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Military Tech for Daily Life
PreacherTom writes "It is nothing new to see technology from military and governmental endeavors change daily life profoundly. One only has to look at the fruits of the space program (from computers to microwave ovens to Tang). New military gear is on the horizon that promises to do the same, including biosensors, bandages that clot blood using soundwaves, and the ubiquitous Swiss Army Pen."
The obvious examples are the internet, GPS devices, super-glue, etc... (Incidentally, speaking of super-glue, it works very well for what the military originally had in mind for it, which is closing wounds: next time you have a bad cut, try it, it works wonders.)
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
The "Powered Exoskeleton: The real bionic man" entry brought to you by none other than Robert A. Heinlein, the inventor of the Waldo, the waterbed and I don't know what else...
The main thing that was missing from Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers was the powered exoskeletons, courtesy R.A.H., circa 1959. Not that I didn't adore the "Doogie Howser, S.S.", "Klendathu 90210" aspects of the film, but the only really good example of the notion we've had in film is Ripley's "Get away from her, you bitch!" from Aliens.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
"One only has to look at the fruits of the space program (from computers to microwave ovens to Tang)."
Presumably the author refers the the tube in a microwave oven called a magnetron. If so, then this was developed in World War II for use in radars. Incidentally, the invention of the transistor was a direct follow-on to WWII efforts to build crystal detectors. See the book, "The Invention that Changed the World" by Robert Buderi, a history of the development and aftermath of the invention of radar. It is said that the atomic bomb ended the war but radar won the war.
I searched "powered exoskeleton" on YouTube and found this project from Berkley. I guess, if this is what the article was talking about, then the device would serve as more of a weight supporter than a strengthening tool. It also seems a bit too sluggish to execute a rapid maneuver like jumping, despite the BBC article in TFA claiming higher leaps is a goal. Would it end up hindering a troop in combat, considering the rapidity needed to move in today's guerrilla and urban warfare?
On the other hand, the video shows the man wearing a huge backpack. As a backpacker myself, I know that the best way to carry the weight is on your hips, so that your leg muscles bear the load. This exoskeleton seems well fit for bearing that load; the man in the video looks like he is hardly straining.
The technology looks like it may be ready for work on bases, but is hardly ready for the front line. The BBC article points out more limitations.
I decided to stop stealing cynical quotes to use as a signature line.
Not that expensive compared with bleeding out. I'd gladly pay a few 100 bucks to live but fortunately it's not that expensive. Check out the prices on QuickClot at: http://www.z-medica.com/ordering/ordering.asp
Several of these technologies are part of the FCS (future combat system) including the soldier of the future - Landwarrior program. However the government has just cut this program. You can read more about it -- and all of the future medical devices lost in the shuffle-- here: http://docinthemachine.com/2006/12/08/army-axing-h igh-tech-soldier-of-tomorrow-medtech-losses-predic ted/
This is mostly true. Wartime needs for cryptography, ballistics table calculations, and early hydrogen bomb design drove the earliest computers. The space program did have a lot to do with early miniaturization attempts though; the Apollo program sucked much of the world's supply of integrated circuits in its early years.
Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
My EMS agency allowed us a trial run of the QuikClot, and you're right. It's amazing, especially on oozing wounds. The other device to come from the military is the Asherman Chest Seal, which is a one way valve with a large sticky surface for sucking chest wounds.
"Slapping lipstick on a pig does NOT make it Natalie Portman. Paris Hilton, maybe, but not Portman." - UncleTogie
Magnetrons were invented before the 2nd world war and perfected during the war by the Brits for use in Radar. No space program back then - not on this planet anyway.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Only the cheaply made ones are pieces of crap. I had a well made Vic that I used heavily for years. They made them to be useful instead of having a bunch of things on it (mine only had a blade, small and large screw drivers, punch, can opener, and bottle opener).
As a general rule, your best bets in my experience for swiss army knives are Victrinox and Gerber.
Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Personnel still get most of the money.
"The nearly $440 billion defense budget contains $110.8 billion for military personnel, including a modest 2.2 percent pay increase, as well as $84.2 billion for weapons systems and $73.2 billion for research and development."
Considering how little soldiers get paid (starting at $1,204 per month), and how much engineers get paid (~$3,500 per month starting), you start wondering who the Defense Department's priorities are...
http://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
There is so much argument about whether the civilian pay-off from military research makes sense. Here is a bit of research on the medical end and some reasons why private industry does not take the risks DARPA does. http://docinthemachine.com/2006/12/21/darpamedtech /
"Slapping lipstick on a pig does NOT make it Natalie Portman. Paris Hilton, maybe, but not Portman." - UncleTogie
Yes, three of them. (You could just check the wikipedia article about him when you're already in there.)