Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Cylogic Smart Avenger Runaway Project
Cylogic Aerospace announced last week in a press release that it was in the process of designing the Avenger missile, a "human guided, on the fly, target acquisition system."
The intent seems to be that an in-flight missile couild be directed by an operator at a particular target. If the intent is to use the Avenger missile in urban environments, it will need to be able to make some quick turns. From the press release and the sparse website, it appears that this company is in the very earliest stages of development.
I'm wondering if the creators of this system might have been watching Michael Crichton's 1985 film Runaway. The movie's villain (played with great panache by Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS) has a gun that programs and fires smart bullets. The "smart bullet" is really a miniature missile with remarkable guidance capabilities.
This unit will be able to track targets, follow them in an urban or hostile terrain, and selectively eliminate perceived threats. Target acquisition and identification will be realized utilizing a series of ultra high-speed digital cameras (open aperture, ``OA'' Technology) and infrared sensors mounted in the missile's nose section. The information, fed over a secure wireless network, is transposed in real time to the operator's visor, and modified to allow faster than normal neural processing by the operator. Direction control and target options will be handled by Cyberhand's Viper controllers built into the Empath Fire Control Center.
(From Cylogic Aerospace)
(Runaway Smart bullet in the lab)
It actually has fuel propellent; it can change course and follow its selected human target around corners and through pipes.
Read and see more details on the Smart bullet from Runaway. Read about the cylogic aerospace Avenger; found this one on robot gossip.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/2/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Weapon ")
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.' - Neal Stephenson, 1995.
Has Turkey Been Stealing Rain From Iran?
Can one country take another's rain?
We Need To Build Anti-Drone Systems For Civilian Spaces
'the real border was defended by ...a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats...' - Neal Stephenson, 1995.
Bullet Steers Itself! The Advanced Low-Cost Munitions Ordnance ALaMO
'You've heard of a bullet that has your name on it.' - Michael Crichton, 1985.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
