Society of Robots - Robot Forum
General Misc => Misc => Topic started by: Admin on March 06, 2010, 10:53:35 PM
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30 of them:
http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2010-02/gallery-future-drones (http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2010-02/gallery-future-drones)
highlights . . .
The successor to the Reaper (the successor of the Predator), the Avenger:
(http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/photogallery_image/articles/11_avenger.jpg)
Especially interesting:
Future: Boeing HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) Concept
Habitat: 65,000 feet above future battlefields, where it will provide 24/7 surveillance and data communication Notable Feature: The plane stays up for 10 days, powered by a Ford truck engine modified to run on hydrogen fuel.
(http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/photogallery_image/articles/24-HALE.jpg)
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Do you have to be logged in or something, the link doesn't lead to anything for me...
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while we're on the subject of UAVs,
check this hilarious article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126102247889095011.html (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126102247889095011.html)
military strategists have understood the importance of cryptography for over 2000 years and yet the US military is running their UAVs with unencrypted video.
the irony is that both sides of a conflict are using the same weapon for the same purpose at the same time.
while it sounds at face value like an oversight video encryption was a solved and relatively inexpensive technical challenge in the early 90s when the current UAV platforms were being developed. it was obviously done on purpose.
the fact this choice was made highlights the difficulties of reliably and securely distributing encryption keys so it was decided these systems would be more effective if run unencrypted.
i am surprised though that they don't already have an encrypt-able option even if it is not used as standard.
dunk.