Boeing’s New Laser Cannon Kills Drones Mid-Flight

Boeing’s New Laser Cannon – Silent & Invisible

Boeing’s new laser cannon, though silent and invisible can slay enemy drones by taking them within a minute. The Compact Laser Weapons System – CLWS has the potential of tracking down an unmanned aerial vehicle – UAC and eradicate a threat.

 Video of its Compact Laser Weapons Systems demonstrations had been released by Boeing and the laser had taken part in ultra-cool Exercise Black Dart in August which focuses on innovative tech to tackle hostile drones. The CLWS tends to focus on the trail of the target drone for around 10 to 15 seconds, setting it on fire and destroys it.

In the video , Isaac Neal, Boeing engineer describes it as ` a welding torch being put on target from several hundreds of meters away and if one were on the receiving end of laser energy, they would have no idea from where it was coming or what could be happening’.

The CLWS is said to be a two kilowatt laser which centres a directed energy beam on a target and is so accurate that it can target a specific location on a drone where the laser beam tends to be silent as well as invisible.

Identifying & Tracking Air and Ground Targets

The system has the capabilities of identifying and tracking air and ground targets as they move around by utilising a mid-wave infrared sensor, having a range of around 40 kilometres.

In the video it indicates that the laser takes about 15 seconds to destroy a drone. The laser is said to be controlled with an Xbox 360-like controller which is connected to a laptop equipped with the targeting software and takes only two war-fighters to move the laser across the battle space to deliver focused firepower. The laser can be moved in a few boxes and set up in few minutes.

Another two main advantages of laser weapons is that they have unlimited magazines provided, power and cost for each shot seems to be a quite lower. Boeing has been having many laser systems in progress from lasers like the CLWS which tends to specifically focus on drones through lasers which aim other threats like small fast attack boats, mortar and rockets.

Protecting & Defending Sensitive Areas in U.S.

The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator – HEL MD, Boeing’s laser mounted on a truck which can destroy mortars when they are mid-flight. This laser had been demonstrated by Boeing last year. The CLWS is much smaller and portable.

The Laser system is expected to be ready for sale in the next year or two according to Boeing. Beside the CLWS being utilised in defeating drone threats in war zones, it would also be protecting and defending sensitive areas in the U.S.

Areas such as the airports and government buildings tend to be targeted by drones. For instance, a man had been arrested for flying a drone at the White House, this year in May and the security experts are worried that a drone could probably carry threats like biological or chemical weapons. The CLWS could also be useful in protecting sensitive areas from the prying and spying views of drones.

Based on the speed and distance of the target, Boeing‘s weapon can fire its laser within an inch or more of what it intends to hit. Since the laser tends to move at the speed of light, it is easier to be accurate and there is no need to lead the target and the speed of the gimbal is the main limitation on targeting façade.

Quantum Dot Technology May Help Light the Future

Quantum Dots – New Generation LED Lighting

Developments at the Oregon State University, in the manufacturing technology for quantum dots could soon lead to new generation of LED lighting.Quantum dots are nanoparticles which could be utilised in emitting light and by accurately controlling the size of the particle and the colour of the light.

They have been utilised for some time and can be expensive, lacking optimal colour control. The manufacturing technique that have been developed at OSU would be able to increase to large volumes for low-cost commercial applications providing new ways of offering the accuracy essential for better colour control.

This could create a more user friendly white light while utilising less toxic material together with low cost manufacturing procedures which tend to take advantage of simple microwave heating. It would help the country in reducing its lighting bill in half.

Compared to the cost of incandescent as well as fluorescent lighting and the cost, performance and environmental improvements could eventually create solid state lighting systems which consumers prefer and help the nation in reducing its lighting bill by half, according to researchers.

Same technology could also be merged in improved lighting display, computer screens, televisions, smart phones and the other systems.

Applied to Various Products & Technologies

Significant to the advances that had been published in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research, is use of both a continuous flow chemical reactor and microwave heating technology that is theoretically identical to the ovens which are part of every modern kitchen.

The constant flow system tends to be fast, cheap, energy efficient and would cut manufacturing costs. Microwave heating technology could report a problem that had held back wider use of these systems, so far, which is the accurate control of heat needed during the procedure.

Microwave approach would translate into development of nanoparticles that are exactly the right size, shape and composition. According to an associate professor and chemical engineering in the OSU College of Engineering, Greg Herman, states that `there are various products and technologies that quantum dots can be applied to but for mass consumer use, possibly the most important is improved LED lighting.

Eventually they would be able to manage in producing low cost, energy efficient LED lighting with the soft quality of white light which people would want and at the same time the technology would use nontoxic materials and reduce the waste of materials which are used and translates to lower cost and environmental protection.

Research Supported by Oregon BEST/National Science Foundation

According to Herman, some of the top existing LED lighting being produced presently at industrial levels tend to use cadmium which is highly toxic and the system now being tested and developed at the OSU depends on copper indium diselenide which is a much more benign material with high energy conversion efficiency.

Some earlier systems creating these nanoparticles for use in optics, electronics and biomedicine tend to be slow, expensive and at times toxic as well as often a waste. There is also a possibility of other applications of these systems. Cell phones and portable electronic devices could use less power and could last longer on a single charge.

`Tuggants or compounds with certain infrared or visible light emissions could be utilised for accurate and prompt identification which include control of counterfeit bills or products. OSU has been working with private sector in the development of this technology. The research is being supported by Oregon BEST and the National Science Foundation Centre for Sustainable Materials Chemistry.

iPad Mini 4 review

iPad Mini 4 – Thinner/Less Powerful than iPad Air 2

The iPad Mini 4 is said to be a thinner and slightly less powerful iPad Air 2.There are options of various superior phones together with more proficient hybrid laptops and tablets. The iPad Mini seems to be less relevant since it had been reviewed last year, Apple seems to have done some alteration in pricing in its iPad line, opposing the iPad Air 2 as a similar priced substitute. In comparison to 2014 iPad Mini 2, the Mini 4 tends to have an improved screen, faster processor, better camera and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

As per the company, the Mini 4’s CPU is 1.3 times quicker and its graphics performances seem to be 1.6 times faster than the Mini 2. Moreover it can also manage split-screen apps that can come useful in checking email or Twitter while working. If one prefers something small, then this could be an appropriate choice. The iPad Mini 4 tends to have almost the same specs like the bigger Air 2 with the exception of its graphics processor which seems to be more than one third slower. This can be seen while playing some of the games and when apps are switched on. Though it has a 2GB of RAM, multitasking seems to feel irritable or responsive as a year old tablet.

Strong & Premium Feeling Tablets

The battery life is not relatively good as the other Mini. Apple has two iPad Minis but if one prefers longest battery life, than the Mini 2 would be the precise choice. The iPad Mini 2 is said to be one of the most strong and premium feeling tablets in the markets and its casing could handle rough treatment. It seems to be a good looking tablet and is made available in Gold, Silver and Space Grey, with a thinner chassis and some new Smart Cover choices which look fanciful.

You could use it with one of the new Silicone Cases of Apple for the iPad Mini 4 for all-inclusive protection. Apple has stated 10 hours across all its iPad though the real results on video-playback test in airplane mode indicate some difference. The Mini 4 seems to last for 9 hours 34 minutes while the Mini 2 last for 11 hours, 20 minutes. The Mini 4 is priced as much as the bigger, faster Air 2, at $399 for 16GB and is the exact cost as the iPad Air 2. The Air 2 being a year older has slightly improved specifications.

iPad Mini Better Value

The Mini 4 and Air 2 both seem to have the same pixel resolution though the Mini 4 is in a smaller size. The iPad Mini 2 is considered a better value and is a contracted down iPad Air and gets the job done for essentials. The Mini 2 which is priced at $269/£219/AU$369 for 16 GB and $319/£259/AU$429 is still considered to be expensive. However it is often comes in sales under $200 at Target and Walmart. It is to be seen whether the Mini iPad would survive alongside phablets like the iPhone 6S Plus and Galaxy Note. Though several Android tablets could accomplish the same core tasks for less money none can match the overall experience one tend to get with the iPad Mini 4.

Android Wear Smartwatches Now Work with the iPhone

Android Watches To Connect with iPhone 
 
Google has plans of introducing an application which could connect Android smartwatches with Apple’s iPhone, mounting the battle among rivals to strap their technology on people’s wrists. This move has shoved Google to Apple’s field in an effort to boost the sales of watches running on Android Wear software.

 The program combining the devices running on various operating systems would be released soon in Apple’s app store. Android watches, as of now, tend to work only with smartphones powered by Android software, similar to the Apple Watch which is designed to be fastened exclusively to the iPhone.

The Google’s new app would however, empower the latest Android watches to connect with the iPhone, in order that users could quickly glance at their wrists for required directions, fitness information as well as notification with regards to events, emails, and Facebook updates. The devices would not be capable of being tied together in a way which would permit the Android watches in communicating with the other apps, that a user would have installed on the iPhone.

This could probably discourage several iPhone users from changing over from Apple to purchase an Android watch unless Google tends to find a way of overcoming the obstacle according to Ramon Llamas, IDC analyst. Android watches for now are expected to appeal to iPhone owners unwilling to spend extra money on a device which would be more of a novelty rather than a needed gadget.

Google is expecting the prices of Android watches to be well-matched with the iPhone ranging from $100 to $400 and Apple having a long history of challenging premium prices on its products tends to charge a minimum of £299 for Apple Watch even though its luxury products tend to cost thousands of pounds. Llamas commented that the Android watches will not be bought by `the fan boys and fan girls which should have everything with an Apple logo on it. He is referring about going after people who tend to be open to other options with what they could do with their devices.

Apple who had been a late applicant in the smartwatch market has quickly come to the forefront of the pack after its release in April. Apple Watches of around 4 million had been sold during the three months ending in June to control three-fourth of the smartwatch market, worldwide on the estimates from the firm Strategy Analytics and the combination of sales of Android watches which have been made by various device developers during the same time amounted to 600,000 units for an 11pc market share.

 Samsung watches on the other hand, running on Tizen software told hold of most of the rest of the market with 7.5pc share. Google is speculating that the next wave of Android Wear watches would assist in shifting the tide in their favour.

The Android watches coming up which would be functioning with the iPhone comprise of Asus ZenWatch 2 and the Huawei Watch. LG Electronic already develops Android Watch, Urbane at £175 which is compatible with the iPhone.

Functioning with the new app, the Android smartwatch would be compatible with iPhone which dates back to the 5 if their operating systems tend to have been updated to the iOS 8.2.

This Wearable Drone Could Be Your Next Smart Device

Drones – Own Application Platform/Interface Projected

The team at Frog Agency in New York have taken it upon themselves to work out on whether drones could be something we could interact with each single day as Adam Pruden from Frog had told the audience at The Conference in Malmo. Drones have already evolved directly from smartphones which are built on the same technologies, the same microprocessors as well as sensors.

At a hearing earlier in the year, the US Senate had also informed that drones were basically flying smartphones. Pruden had mentioned that what he had found interesting with regards to the comparison was the behavioural similarities instead of the technologies.

Earlier they were used for capturing political conflict in Hong Kong, the same way as smartphones, though drones were capable of capturing the magnitude of events the ways smartphone could not. Pruden states that `drones are taking self-obsession to an entirely new high with growing popularity of dronies.

Besides this, they also have their own application platform together with interfaces projected from a drone on any surface.

Wearable Drones – 15 Concept Designs

In order to set up drones and make it part of daily life in the same way as smartphones, the team realised that they would need to have two unique features.At first they would have to be capable of performing physical task and to move through physical space as well as interact with the physical atmosphere which smartphone are unable to do.

Secondly they would have to be wearable which would be used only when needed and hence they would have to be able to worn on the bodies. The team had come up with 15 concept designs in wearable drones, such as wearable dog collars, a wearable drone which could fix the makeup and hair and chose four to develop further.

The first that came up was the Flare, which was a flying tour guide as well as a navigator wherein the Flare tends to jump off an acrylic band attached to the hand and operates like a flying compass. On the other hand, the Breathe, settles on the shoulder passively measuring air quality till dangerous pollutions levels are identified. At this stage, it tends to leap up in front of the face, providing a filter for the individual to breathe through.

Drones – Integrate Into Society

A gold drone, the Parasol, hangsoff the belt or is worn as a means of jewellery and detects bad weather. It jumps up to protect the person either from UV rays or rain utilising its propellers. The Scout as much as a playmate as it is drone tends to fly above you to project a path on a rock wall to challenge the individual as they climb and doubles as fitness tracker whenever it is docked.

The designs seem to be quite cool and exciting. However there were other issues which the team found as part of the process. Pruden explains that the `key component that were not accounted for was that drones need to integrate into society’.

To integrate into society, drones would have to comprehend distance, how to interact with other drones and with the built world and with its owner’s body as well as the body of others, though also important with the soul.