NASA’s maiden mission to explore Saturn’s moon, Titan, has progressed to the next phase of development.
If everything goes as planned, the launch of this car-sized nuclear-powered drone will take place in 2028.
Continue reading “NASA’s nuclear-powered drone mission to Saturn’s moon now set for 2028” »
Number 4 Hamilton Place is a be-columned building in central London, home to the Royal Aeronautical Society and four floors of event space. In May, the early 20th-century Edwardian townhouse hosted a decidedly more modern meeting: Defense officials, contractors, and academics from around the world gathered to discuss the future of military air and space technology.
Things soon went awry. At that conference, Tucker Hamilton, chief of AI test and operations for the United States Air Force, seemed to describe a disturbing simulation in which an AI-enabled drone had been tasked with taking down missile sites. But when a human operator started interfering with that objective, he said, the drone killed its operator, and cut the communications system.
In my 2015 exploration with General John R. Allen on the concept of Hyperwar, we recognized the potential of artificial intelligence to unalterably change the field of battle. Chief among the examples of autonomous systems were drone swarms, which are both a significant threat and a critical military capability. Today, Hyperwar seems to be the operative paradigm accepted by militaries the world over as a de facto reality. Indeed, the observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) loop is collapsing. Greater autonomy is being imbued in all manner of weapon systems and sensors. Work is ongoing to develop systems that further decrease reaction times and increase the mass of autonomous systems employed in conflict. This trend is highlighted potently by the U.S. Replicator initiative and China’s swift advancements in automated manufacturing and missile technologies.
The U.S. Replicator Initiative: A Commitment to Autonomous Warfare?
The Pentagon’s “Replicator” initiative is a strategic move to counter adversaries like China by rapidly producing “attritable autonomous systems” across multiple domains. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks emphasized the need for platforms that are “small, smart, cheap, and many,” planning to produce thousands of such systems within 18 to 24 months. The Department of Defense, under this initiative, is developing smaller, more intelligent, and cost-effective platforms, a move that aligns with the creation of a Hyperwar environment.
Hydrogen is having a moment, thanks to Biden administration incentives to boost production — and that’s spurring development of hydrogen-powered transport, including drones.
Why it matters: Hydrogen-powered drones could potentially fly farther and carry bigger payloads than those relying on heavy electric batteries. That opens doors to new uses, like advanced logistics.
Driving the news: Israeli startup Heven Drones unveiled today two new hydrogen-powered drones that it says represent “a significant leap in endurance and precision.”
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AP) — Artificial intelligence employed by the U.S. military has piloted pint-sized surveillance drones in special operations forces’ missions and helped Ukraine in its war against Russia. It tracks soldiers’ fitness, predicts when Air Force planes need maintenance and helps keep tabs on rivals in space.
Now, the Pentagon is intent on fielding multiple thousands of relatively inexpensive, expendable AI-enabled autonomous vehicles by 2026 to keep pace with China. The ambitious initiative — dubbed Replicator — seeks to “galvanize progress in the too-slow shift of U.S. military innovation to leverage platforms that are small, smart, cheap, and many,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said in August.
While its funding is uncertain and details vague, Replicator is expected to accelerate hard decisions on what AI tech is mature and trustworthy enough to deploy — including on weaponized systems.
The tests assessed the use of AI-based navigation sensors and enhanced algorithms for autonomous formation flight.
Airbus.
Continue reading “Airbus tests autonomous air-to-air refueling with AI-guided drones” »
The fourth quarter is past its midway point, and Tesla’s Megafactory in Lathrop, California, seems like it’s still going full speed ahead. During a recent drone flyover of the site, a fleet of 332 Megapack batteries was spotted in the facility’s staging areas.
The Tesla Megapack may not be as visually compelling as the Cybertruck or the Model 3 Highland, but it is a key product in Tesla’s portfolio. Designed for grid use, the Megapack has the potential to disrupt the energy sector. The battery has been performing well so far, as it has been deployed successfully in high-profile projects like the 182 MW/730 MWh battery farm in Moss Landing, California, and the 150 MW/300 MWh system in New South Wales, Australia.
The Megapack is available in two variants: a 2-hour version that offers 1.9 MW of power and 3.9 MWh of energy and a 4-hour variant that features 1 MW of power and 3.9 MWh of energy. The grid-scale battery is priced at $1,908,590 for the four-hour variant with installation and $2,123,590 for the two-hour variant with installation. Without installation charges, the Megapack is priced at $1,321,390 for the two-hour variant and $1,270,310 for the four-hour version.
More information about TITA robot:
🔗 Official Website: https://shop.directdrive.com/products/tita?utm_source=prorobots.
🔗 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@directdrivetech4558
Meet the fast-legged TITA robot, which made its first appearance at the ICRA 2023 Robotics Show. Easily switching between wheeled and walking modes, the robot with eight degrees of freedom is able to move quickly on any terrain. In addition, the developers report that TITA combines exceptional perceptual abilities with advanced decision-making capabilities. Its maneuverability, sleek design, modular construction and ability to quickly swap payloads and accessories make it a true Swiss knife in the world of security and service robots. TITA also has exceptional fall resistance, improved self-healing capabilities, instant response time and enhanced obstacle avoidance ability. The robot easily adapts to difficult terrain and, importantly, supports secondary development in multiple modes. The latter not only allows you to control it at any level using RPC, but also allows you to program the robot for your tasks. If TITA has captured your heart as well as ours, you can learn more about the robot and even buy it for yourself by using the QR code on the screen.
Ocean Eye will illuminate the hidden realms of marine biodiversity and pave the way for unprecedented insights into the ocean using lidar technology and advanced sensors.
In a groundbreaking initiative, researchers from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Aarhus University spearhead the Ocean Eye project. This revolutionary undertaking aims to transform our understanding of marine biodiversity using cutting-edge optical technologies, according to a university press release.
The project utilizes a combination of hyperspectral cameras, lasers, and artificial intelligence on an autonomous vessel to gather comprehensive data on coastal waters, surpassing the limitations of traditional methods.
Continue reading “Scientists test AI laser-drone system to uncover ocean blind spots” »
