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So: hitting it with a laser without artificial aiming/tracking aids is impossible.

Sure, but that's not really the argument, is it? I may have missed something but I've never seen a laser system without sophisticated target tracking capabilities.

Hmm, think I might have already proven myself wrong with this 104KW polonium-210-powered laser rifle [PDF warning]. Think I've finally found what I want for my birthday!

You turdbrained tabletop wannabe guerilla, I'm constantly moderated -1 because I remind the slashdot pedophile geeks of their inferiority and the rightful punishments they were subjected to in their high school years, well before real life ground their dreams into dust and poured it into a shithole. Whenever I gain karma points by accident, I immediately burn them off because the approval of a bunch of fecalmasturbatory assburger clowns makes me feel dirty. 600m accuracy with a shotgun? LOL. The fin stabilization may give it a 200m range (not my figures but theirs: http://www.defensereview.com/auto-assault-12-shotgunfrag-12-high-explosive-round-comboweapon-system/) but that's LESS than a dedicated grenade launcher. It would be good to have one per team in CQB operations but the claims it doesn't need to be cleaned or lubricated are laughable, and you're stupid for believing the manufacturer. Again, you know nothing of firearms. Splash damage, LOL. Do I need twelve-sided dice, too? 1000m with buckshot. You're so fucking droll.

"YOu dont enter a situation with a 50,000 foot view and the hand of god."

THAT is why UAV tech is being pushed so hard.

http://www.defensereview.com/general-atomics-mq-9-reaper-uasuav-retrofitted-with-gorgon-stare-electro-opticalinfrared-eoir-multi-camera-system-the-all-seeing-eye-in-the-sky-you-look-at-it-you-die/

Applying your reasoning the military-industrial complex that is the US government could easily start up a company to make eg. these or these and sell them well below their actual value to anyone who wants (say $20 or $50) and subsequently use them everywhere to make a real-time map of anyone's location.

That's about the same problems encountered by the Israeli's throwable robotic eyeball.

There is a new fabric that does offer some ballistic protection by hardening momentarily under stress. I'm sure that it could be incorporated into this armour Shear thickening fluid (defensereview.com) of course all of this is predicated on the fact that both of these work as advertised or close enough that some more research can bring them to fruition.

Here you go:
http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News &file=article&sid=704
http://www.foster-miller.com/projectexamples/t_r_m ilitary/ferret.htm

That little baby will keep your home safe - guaranteed.

I think the pics here are applicable to this story. http://www.defensereview.com/article850.html

A while back, there was talk of a technology called DREAD, which pretty much was a high-speed rotating disc that electronically released balls from it. By timing the spinning and the release, the balls could be fired in practically any direction as quickly as the machine could load the ammo.

It looks like you could combine DREAD with a high-speed tracking radar and you get something like this technology.

Check out this link for more info:

http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News &file=article&sid=526

The description of this thing as a "forcefield" seems to come from this Fox News clip (big SWF file.)". It's not. It's an active defense system that shoots small rockets back at incoming weapons. Exactly what it shoots back is not being revealed. UPI has a better article.

A couple of weeks ago I tried to submit the following story to slashdot, without any luck. I think it's fairly related to the current topic, and has a rather interesting video showing the helicopter firing its rapid-fire shotgun:

A small company called Neural Robotics has produced a robotic mini-helicopter armed with a rapid-fire shotgun. Based on their off-the-shelf AutoCopter, the UAV uses neural network-based flight control algorithms to fly in either a self-stabilizing semi-autonomous mode controlled by a remote operator, or a fully-autonomous mode which can follow GPS waypoints. A video of the AutoCopter Gunship is available.

Stepping aside the ethical issues of replacing soldiers with flying shotgun-wielding robots for the moment, their "neural network-based" flight control system seemed like an interesting technical accomplishment. This PDF briefing has a few details.

Taking a look at page 14 of their PDF though, perhaps their control system is a little on the simplistic side. It seems to just update roll and pitch based on the current movement and facing of the helicopter, without making use of visual information or other sensors. I'm not too familiar with flight control, but using a neural network for that seems like overkill. When in fully-autonomous mode, I wonder if they make use of sensors for crash-avoidance at all, or if they just hope that nothing's in the way of the chosen GPS coordinates.

Assuming they haven't done so already, it would be rather neat to load some range-finding sensors on the helicopter and have it automatically avoid nearby obstacles; the basic algorithms should be fairly straightforward.

Another idea is to allow the robot to visually track a point of laser light, potentially allowing somebody to control the robot with a designated laser. The military application of this is pretty obvious: You could quickly point a laser wherever the people shooting at you are hiding, so that the robot knows what area to scope out. A laser could also be used to trace out a patrol route for the robot, so that a user doesn't have to deal with typing in cumbersome GPS coordinates.

As for civilian applications, the AutoCopter with a stabilized camera might be useful for filming video. One could imagine a system of two designated laser pointers, one for each hand. One pointer would designate a spot for the robot to hover over, while another pointer would indicate where the robot should direct its camera. Of course, one could alternatively just hire a dedicated RC operator, so perhaps this would be of limited usefulness.

A couple of weeks ago I tried to submit the following story to slashdot, without any luck. I think it's fairly related to the current topic, and has a rather interesting video showing the helicopter firing its rapid-fire shotgun:

A small company called Neural Robotics has produced a robotic mini-helicopter armed with a rapid-fire shotgun. Based on their off-the-shelf AutoCopter, the UAV uses neural network-based flight control algorithms to fly in either a self-stabilizing semi-autonomous mode controlled by a remote operator, or a fully-autonomous mode which can follow GPS waypoints. A video of the AutoCopter Gunship is available.

Stepping aside the ethical issues of replacing soldiers with flying shotgun-wielding robots for the moment, their "neural network-based" flight control system seemed like an interesting technical accomplishment. This PDF briefing has a few details.

Taking a look at page 14 of their PDF though, perhaps their control system is a little on the simplistic side. It seems to just update roll and pitch based on the current movement and facing of the helicopter, without making use of visual information or other sensors. I'm not too familiar with flight control, but using a neural network for that seems like overkill. When in fully-autonomous mode, I wonder if they make use of sensors for crash-avoidance at all, or if they just hope that nothing's in the way of the chosen GPS coordinates.

Assuming they haven't done so already, it would be rather neat to load some range-finding sensors on the helicopter and have it automatically avoid nearby obstacles; the basic algorithms should be fairly straightforward.

Another idea is to allow the robot to visually track a point of laser light, potentially allowing somebody to control the robot with a designated laser. The military application of this is pretty obvious: You could quickly point a laser wherever the people shooting at you are hiding, so that the robot knows what area to scope out. A laser could also be used to trace out a patrol route for the robot, so that a user doesn't have to deal with typing in cumbersome GPS coordinates.

As for civilian applications, the AutoCopter with a stabilized camera might be useful for filming video. One could imagine a system of two designated laser pointers, one for each hand. One pointer would designate a spot for the robot to hover over, while another pointer would indicate where the robot should direct its camera. Of course, one could alternatively just hire a dedicated RC operator, so perhaps this would be of limited usefulness.

A couple of weeks ago I tried to submit the following story to slashdot, without any luck. I think it's fairly related to the current topic, and has a rather interesting video showing the helicopter firing its rapid-fire shotgun:

A small company called Neural Robotics has produced a robotic mini-helicopter armed with a rapid-fire shotgun. Based on their off-the-shelf AutoCopter, the UAV uses neural network-based flight control algorithms to fly in either a self-stabilizing semi-autonomous mode controlled by a remote operator, or a fully-autonomous mode which can follow GPS waypoints. A video of the AutoCopter Gunship is available.

Stepping aside the ethical issues of replacing soldiers with flying shotgun-wielding robots for the moment, their "neural network-based" flight control system seemed like an interesting technical accomplishment. This PDF briefing has a few details.

Taking a look at page 14 of their PDF though, perhaps their control system is a little on the simplistic side. It seems to just update roll and pitch based on the current movement and facing of the helicopter, without making use of visual information or other sensors. I'm not too familiar with flight control, but using a neural network for that seems like overkill. When in fully-autonomous mode, I wonder if they make use of sensors for crash-avoidance at all, or if they just hope that nothing's in the way of the chosen GPS coordinates.

Assuming they haven't done so already, it would be rather neat to load some range-finding sensors on the helicopter and have it automatically avoid nearby obstacles; the basic algorithms should be fairly straightforward.

Another idea is to allow the robot to visually track a point of laser light, potentially allowing somebody to control the robot with a designated laser. The military application of this is pretty obvious: You could quickly point a laser wherever the people shooting at you are hiding, so that the robot knows what area to scope out. A laser could also be used to trace out a patrol route for the robot, so that a user doesn't have to deal with typing in cumbersome GPS coordinates.

As for civilian applications, the AutoCopter with a stabilized camera might be useful for filming video. One could imagine a system of two designated laser pointers, one for each hand. One pointer would designate a spot for the robot to hover over, while another pointer would indicate where the robot should direct its camera. Of course, one could alternatively just hire a dedicated RC operator, so perhaps this would be of limited usefulness.

Old news. Granted, the 7.62mm SAW is a nice touch. These armed 'bots are remote controlled, like bomb-squad robots used by sherriff's departments all over the country. And yes, the bomb squad bots are armed: usually a single-shot 12-gauge.

These bots can be programmed to follow a sequence, and self-stabilize. And they FLY. Full-auto 12-guage.

I've seen pictures of South Korean automated sentry guns, armed w/ a 7.62 SAW, deplyed in Iraq. If I can find them, I'll post them. Supposedly, like the Phalanx, minimal user interaction is involved during "watch."

Plastic guns? Do you have any examples? I am rather curious
Normally when someone says that I always think of Die Hard 2 and snicker.

You need to quit getting your firearm information from movies.

Try Glocks, Smith & Wesson, or the HK USP. Disassembled with the components spread out amongst carry-ons, these weapons have plenty of opportunities to get on board.

I understand your plight. DefenseReview wrote about competition to UnderArmor lately. You still have to read the other company's homepage but this is a good direction: http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News &file=article&sid=710

Well, I think you're right--all of a sudden you'd have millions of pissed off gamers taking a quick glance at their PC, then looking again, and thinking, "hmm, maybe America's Army isn't such a bad bet after all."

All the army guys would have to do then is promise the XBOX Live outage victims that they could play with something like this, or this, or these or even better, one of these

Conveniently leave out the part about pushups and getting yelled/shot at and you'd have hordes of HALO fanatics breaking down your doors to come join up. So hey, Al Qaeda, if you're reading this, better leave XBOX Live alone!

True, training can overcome any inherant problems an operator would have with any particular safety system.

OTOH, a simpler safety system makes training easier and therefore can make better operators ( all things being equal ).

Note, for instance, what USMC SPECOPS types like in a .45:

http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=News &file=article&sid=374

The Ultimate Defense Band: Turn Your Wristwatch into a Defensive Weapon
Posted on Friday, March 19 @ 13:59:58 PST
by David Crane

It's pretty much common knowledge that we're primarily gun guys here at DefRev. However, this one's a nifty little item. It was just brought to our attention by Chuck Habermehl. Chuck runs Close Quarters Battle (CQB), Inc. (the name is self explanatory), and he is an expert in both armed and unarmed (hand-to-hand/hand-to-weapon) combat.

"The Ultimate Defense Band", made by Attitude Athletic Apparel, "is based on the (now ubiquitous) Sleeve Choke", a popular Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submission technique. According to the company, the Ultimate Defense Band "will allow you to secure your attacker in no time without using excessive or lethal force".

By the way, Mr. Habermehl pretty much raved about this item. He believes that every street cop, SWAT operator, and military Special Operator should have one of these on their wrist, once they are trained in the appropriate submission choking techniques.

Price on The Ultimate Defense Band is $19.95 US + shipping.

If you're interested in acquiring The Ultimate Defense Band, you can order one by calling 866-667-6923 (toll free) or 310-325-6333. You can also reach Attitude Athletic Apparel via email at sales@attitudeapparel.com.

The robots are being readied at a secret underground facility. However, we're still in contract negotiations with the Japanese Self-Defense Force for an exchange program to train big-eyed schoolgirls with blue hair to fly them.

US space warfare giant robot command staff are currently being equipped with billowing trenchcoats, small round mirrored glasses, and training in issuing curt commands with a gruff voice, in order to be able to properly coordinate giant robot space defense activity.

In addition, space war giant robot deployment is currently hampered by the fact that Warner Brothers "borrowed" the only working giant robot rail gun laser rifle prototype to make Eraser, and have not returned the US space awr giant robot secret development lab staff's phone calls asking them to return it.

A second giant space war robot laser rifle design was realized, it was thought, in time for giant robot reaction to the new commie Chinese space menace, but plans were shelved when suspicions arose that the new prototype was mistakenly sold as surplus and is currently being used as a backup power generator for the town of Provo, Utah. A third prototype could not be built, as the remaining supplies of Polonium-210, which powers the device, appear to have been accidentally taken home by an employee of the power plant supplying the isotope. Authorities are requesting information on an overweight balding man with yellow skin, who was last seen carrying a donut.

In short, my fellow citizens, we are doomed. The red menace has put a man into space. Our Asiatic foes are well on their way to winning the race to provide effective space-based Chinese food delivery. We _must_ increase funding to the United States Giant Space War Robot Defense Agency, or risk a national catastrophy.

The robots are being readied at a secret underground facility. However, we're still in contract negotiations with the Japanese Self-Defense Force for an exchange program to train big-eyed schoolgirls with blue hair to fly them.

US space warfare giant robot command staff are currently being equipped with billowing trenchcoats, small round mirrored glasses, and training in issuing curt commands with a gruff voice, in order to be able to properly coordinate giant robot space defense activity.

In addition, space war giant robot deployment is currently hampered by the fact that Warner Brothers "borrowed" the only working giant robot rail gun laser rifle prototype to make Eraser, and have not returned the US space awr giant robot secret development lab staff's phone calls asking them to return it.

A second giant space war robot laser rifle design was realized, it was thought, in time for giant robot reaction to the new commie Chinese space menace, but plans were shelved when suspicions arose that the new prototype was mistakenly sold as surplus and is currently being used as a backup power generator for the town of Provo, Utah. A third prototype could not be built, as the remaining supplies of Polonium-210, which powers the device, appear to have been accidentally taken home by an employee of the power plant supplying the isotope. Authorities are requesting information on an overweight balding man with yellow skin, who was last seen carrying a donut.

In short, my fellow citizens, we are doomed. The red menace has put a man into space. Our Asiatic foes are well on their way to winning the race to provide effective space-based Chinese food delivery. We _must_ increase funding to the United States Giant Space War Robot Defense Agency, or risk a national catastrophy.

- Laser weapons. Sure, but they don't make Moog sounds when used, and are more useful for guidance than payload.

Actually, slashdot did have an article a while ago about a laser rifle here. The design calls for a Polonium-210 power cell that would allow the unit 60 days of effective operation. Of course, with all things too good to be true (if you can call it that) it probably is.

I tend to view it this way... how bad will it be when an enemy has the same weapon.

Not a problem! According to the submission it's * A System That is Tactically Superior To All Future Weapon Systems Potential US/NATO Adversaries Will Ever Consider Developing, Derived Solely From US Research/Technology.

You see, the evildoers won't even consider developing one. I'm guessing it's made with pork products or something.

The document submitted to the govt. is dated 7/2/1999 Link to pdf of doc