Every two weeks, Defense Electronics editor Steve Grossman brings you the latest in military/defense electronics news. The following is a collection of Steve's lead stories. (click to sign up for the Defense Electronics newsletter.)
JTRS HMS radios are a success in field tests
Oct 8, 2008
Officials at General Dynamics C4 Systems demonstrated the networked-communications capability of their Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) radios.
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Helicopters teach themselves to perform aerial maneuvers
Oct 8, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor Stanford University computer scientists have developed an artificial intelligence system that enables robotic helicopters to teach themselves to fly difficult stunts by simply watching other helicopters perform the same maneuvers. ...
Silicon camera is configured like the human eye
Aug 27, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor By combining stretchable optoelectronics and biologically inspired design, scientists have created a remarkable imaging device, with a layout based on the human eye.
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Unmanned aerial vehicle weighs in at 3 grams
Aug 13, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor On Wednesday July 23rd, a development team at the TU Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands introduced the minute DelFly Micro air vehicle, a variant of an Unmanned Aerial vehicle (UAV). ...
Software to supplant humans to track ground targets in Iraq and Afghanistan
Jul 23, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor Recently U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked all four services to develop innovative methods to provide field commanders with more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Key milestones reached in program to put an Internet router in space
Jul 9, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor Intelsat General Corp. has achieved a number of key milestones with a satellite payload that will demonstrate Internet Routing In Space (IRIS) for the U.S. military.
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Electrically conductive patterns on cloth have arrived
Jun 11, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor NASA has demonstrated a method for automated fabrication of flexible, electrically conductive patterns on cloth substrates. ...
New energy-saving computer uses 70% less power than today's desktop versions
Apr 9, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor A prototype computer showcased last week at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) Symposium in Washington, D.C. is a harbinger for what may bring about huge energy savings. ...
How cognitive radio networks can optimize spectrum utilization
Mar 26, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor There is no question that cognitive radio technology will be used for two-way communications in a wide range of applications — such as radios for tactical military forces and emergency responders. ...
Power shirt harvests energy from the motion of the wearer
Feb 27, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor Nanotechnology researchers at Georgia Tech are developing a "power shirt" able to generate electricity to power small electronic devices for soldiers in the field, hikers and others whose physical motion could be harnessed and converted to electrical energy.
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New image sensor technology doubles low light sensitivity
Feb 13, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor OmniVision Technologies has announced its OmniPixel3-HS architecture that incorporates a new pixel design that doubles the sensitivity of its 1.75-micron OmniPixel3 architecture to 960-millivolts per lux-second. ...
Advances in solid-state drives are dramatically enlarging their appeal
Jan 23, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor The announcement of an 832-GB Solid State Drive (SSD) in a 2.5-inch form factor by BitMicro is yet another milepost in the arena of rapidly developing SSD technologies...
Technology that transmits power—rather than a signal—ramps up
Jan 9, 2008
By Steve Grossman, Editor A multitude of new devices powered without wires or even batteries is becoming possible with a technology that Powercast is showcasing this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. ...
The renaissance of JTRS — SDR-based program receives a massive transfusion of funds — and trudges on
Dec 26, 2007
By Steve Grossman, Editor Though plagued with starts and stops over recent years, the goal of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program remains what it has always been: That is, to replace all of the services' legacy radios with a family of SDRs (Software-Defined Radios) capable of operating on many frequencies to enhance military interoperability. ...
Wave Energy – how megawatts of electric power may become a gift from the sea
Dec 12, 2007
By Steve Grossman, Editor As reported this past Saturday in The New York Times, a network of approximately 200 buoys located offshore in the Pacific Ocean could provide enough energy to power the equivalent of Portland's business district. ...
Wireless company introduces symmetrical wideband consumer service
Nov 28, 2007
By Steve Grossman, Editor In what is said to be the first of its kind as a commercially available service to consumers on a mass scale, Verizon has introduced a symmetrical Verizon FiOS Internet service featuring upstream and downstream connection speeds of up to 15 megabits per second. ...
New transparent plastic is as strong as steel
Oct 24, 2007
By Steve Grossman, Editor By imitating the brick-and-mortar molecular structure found in seashells, University of Michigan researchers have created a composite plastic that is as strong as steel but lighter and transparent. ...
Low-cost robotic device enables digital camera to produce billions of pixels
Oct 10, 2007
By Steve Grossman, Editor Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center, have built a low-cost robotic device that enables any digital camera to produce breathtaking gigapixel — billions of pixels — panoramas called GigaPans.
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