US Special Ops Command plans to have some initial TALOS exoskeleton suit prototypes by 2018. Progress is being made on exoskeletons for US special forces. The exoskeletons are designed to increase strength and protection and help keep valuable operators alive when they kick down doors and engage in combat. The technologies currently being developed include …
Diamond computer chips running at 100-GHz have been demonstrated by Akhan Semiconductor. They are currently using design rules in the 100s of nanometers. Developers are focusing on power applications on 12-inch wafers. They hope to drive down the costs of production with higher volumes. Power devices are moving into pilot production at a fab. They …
Jose Fernandez is the founder and lead designer at Ironhead Studios, the company responsible for designing numerous superhero suits for the big screen. The studio has tackled Spiderman, Thor, and most recently, Batman. But the next big suit with Ironhead’s touch sounds like it’ll be for real-life spacemen. Namely, the ones that will work for …
Ukrainian industry has developed to the prototype stage a major upgrade package for the Russian BMP-1 tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). The first prototype vehicle, designated the BMP-1 UM IFV, is being tested in Ukraine. The BMP-1 was a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1, meaning “infantry fighting …
Franky Zapata crushed the old world record of 905ft for the farthest hoverboard flight. The Flyboard Air inventor set the record Saturday in France, riding his hoverboard over 7,388 feet The flyboard air has four turbo engines on the board, two more are on the sides for stabilization. Each engine has 250 horsepower. Flyboard Air …
Up until now computer designs that have been theoretically known have been less energy efficient than the human brain. We could project supercomputers that could reach an exaFLOP and perhaps a zettaFLOP but the designs typically need megawatts to gigawatts of power. ExaFLOP (10^18 operations per second) Onchip photonics at low power a key aspect …
Pratt and Whitney’s Michael Winter gave an overview of future plane engines. He noted that lithium ion batteries have lower energy density than goose fat and honey. Rechargable batteries are not that far off in terms of cost for energy compared to fuels. The near and mid-term is larger and more efficient turbine engines. Electric …
Here are the important developments in genetics and other technologies identified by Ray Kurzweil in his Playboy interview Joslin Diabetes Center turned off the fat insulin receptor gene that tells you to hold on to every calorie in your fat cells. That was a good idea 10,000 years ago when our genes evolved, because the …
Imagine an aircraft that could alter its wing shape in midflight and, like a pelican, dive into the water before morphing into a submarine. Impossible, you say? A little too “Transformers,” perhaps? Well, the U.S. Air Force doesn’t think so, and believes Cornell engineering professor Rob Shepherd and his group might help make that futuristic-sounding …
Reusable rockets could greatly lower rocket launch costs but two other significant emerging technologies are 3D printing and liquified natural gas rocket fuel. Liquefied natural gas, which is a commercially available form of methane, could have several advantages as a rocket fuel. Blue Origin has said its wide availability and low cost would enable an …
For decades, aircraft designers seeking to improve vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities have endured a substantial set of interrelated challenges. Dozens of attempts have been made to increase top speed without sacrificing range, efficiency or the ability to do useful work, with each effort struggling or failing in one way or another. DARPA’s VTOL …