Laser power test extends flight time of spy plane to 48 hours

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Seattle area startup LaserMotive and defense giant Lockheed Martin today announced that they’ve successfully completed tests of a laser-based power system to keep an unmanned aircraft in flight for more than 48 hours. Led by Tom Nugent, the former research director for LiftPort Group, and Dr. Jordin Kare, an expert on laser propulsion, LaserMotive is… Read More…

Adapx wins $1.65M DARPA contract to bring speech and sketch to battlefield plans

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Seattle startup Adapx has won a $1.65 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to incorporate speech and sketch into battlefield planning maps. The contract follows a similar deal inked in October with the Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command which allows commanders to speak and sketch their plans into battlefield simulators. Adapx… Read More…

Update: Boeing no longer working on hybrid airship, but damn it looked cool

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[Update: Well, that was interesting while it lasted. Minutes after we posted the first version of this story, a Boeing representative responded to our earlier inquiry to say that the video is outdated, and the company's Phantom Works unit is no longer working on such a project. So file this one under cool concepts that... Read More…

U.S. Army tests Android, iPhone and Windows Phone 7

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The U.S. Army is nearing the conclusion of a six-week test of more than 300 smartphones and tablet computers, analyzing how the gadgets could be used in combat situations. CNN reports that the Army tested a wide variety of Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7 phones, utilizing everything from GPS to cameras to text messaging…. Read More…

Moving from air to ground: Insitu Pacific to support iRobot vehicles

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Insitu is best known for its unmanned aircraft systems. But the unit of The Boeing Co. is moving from the air to the ground as part of a new partnership with iRobot. Insitu said that it will become the new distributor of iRobot’s unmanned ground vehicles in Australia and New Zealand.  As part of the… Read More…