This is one incredible parody video of what robotic warriors of the future will be able to do.
The robot takes an incredible beating and never misses a shot!
They even hit him numerous times with a battering ram for Pete’s sake.
Also, amazed that none of the actors in this video ended up taking a bullet or two.
Wow, the future is going to be amazing. 😉
(Thank you to my wonderful son-in-law for sending this to me)
Totally awesome new technology breakthrough for treating hemorraging patients from the battlefield to the obstetrics ward.
Popular Science reports how a pocket-size syringe filled with sponges can stop bleeding in seconds.
Instead of having to apply wads of gauze and apply pressure”that doesn’t always work…[and] medic must pull out all the gauze and start over again,” the injection of sponges into the wound “boosts survival and spares injured soldiers from additional pain.”
This same technology developed by RevMedx for the military is being adapted for postpartum hemmorages, and I would imagine could eventually be used in other serious bleeding cases whether caused by accident, trauma, in surgery, or other medical necessity.
The sponges are about 1-centimeter circles and are coated with a blood-clotting, antimicrobial substance.
Once injected, the sponges expand to about 20 times their size to fill the wound, apply enough pressure to stop the bleending, and clings to moist surfaces, so they aren’t forced out by gushing blood.
The sponges have X-shaped markers on each that are visible on an x-ray image to ensure none are left inside.
The solution is sterile, biocompatible and in the future may be biodegradable so they don’t have to be removed from the body.
And to think that the inspiration was Fix-a-Flat foam for emergency tire repair. 😉
So excited about the Army’s experimental Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS).
This is really our fast, strong, and agile fighting force of the future.
The integration of technologies for the individual warfighter, including sensors, exoskeleton body armor, weapon systems, communications, and monitoring of health and power makes this an unbelievable advance.
I think the MIT research on magnetorheological fluids–which convert from liquid to solid body armor in milliseconds (sort of like Terminator 2) with a magnetic field or electric current (controlled, so the enemy doesn’t bog down the forces) is a true game changer for balancing agility and force protection.
In the future, I believe these suits will even incorporate capabilities to drive, dive, and fly.
This will complement unmanned swarms of dumb drones with intelligent human fighters that will take the battlefield on Earth and beyond. 😉
I love the direction DARPA is going in with robotic exoskeletons for our warfighters.
Helping soldiers perform their jobs easier, more capably, and with less injury using human augmentation is good sense.
Military men and women often carry weight in excess of 100 pounds for long distances and perform other tasks that challenge human physical endurance.
Creating a durable “soft, lightweight under[or over]suit that would help reduce injuries and fatigue and improve soldiers ability to efficiently perform their missions” is an smart and achievable goal, and one that would give us great advantage in the battlefield.
The timeframe of 2012-2016 is an aggressive deadline to form the mix of core technologies, integrate them, and develop a wearable prototype.
I think the goal of having this be “potentially wearable by 90% of the U.S. Army population” is notable as not something that is for just special forces or unique missions, but rather something that can medically protect and make for a superior fighting force for all of our men and women.
This is really only the beginning of human augmentation with sensors, storage, processors, and robotics to make our warriors fight with the best that both man and machine has to offer. It’s not a fight of man versus machine, but of man and machine.
Seeing and hearing farther and with more clarity, connecting and communicating timely and under all conditions, processing loads of data into actionable information, fighting and performing mission with superior skills (strength, speed, dexterity, and endurance) and integrated weapon systems, guiding warriors to their targets and home safely–these are goals that man-machine augmentation can bring to reality.
And of course, the sheer medical and rehabilitative benefits of these technologies in caring for the sick and disabled in society is enough to “pedal to metal” drive these efforts alone.
Like on the prescient show from the 70’s, The Six Million Dollar Man, “We can rebuild him. We have the technology…Better than he was before. Better…stronger…faster.”
And I would add healthier and more deadly! 😉
(Source Photo: here with attribution to DARPA and Boston Dynamics)
Clive Thompson makes an interesting point in Wired (15 May 2013) on productivity versus creativity.
He says that people seem more creative when interacting with other people in a group, and more productive when left alone to get their work done.
Hence, he advocates for telework to improve individual productivity, but basically only after the team first gets together to figure out what creative things they should be doing.
While I agree that group interchange can be good for bouncing ideas around and sparking innovation, and that with some quiet time, people can plow through a lot of work on their own–this is only a very narrow perspective.
Really, very often, the exact opposite is true….think about it.
When alone, and with some quiet time to think, you may come up with some of your best and most creative ideas. That is because the pressure is off to strut your stuff with the others, the groupthink is gone, and you can concentrate and free associate. Inventors, writers, painters, and other creative types come up with some of the best innovations, when they are left alone to do their thing.
Similarly, when people are in a group, they can often be much more productive than when working alone. Whether in mass producing good as a team in a factory, as team mates in sports passing and scoring, as warfighters waging battle side by side, and even as the construction crew in the picture above putting up a brand new high-rise building–people, when working together, can do amazingly great and productive things.
So yes, while at times groups can spark creativity among each other and quiet time can be good for getting (some paper) work done, often the exact opposite is true–and the group can produce in quantity and quality and the individual can think, experiment, and truly innovate.
Group and individual work is not correlated one for one with creativity and productivity–it all depends on what you are trying to get done.
But either way, you need both telework and teamwork to think and produce. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
While the title of this blog may be humorous, the subject matter is not.
Not since Superman has humankind been so intent on creating the perfect shielded clothing.
In superman’s case, his bold blue and red outfit was lined with lead to protect him from the deadly radioactive Kryptonite, which came to earth in a meteorite from his exploded planet Krypton.
Today, the U.S. armed forces are creating their own ever superior protective suits for its warfighters.
In recent times, with the threats of improvised explosive devices in the wars overseas, the U.S. is seeking to enhance the protective armor of its underwear.
In fact, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, “In 2010, 259 service members in war zones were injured in the genital area.”
The military’s answer is a new protective bomb-resistant brief for men and women–sometimes called ballistic briefs or shrapnel shorts.
The bomb-resistant briefs being tested traditionally were made from materials such as DuPont’s Kevlar, however, the Department of Defense is finding that tightly-woven silk is much more comfortable.
Due to the Berry Amendment of 1941 that requires the military to purchase food and uniforms from domestically produced material, the military is looking for a waiver in order to get the needed silk from Asia.
Interestingly enough, unlike the Underwear Bomber who tried to use his underpants as a hiding place for explosives in 2009 to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight, the ballistic briefs are intended to protect people from explosive devices.
The ballistic briefs are serious business–according to Bloomberg, the Army intends to buy 750,000 pairs and 250,000 cup protectors over the next 5 years.
The stopping power of the new protective underpants would even make Superman jealous, although the DoD version doesn’t come in bright colored red.
(Source Photo: here)
The toughPad packs a lot of punch: This is an Android 3.2 device with 1.2 GHz dual core,1 GB RAM, 16 GB storage, 2 cameras (back 5 megapixel and front 2 megapixel), anti-glare multitouch screen 768 x 1024 megapixels, a 10 hour repalceable battery, USB, GPS, WIFI 802.11, Bluetooth, and optional 3G mobile broadband.
Optional accessories for vehicle mounting and hands-free holsters.
Priced at around $1299.
Great option for the warfighter, law enforcement and homeland security professional as well as others working in challenging environments.
andyblumenthal 
