Lifeboat Foundation

Electric Hybrid Train Powers Up

HYPSTAIR Project Reaches Significant Milestone.

A major step towards electric powered air travel was achieved on 9th February 2016 with the power-up of the world’s most powerful hybrid electric powertrain for aviation in a project led by Pipistrel. Hybrid-electric powertrains are a new breed of aviation propulsion, which extend the range of all-electric aircraft while being environmentally friendly and quiet. The 200 kW propulsor developed during the project HYPSTAIR delivers the power equivalent to a typical general aviation piston engine and can run in three modalities: electric-only mode using batteries, generator-only mode or hybrid mode combining both power sources.

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This article is amusing on killer robots and how governments should address the threat of killer robots on a national level. On a national level if (in my case the US) we were invaded or a whole army of robots landed on the shores of Florida, NY, or CA; then yes Congress would need to approve war, etc. Which is what this article highlights. However, attacking robots will most likely not be the result of an invasion from another country; attacking robot/s will be the result of criminals; etc. that hacked/or reprogrammed the robotics.

Cartels, terrorists, etc. will pay well to have self driving cars, humanoid robots, etc. re-engineered and re-programmed for their own benefits and become a weapon against individuals and the population.

The United Nations’ effort to ban killer robots will fail, but there are three important steps the United States can take to help slow the rise of lethal autonomous weapons systems, one of the most prominent voices in the robotics debate said this week.

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If you ride a bike, motorbike, or drive an automobile, you know that from time to time you need to pump air into those tires, at least if you need to ensure an optimum ride, you do. It’s a known fact that we do get lazy and at times ignore. But there is a good news, especially for a cyclist, there could be a solution out there for you personally.

Benjamin Krempel has come up with an invention called Dubbed the PumpTube, the idea here is that the inner tube on your motorcycle’s tires will be able to self-pump, meaning that as you cycle, it’ll continuously pump air in your tires to ensure that it really never deflates and that it’ll be at the pressure that you have set.

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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Feb. 5, 2016) — Each year, the U.S. Army conducts a series of technology demonstrations known as the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiments, or AEWE. The event is the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s live, force-on-force experiment.

AEWE places technologies under development by industry and Army researchers into the hands of Soldiers for early and credible feedback from the end-user.

In January, the AEWE 2017 team selected a project submitted by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory for inclusion in its next round of experimentation: On-Demand Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS. It is one of 50 technologies slotted to participate in the experiment with 14 from government researchers and 36 from industry.

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By next year, Volvo wants to become the first manufacturer to sell cars without keys. Instead of a physical key or even a Bluetooth key fob, Volvo customers will use a “digital key” in a smartphone app to access (and share that access) to their cars.

Drivers will be able to use the app (and a Bluetooth connection) to start their car, open the trunk, mess with the security system, or — like with a key fob — simply have the car unlock as you approach it. But the biggest implications of this change could be for ride-sharing. Customers (and manufacturers) have begun entertaining new ideas about how to use cars to get around without owning them outright, and something like a digital key makes it easier for multiple people to have control over one particular vehicle. That could mean something as simple as just sharing access with your family, but Volvo will also make it work on the cars it provides to Sunfleet, a Swedish car-sharing service.

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No source of energy is perfect and one of the traditional drawbacks of solar energy has been that it’s tough to generate new power when it’s dark outside. However, SolarCity announced this week that it’s taken a big step toward fixing this problem by agreeing to use Tesla’s 52 MWh Powerpack lithium-ion battery storage system for its massive solar power project that it’s building in Hawaii for the Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC). SolarCity, of course, is chaired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk so the decision to go with the Powerpack is pretty convenient for both companies.

MUST READ: The FBI has laid a clever trap for Apple

SolarCity says it believes that its collaboration with Tesla will produce “the first utility-scale system in the U.S. to provide dispatchable solar energy, meaning that the utility can count on electricity being available when it’s needed, even hours after the sun goes down.” To be clear, using the Powerpack won’t completely eliminate the need for non-solar resources at night since it’s projected to feed up to 13 megawatts of electricity onto the grid, which will only reduce the amount of power used by non-renewable sources.

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Northrup Grumman’s new Cyber Situational Awareness (CSA), which is a set of web-based tools designed to visualize, understand, and share cyber databases being showcase at the WEST 2016 navel conference on February 17.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has announced that it will be showcasing key naval capabilities at the WEST 2016 navel conference on February 17, 2016. The corporation will unveil its full-spectrum cyber solutions, biometric defense solutions, unmanned aircraft and much more at the event. WEST 2016 is co-sponsored by AFCEA and the US Naval institute in San Diego. Northrop Grumman is a platinum sponsor of the conference, which is themed “how we make the strategy work.”

The defense contractor will be showcasing its sea serving operations and capabilities that will help the US armed forces combat challenges and difficulties more efficiently. It is also expected to display how it integrates cyber-technology into all of its defense segments. The key highlight of its cyber-suite is its Cyber Situational Awareness (CSA), which is a set of web-based tools designed to visualize, understand, and share cyber databases.

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US Navy fighting the real war that is ramping up by unpluging from certain networks. Well, that is an option; but also very limiting to “sneaker net” information file transfers. Definitely not uncommon across other areas of government.

SAN DIEGO — For the Navy, the best defense against a high-tech enemy may be a low-tech strategy.

After decades of building equipment, aircraft and ships designed to communicate with each other and back to shore, the Navy is now looking to “selectively disconnect” its systems to minimize vulnerability to cyberattacks, said Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, commander of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.

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HYDERABAD: Telangana police and Assam police nabbed an online fraudster in Guwahati on Thursday, even as the culprit tried to open fire at the police party.

A team of Cyberabad Cyber wing police had been camping in Guwahati for the last two days to nab one Vipul, wanted in a Rs 76-lakh online fraud case. He would send emails promising to get contracts in corporate companies, but after collecting money he would cheat the aspirants. The Cyberabad police party called Vipul on the pretext of some business deal to trap him. Crime wing officials and Assam police were waiting in a car for Vipul, who arrived in a Scorpio car.

However, Vipul got alert after seeing the police party and sped away from the location. On seeing the culprit slipping from the location, police chased his car.

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