [micro air vehicle] tendency to pitch forward on landing. The front feet will cushion the landing and provide locomotion about the perch.” If they can make thing work, it’ll “significantly enhance our military and intelligence personnel’s ability to execute persistent surveillance.”

Manhunting cops could benefit, too. ”During the search, multiple… MAVs could be deployed and land on various structures throughout the search area. Even after the law enforcement personnel seem to call off the search, the MAVs would remain on their perches, keeping watch for the criminal/fugitive.”

Shachtman notes that the push for animal-like legs is just a small part of a broader military effort to build small robots inspired by— and in some cases, melded with — birds and bugs. Military-backed researchers have built a teensy drone that floats like a hummingbird and even flown a cyborg beetle. The Air Force Research Laboratory is hoping to have its flock of drones ready to go by 2015.

Source:

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/pentagon-looking-give-reconnaissance-robots-birds-legs

Bu yıl dördüncüsü düzenlenen İTÜ Robot Olimpiyatları, 15-16-17 Nisan 2010 tarihlerinde İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Ayazağa Yerleşkesi’nde bulunan Süleyman Demirel Kültür Merkezi’nde gerçekleşecek.

Ülkemizde ve dünyada gün geçtikçe gelişen ve önem kazanan robotik alanına dikkat çekmek ve bu gelişime katkıda bulunmak amacıyla düzenlenen İTÜ Robot Olimpiyatları, hem amatör hem de profesyonel anlamda robotik konusuna ilgi duyanları bir araya getiren bir organizasyon olarak robotiği gelecek nesillere aktarmaya devam etmekte.

Her yıl olduğu gibi bu yıl da farklı kategorilerde yarışmaların, ilgi çekici, yenilikçi seminerlerin ve söyleşilerin yer alacağı, birbirinden ilginç robotların sergileneceği, kısacası katılımcıların robotiğe doyacağı dolu dolu üç gün robotik meraklılarını bekliyor olacak.

Türkiye’de öğrenci düzeyinde robotik eğitiminin önemini ve verimini sorgulayan, dünyada olağanüstü hızda gelişme gösteren robotik alanında Türkiye’nin gücünü artırmayı hedefleyen İTÜRO ‘10’da yarışmacılar, Mini Sumo, Basit Çizgi İzleyen, Gelişmiş Çizgi İzleyen, Süpürge, Yangın Söndüren, Kendini Dengeleyen Robot ve Serbest Kategori başlıklarında yarışacaklar. www.ituro.org adresinden yapılabilecek yarışma kayıtları için son tarih 5 Nisan 2010.

A couple of days late but…

The first annual National Robotics Week is April 10-18, 2010.

The purpose of National Robotics Week is to:

• Celebrate the US as a leader in robotics technology development
• Educate the public about how robotics technology impacts society, both now and in the future
• Advocate for increased funding for robotics technology research and development
• Inspire students of all ages to pursue careers in robotics and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-related fields

Why is robotics important?

• Robotics technology is a growing industry which creates high-tech jobs in the US
• Robotics technologies are helping to improve healthcare, national defense, homeland security, energy, manufacturing, logistics, transportation, agriculture, education, consumer goods, and many other sectors
• Robotics provides an exciting, hands-on way for students to learn Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

Webpage: www.nationalroboticsweek.org

The Wheelbarrow Mk9 will be on display in Northrop Grumman’s exhibit at Counter Terror Expo, the international exhibition and conference dedicated to addressing the continuing worldwide threat from terrorism. Counter Terror Expo takes place at the National Hall, Olympia, London from 14-15 April.

“We are continually developing and expanding our products and their capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our military and civil security customers in detecting and disposing of improvised explosive devices and handling hazardous threats,” said Kevin Rooney, managing director Unmanned Ground Vehicles for Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector in Europe. “This latest design of our well proven Wheelbarrow vehicle combines greater speed, mobility, exceptional payload and reach capabilities with the latest control, communications and camera specifications to offer unsurpassed performance.”

Key features of the Wheelbarrow Mk9 include: digital communications for improved quality and greater security; enhanced user-friendly command console with touch-screen facility and joystick control; wireless hand controller for local remote control and; greater functionality including preset positions. The vehicle also has a dedicated separate data channel for additional sensor integration. Its performance characteristics rank it among the most capable vehicles available in its class: it can climb a 45-degree stairway; has a modular telescopic arm with 7-degrees of freedom and a maximum reach of more than 6m; a maximum speed of 5km/hour; and a lift capacity of 150kg.

Wheelbarrow is one of the most capable and reliable unmanned ground vehicles in its class available today and has a proven record of success. It is recognised as the benchmark vehicle for remote disposal of improvised explosive devices and is product of choice for users around the world. Wheelbarrow was first used by British Army bomb disposal teams in the 1970s and since then it has gone through a number of design upgrades to extend capabilities and meet changing needs.

Northrop Grumman is the sole supplier to the UK MoD for this size of vehicle and is a partner to Police and military user organisations world-wide. The company has more than 2,000 unmanned ground vehicles in operation around the world.

Northrop Grumman’s unmanned ground vehicle business has been established in Coventry for more than 20-years. Today the company designs, develops and manufactures some of the most capable and reliable unmanned ground vehicles available, from the Wheelbarrow bomb disposal robot to CUTLASS, the latest vehicle for hazardous operations in development for the MoD. Its wide range of vehicles can be configured according to the operational requirements of the user including explosive ordnance disposal, ground surveillance, hazardous material and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) missions. The vehicles are capable of full integration with command control system applications.

Northrop Grumman in the UK operates from a number of locations providing avionics, communications, electronic warfare systems, marine navigation systems, robotics, C4ISR solutions and mission planning, airport security, aircraft whole life support, IT systems and software development.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of Northrop Grumman Corporation

Ears SWATS (shoulder-worn acoustic targeting system) is listed on the “Engineering and Technology – Weapons” page as the “First Wearable Sniper Detector.” An Ears unit can detect and pinpoint hostile gunfire in a fraction of a second and audibly report the range and bearing of the shooter so the soldier or marine can hear it (e.g., “Shot, 400 meters, 3 o’clock”). As the situation continues to unfold, Ears keeps track of the shooter’s position relative to the changing location of the warfighter and continuously provides audible updates.

Ears SWATS units were first fielded in Afghanistan in 2009. The product also was awarded a “Best of What’s New” designation by “Popular Science” magazine last November.

Dragon Runner is listed on the “Engineering and Technology – Weapons” page as the “Most Durable Military Robot.” Originally designed for the U.S. Marine Corps, the rugged base unit Dragon Runner weighs less than 20 pounds and can be carried in a backpack.

Operators can take the Dragon Runner and add tracks for maximum mobility and a manipulator arm with rotating shoulder, wrist and grippers for dexterity, depending on the mission. In addition, day and night pan/tilt/zoom cameras, motion detectors and a listening capability allow Dragon Runner to further extend a combat team’s situational awareness.

Missions include disposing of IEDs, reconnaissance inside buildings, sewers, drainpipes, caves, culverts and courtyards; perimeter security using on-board motion and sound detectors; checkpoint security; in-vehicle and under-vehicle inspections; and hostage barricade reconnaissance and negotiation.

More than 100 Dragon Runners have been shipped for service in Afghanistan.

Source:

Qinetiq North America – News & Events

Our smartphones can already surf the Net, take photos and videos, play games, and even make phone calls, so why not… have them smell the air? That what America’s Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate would like to see happen. The Cell-All initiative would see cell phones equipped with a sensor capable of detecting deadly chemicals. In the event of a terrorist chemical attack, the device could conceivably save numerous lives.

The chemical-sniffing chip would cost less than a dollar, and would always be working in the background, much like an antivirus program on a computer. If it detected what it perceived as a toxic chemical within its immediate vicinity, it would alert the user and/or a central station, depending on the substance in question. Alerts sent to the station would include the time of day, the phone’s location, and the name of the chemical that has been detected. An individual alert might indicate a false positive, but if the station received many simultaneous alerts from the same area, then an evacuation could be in order.

Homeland Security is currently working on a proof-of-concept study, to see just how workable the concept would be. Teams from Qualcomm, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Rhevision Technology are participating in the program.

The Cell-All sensor would only be active in the phones of people who opted into the program, and alerts would be sent anonymously – conspiracy theorists, of course, might suspect otherwise.

Source:

www.gizmag.com

BODY GUARD

This breakthrough, according to Dr. Xiaodong Li, a professor of mechanical engineering at USC and co-author of a paper on the subject in Advanced Materials, signals a “conceptual change in fabricating lightweight, fuel-efficient, super-strong and ultra-tough materials.”

The nanowires are super-elastic but with the same strength and stiffness of current boron carbide.

Unlike the brittle boron carbide currently in use, the synthesized fibers (“nanowires”) are super-elastic. Yet they maintain the same strength and stiffness of their predecessors. “They are not only lightweight but also flexible,” Li says. “We should be able to fabricate much tougher body armors using this new technique. It could even be used to produce lightweight, fuel-efficient cars and aircrafts.”

Source:

www.ecouterre.com

Market for first responders and law enforcement robotics reached $203.1 million in 2009; it is anticipated to reach $3.7 billion by 2016; market growth will come as border patrols and law enforcement agencies use robots to achieve broader security in a less expensive manner

Aarkstore’s latest report, titled “First, Responder, Homeland Security, and Law Enforcement Robots Market Shares, Strategies, And Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010 To 2016,” says that the world-wide market for first responders and law enforcement robotics is poised to achieve significant growth as the first responder and homeland security ground robots are used globally. Growth will come as border patrols and law enforcement agencies use robots to achieve broader security in a less expensive manner, delivering the promise of automated process in yet another industry.

The report says costs of robots are expected to decrease rapidly in the next year, creating a much larger market than exists now. The current market at $203 million does provide a significant base for solid growth.

First responder robots cost $50,000 and up, which is about the cost of a person for one year. A person can patrol and investigate, but a first responder robot able to sniff for explosives is not justified in large quantities. The report says that sharing robots among different agencies would allow a few units go a long way in detecting explosives.

The report says that first responder and homeland security robots are useful as patrol units. Just as foot police and patrol cars look for dangerous situations, so also a first responder robot can patrol an area with cameras and chemical sensors. “First responder and homeland security robot automation of the defense process is the next wave of first responder and homeland security evolution,” the report says. As automated systems and networking complement the Internet, communication is facilitated on a global basis. The first responder and homeland security charter is shifting to providing protection against terrorists and people seek to maintain a safe, mobile, independent lifestyle. Much of the first responder and homeland security mission is moving to adopt a police force training mission, seeking to achieve protection of civilian populations on a worldwide basis.

According to Susan Eustis, the lead author of the study, “the purchase of First responder and homeland security Robots s is dependent on budget constraints. The use of First responder and homeland security Robots s is based on providing a robot that is less expensive to put in the field than a trained soldier. That automation of process has appeal to those who run the first responder and homeland security.”

Robots are automating first responder and homeland security ground systems, permitting vital protection of police officers and people in the field, creating the possibility of reduced fatalities in this profession.

The report notes that innovation coming from all the vendors is astounding. One vendor, BAE Systems has an ant-size robot useful for reconnaissance and networking robots in development. As soldiers take up secure positions behind a wall, they deploy a small reconnaissance “ant” team. Some hopping, some flying, the stealthy autonomous reconnaissance squad vanishes into a suspicious building for several minutes, then relays information back to its human partners.

Use of remote-control toys in Iraq started as improvised robots to check out possible roadside bombs. There has since been a flurry of activity on the robotic explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) front.

The emergence of a market for intelligent, mobile robots for use in the field and the confined areas of city fighting thus presents many opportunities, especially as robotic research is on the fast track for government spending.

Source:

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com