UAV / UCAV / LAR (robotit) Uutiset ja jutut

[ctg]

An autonomous aeroplane that uses onboard cameras to "see" events around it is being tested by BAE Systems.

The modified Jetstream 31 aircraft operates from BAE's base at Warton and normally flies with two pilots aboard, who are in charge of takeoffs and landings.

Building on previous research and development work which took place under the code name ASTRAEA (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment), the latest trials with the Jetstream include the use of cameras, rather than radar, for the aircraft to detect clouds and other aircraft and take appropriate action.

BAE described this process as follows: "The testbed contains an aircraft identification antennae which detects other aircraft's transponder signals as well as a cockpit-mounted camera acting as an 'electronic eye'. This links to the aircraft's computer systems and enables the Jetstream to 'see' potential hazards even if no signals are being emitted. The 'electronic eye' of the Jetstream can also recognise different cloud types and, if needed, plot a course that allows evasive action from challenging weather conditions."

The test flights take place between Warton and Inverness. A ground control station, commanded by a qualified pilot, supervises the autonomous phase of each flight.

The project is funded by BAE itself and is taking place in conjunction with NATS, the UK's privatised air traffic control service.

Maureen Mccue, BAE Systems' head of research and technology for the military aircraft and information business, said: "Our priority as always is to demonstrate the safe and effective operation of autonomous systems and together with NATS we are working towards the possibility of flying our own unmanned systems in a highly controlled environment in the UK."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/12/05/bae_systems_autonomous_flying/

 

[ctg]

Ehkä meidänkin pimeissä tunneleissa seikkailee näitä valvomassa luolien salaisuuksia.

 

[Jukkis]

Eipä olisi uskonut, että juuri noin päin. Siis 1000 taistelukykyistä ja 200 ISR.

Olisiko puheena joku loitering munition-tyyppinen kevyempi laite? Brittien Fire Shadow tai Israelista löytyy kai ainakin yksi tarjoomus.

 

[ctg]

A machine-gun-wielding Russian robot was sent in to “take out” an ISIS emir and four other militants in a raid this week designed to stop terrorist attacks in the Republic of Dagestan, according to Russian security services. A video showing the killer robot indicates that the mechanical shooter was maneuvered into position and received supporting fire from a special forces unit.


The Sun reported this week that Russia has acquired a new soldier in the ongoing war against ISIS terrorists — a robot. The device, equipped with a machine gun, rolled into battle against the extremists in Makhachkala, Dagestan, where ISIS emir Rustam Aselderov was reportedly holed up with members of his terrorist group.

A video of the assault on the compound where Aselderov and four other extremists had secreted themselves, which has been uploaded to LiveLeaks, shows the Russian robot trundling up to the building, maneuvered by its handlers into a more effective shooting position. Its special forces colleagues fired into the building along with the robot and, according, to Russia’s FSB (Federal Security Service), killed all five occupants in the structure, including the emir.

http://www.inquisitr.com/3780466/is...-robot-guns-down-head-extremist-and-4-others/

 

[ctg]

The US military is seeking a method to wirelessly recharge drones in flight. Drones have become increasingly important for surveillance, but the battery life of most commercial models is still limited to under 30 minutes.

That short flight time means drones aren’t very useful for monitoring areas over time, which can be a serious problem. “Any gaps in surveillance are gaps in information. These gaps can be exploited by an adversary, for example to plant an improvised explosive device.” Lehrke says.

In the draft, the agency requests a way to wirelessly transmit power over a range of one to three kilometers to a fixed-wing Puma and an Instant Eye drone, which has four rotary wings. The transmitter should be capable of sending enough power to keep the drones in flight for at least 24 hours. It must run from a silent generator operated from the back of an SUV, and be capable of automatically shutting itself off within 1 to 10 milliseconds if a foreign object passes in front of it while it’s transmitting.

Of course, there are many places where drones simply can’t fly, so the military is also requesting high-tech tools that will help agents gather information on the ground, or stay in touch with soldiers.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/...ng-stations-for-drones-and-ittybitty-spy-cams

 

[ctg]

Kirjoittaja ei ole tietoinen että asevarustelu on jo kovassa vauhdissa tällä saralla. YKn julistus tulee myöhässä.

Killer robots are on the agenda of a major United Nations meeting in Geneva this week.

As part of a U.N. disarmament conference, participating countries are deciding on Friday whether or not to start formal discussions on a ban of lethal autonomous weapons following on from three years of informal discussions.

Last July, thousands of researchers working in AI and robotics came together and issued an open letter calling for a pre-emptive ban on such weapons.

I was one of the organizers of the letter, and today I spoke at the U.N. for a third time calling once again for a ban.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/artificial-intelligence/united-nations-killer-robots-ban

These bans have not prevented related technologies from being developed. If you go into a hospital today, a “blinding” laser will actually be used to fix your eyes. But arms companies will not sell you one. And you will not find them on any battlefield.

The same should be true for autonomous weapons. We will not stop the development of the broad technology that has many other positive uses like autonomous vehicles.

But if we get an U.N. ban in place, we will not have autonomous weapons on the battlefield. And this will be a good thing.

 

[ctg]

An Army Watchkeeper drone flown by the Royal Artillery crashed on landing after its crew selected the self-flying craft’s “master override” function, according to the official report into the accident.

Thales Watchkeeper drone WK006 flopped into the runway at Boscombe Down airfield in November 2015 when its two-man crew, operating it from a ground station at the airfield, engaged the override after the craft twice attempted and failed to make a safe landing.

The £1m unmanned aircraft had to be written off thanks to the damage it sustained after its onboard systems smashed it into the runway at a 35˚ nose-down angle.

A similar Watchkeeper, tail number WK031, crashed in very similar circumstances in 2014 after its crew engaged the override in an attempt to guarantee that the drone would land before a storm overtook it.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/1..._crash_report_poor_software_laser_altimeters/

No physical weight-on-wheels switch used for landing is fitted to Watchkeeper, which Thales explained to the panel was because of the military requirement that the drone be able to operate from unprepared landing strips: the company said landings on rough surfaces would be likely to break the switch, a problem it had noticed on its other drones. Instead a software algorithm determines, from altitude and acceleration data, whether the Watchkeeper has touched down or not. A switch is fitted to the nosewheel but only to prevent the high-powered laser and radar observation equipment from transmitting while on the ground.

Air Marshal Dick Garwood, head of the Defence Safety Authority, noted at the end of the report: “The Service Inquiry (SI) Panel believes the operation of WK with the flawed VMSC logic still carries an undefined safety risk, unless it can be shown that there are no other conditions that could lead to a false Ground Touch being sensed.”

The air marshal added that the user document set provided by Thales UK “states that WK [Watchkeeper] is an all-weather aircraft which is not true and has likely led to operators having expectations beyond its true capabilities... Although unrelated to the issues described surrounding the landing logic, Thales UK had limitations in place at West Wales Airport regarding cloud at the CP [landing commencement point] since 2013, although, surprisingly, this had not been communicated to the MOD Type Airworthiness Authority or the Army operators at Bascombe Down. This was a missed opportunity.”

“Clearly the VMSC software needs to be fixed before WK is able to provide a reliable and credible capability in a range of weather conditions. I have no doubt that this can be done and the technical issues will be fixed,” concluded Air Marshal Garwood.

 

[ctg]

During the demonstration, officials highlighted new capabilities that allow multiple boats to collaborate and take on tasks together, as well as features that further develop the boats’ behaviors and tactics. The swarm of surface boats were allowed to patrol a large area of open water, according to the release. When unknown ships entered the area, the group of boats would task one of the patrol boats with approaching the ship, quickly classify it as harmless or a potential threat, and communicate with the other boats to track the vessel as it continued onward, if it was determined necessary to do so, officials said.

All the while, the unmanned boats were providing updates to a remote human supervisor.
“This technology allows unmanned Navy ships to overwhelm an adversary,” Cmdr. Luis Molina, military deputy for ONR’s Sea Warfare and Weapons Dept, said in a statement.“ Its sensors and software enable swarming capability, giving naval warfighters a decisive edge.”

For these boats, being able to operate with a higher level of independence could make them suitable for harbor approach defense, including patrolling and repulsion of enemy maritime threats, including surface craft and submarines. Being able to equip these unmanned craft for harbor defense would make the task lest costly and dangerous, officials said in the release.

ONR is developing a technology called Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing, according to the release. The technology, a portable autonomy package, was first demonstrated on boats in 2014, allowing them to synch up and coordinate with other unmanned craft for escort and intercept operations.

“The U.S. Navy knows our most important asset, without question, is our highly trained military personnel,” Dr. Robert Brizzolara, the program officer at ONR overseeing swarmboat experimentation, said in a statement. “The autonomy technology we are developing for our Sailors and Marines is versatile enough that it will assist them in performing many different missions, and it will help keep them safer.”

The boats may next be tasked with taking on dangerous missions that would have previously risked the lives of human warfighters, according to the release.

http://www.defensetech.org/2016/12/15/navys-swarming-drone-boats-conduct-independent-missions/

 

[magitsu]

UK and France move to next phase of joint Unmanned Combat Air System development
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/uk-...B&utm_medium=FacebookPage&utm_campaign=social

 

[ctg]

Etelä-korean proto robottikävelijä. Tämä kannattaa ottaa folion kanssa koska en voi olla täysin varma että tämä on totta.

The test video, above, shows the suit - which is more Gundam than Iron Man - moving around, with an impressive range of motor functions. Stability is aided with rotating ankle joints, allowing the mech to shift its weight from side to side, which would potentially allow a finished model to tackle variable terrain. Its arms appear to be controlled by the pilot, with motions in the cockpit mirrored in METHOD-1's arm movements. The giant robot also has individual fingers, offering dexterity for more precise tasks.

The robot has been part designed by Vitaly Bulgarov, an artist who has worked on Blizzard games including Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm, World of Warcraft, and Diablo III, and movies such a Transformers: Age of Extinction and Terminator Genisys.

Bulgarov has been working with Korea Future Technology on the project since 2014. In November 2015, following a visit to South Korea, he wrote on Facebook that "as we move forward with it, I'll be refining the aesthetics of both the underneath framework, the exterior shelling as well as cockpit design and ergonomics. There will be a ton of things that will get improved both from mechanical engineering and industrial design standpoint."

"The plan is to build a reliable robotic platform that can be used effectively in various utilitarian applications," Bulgarov added.

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/korea-building-giant-robot-mech

 

[TBman]

Etelä-korean proto robottikävelijä. Tämä kannattaa ottaa folion kanssa koska en voi olla täysin varma että tämä on totta.

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/korea-building-giant-robot-mech

Näyttää paripykälää liian isolta meidän suomaille käveleskelemään, tai no jos laitetaan sellaiset kunnon suokengät jalkaa, kun hevosilla oli aikanaan...
Mutta enemmän uskon exsoskeletorien käyttöön. Niitä on joskus tullut nähtyä ja ne toimii oikeasti... Kokeiltiin niitä vissiin aika monessa paikassa...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_exoskeleton

 

[oml]

Suomessahan kävelevä metsäkone keksittiin jo 90-luvulla, hankkeesta ei tosin tainnut tulla mitään.
http://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5085629
https://www.deere.fi/fi_FI/our_comp...february/walking_machine/walking_machine.page
http://www.kantapuu.fi/objectinfo.php?id=331916&from=searchall&image_id=334045&viewimg=1&prms=s_fulltext=Plustech&s_org=0

 

[ctg]

Suomessahan kävelevä metsäkone keksittiin jo 90-luvulla, hankkeesta ei tosin tannut tulla mitään.

Tästä jossain vaiheessa sanoin että se ehkä sopisi markmannin tornille. Ehkä me oltiin aikaamme edellä tässä asiassa mutta sitä ei vain tiedostettu että tätä voisi käyttää droneihin taikka muihin kävelijöihin.

 

[oml]

Tuollaisellahan kuskaisi tosiaan sananmukaisesti jälkiä jättämättä IT-ohjuksia, ammuksia tai jotain muuta vastaavaa metsän siimekseen naamioverkkojen alle vihollista odottamaan, kun taas joku ponssen metsäkone myllää maaston niin p*skaksi että ajouran näkee suunnilleen ISS:än avaruusasemaltakin paljain silmin.

 

[Herman30]

Tai sitten se voi kantaa molemmissa "käsissä" minigun, olisi varsinainen tukiaserobotti.

 

[TBman]

Suomessahan kävelevä metsäkone keksittiin jo 90-luvulla, hankkeesta ei tosin tainnut tulla mitään.
http://yle.fi/uutiset/3-5085629
https://www.deere.fi/fi_FI/our_comp...february/walking_machine/walking_machine.page
http://www.kantapuu.fi/objectinfo.php?id=331916&from=searchall&image_id=334045&viewimg=1&prms=s_fulltext=Plustech&s_org=0

Tuo oli aikanaan kallis ja pirullisesti remppaa jo prototyypissä, etteivät tainneet uskaltaa ottaa sitä tuotantoon ja yleiseen myyntiin.

Tuohon konseptiin voisi viitata se Scorpion King nykyään, ripustus on siinä hieman "jalkamainen" tosin renkaat kiinni...
http://www.ponsse.com/fi/tuotteet/harvesterit/scorpionking

 

[ctg]

 

[ctg]

Ei ole ensimmäinen kerta kun tuntuu että jenkkien agressiivinen kv tiedustelupolitiikka ajaa jengiä loppuun nopeammin kuin viranomaiset ymmärtävät tekemisiään. Savimajojen kurmootus saisi loppua hiljalleen.

American military power in the 21st century relies on the mighty drone. The flying robots watch America’s enemies from the skies — and sometimes blow them apart with Hellfire missiles.

There’s a logic to using drones. Putting a robot in harm’s way is a lot better than putting an actual person in the same place.

America can always build another drone. It’s a lot harder to replace a good pilot.

https://warisboring.com/piloting-drones-is-the-worst-job-in-the-military-8492289d8b8d#.zcdpdnzfd

 

[BlackFox]

Ukrain Today:

U.S.-supplied drones prove worthless against Russian jamming and hacking

A U.S. Marine operated Raven surveillance drone prepares to land outside a base in southwest Afghanistan (Getty Images)

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Ukrainian servicemen are disappointed with U.S. non-lethal military assistance



Millions of dollars' worth of U.S.-supplied drones that Kyiv had hoped would help in its war against Russian-backed separatists have proven ineffective against jamming and hacking, Ukrainian officials told Reuters.

The 72 Raven RQ-11B Analog mini-drones were so disappointing following their arrival this summer that Natan Khazin, an advisor to Ukraine's military with deep knowledge of the country's drone program, said if it were up to him, he would return them.

Read also Washington Post: On Ukraine's front lines, U.S.-supplied equipment is falling apart

The hand-launched Ravens were one of the recent highlights of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, aiming to give the country's military portable, light-weight, unarmed surveillance drones.

But they appear to have fallen short in a battle against the separatists, who benefit from far more sophisticated military technology than insurgencies the West has contended with in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria.

The Air Force command of Ukraine's armed forces acknowledged to Reuters that the Ravens supplied by the United States had a fundamental drawback: Russia and the separatist forces it supports can intercept and jam their video feeds and data.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that Russia's electronic warfare capabilities were far more sophisticated than thought when the conflict started.

Read also OSCE to replace downed drones in Donbas

There were mixed accounts on how much the Ravens were being used in Ukraine.

The Air Force command of Ukraine's armed forces said they were being used in the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" zone, including in combat situations.

One Ukrainian official, however, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that although drones were being used in the zone, they were not employed on the front lines.

Khazin said they were largely in storage and called them a vulnerability, allowing the enemy to see Ukrainian military positions and, when it wanted, easily take them down. They had short battery life and were unable to reliably fulfill the key mission of gaining intelligence on artillery positions, he said.

 

[Teräsmies]

Watch Chinese drone maker EHang's progress in ground and flight testing of the large multi-rotor vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle.