Science fiction becomes reality
It is hardly possible to find a man who has never watched James Bond films. Surely everyone remembers all sorts of devices that helped the agent in his espionage missions. So, their inventor, known as Q exists in reality. More precisely, the whole organization - the agency DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - Management of promising research programs in the field of defense. This organization is funded so well that it can try to implement any, even the most fantastic project.
If you have not heard about this organization, it is simply impossible to not hear about some of its developments. It is DARPA that has been responsible for the emergence of a large number of the best, such as the Internet, and the worst, the toxic substance "Orange" technology in the past fifty years. The daily work of the agency's specialists is the realization of the most incredible projects. And there are practically no restrictions on their activities, so they can afford to go far beyond the thinking of other people.
1. Spy planes and other nano-birds
In order for the plane to fly unnoticed over a certain territory, you can fly extremely fast and extremely high, or come up with something fundamentally new. DAPRA Agency is developing in both directions at once.
Already acquired fame hypersonic aircraft FALKON. This aircraft has the shape of a cone and is very similar to how science-fiction writers portray alien spacecraft. And he has the appropriate purpose - to fly in the open spaces of "near space". The maximum speed of this aircraft is twenty times the speed of sound and is more than twenty thousand kilometers per hour. That is, in order to get to anywhere in the world, take photos or destroy someone, FALKON will take no more than an hour.
We are developing miniature vehicles that will be able to get unnoticed anywhere. A miniature hovercraft helicopter that looks just like a toy helicopter model from a radio-controlled store. In fact, this is a remote-controlled helicopter with a built-in iPhone. Designed such a helicopter for reconnaissance and espionage.
If that doesn't surprise you, check out the new nano flying machine, which is much smaller and even more amazing. If you see a tiny bird flying near a neighbor's feeder, think about whether this creature is alive? After all, DARPA created tiny robots- hummingbirds, which over time will look like real birds. The size of such a nano-bird is no more than fifteen centimeters, and the weight is no more than thirty grams.
Check out the first test entry of this robot, which has been widely accessed.
2. And nowhere to hide from them
Spy satellites can be handy for tracking, but they are not perfect either. In order to receive photos of the object, you will have to wait for the satellite to reach the area of interest to us. If the object is hidden in the room, then there will be no sense from the satellite. And if the enemy must be monitored all the time and the data must come in real time?
DARPA can offer for this purpose several of its developments. Among them can be called a space balloon. An aircraft without a pilot, called ISIS, is designed for high-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance. Floating in the stratosphere, the balloon takes high-quality images even at night. The military can send such an aircraft anywhere in the world, which the balloon will reach in a few hours and begin to carry out its program. At the same time, balloons are self-regulating systems. Using solar energy and hydrogen fuel, they can be in the upper atmosphere for almost an eternity, no special hangars and trained personnel are needed for their maintenance. The use of such devices is economical and efficient.
Another well-known project is called CTS, which means Combat Zones That See, that is, all-seeing combat zones. Remember the movie "The Dark Knight" about Batman. In order to track down the Joker, Batman had to turn all the cell phones in Gotham into a combination of a microphone and a high-frequency generator-transmitter. Approximately on this principle, the CTS system works, only instead of cell phones it uses surveillance cameras. All municipal and private video cameras are combined into a single system. Such a system allows you to track the movement of an object from one camera to another, using a specially designed computer program. Of course, the developers say that this CTS will be used only within the combat zone to track the movement of vehicles, only this causes great doubts. Will the system not be used for total control over the citizens of their own state ...
Do not hide from the observation and the stone walls. The HIBR project, Harnessing Infrastructure for Building Reconnaissance, in translation The Transformation Infrastructure for Building Inspection, is specifically designed to monitor what is happening inside buildings. This program is a system of radio signals and sonars and provides an opportunity to receive the results of surveillance in real time. Let us recall once more the Dark Knight, something similar was used there.
If there is a paranoid desire to escape from any observation in an underground bunker, you will not be able to relax there. Agency DARPA has developed another project, the purpose of which is to detect tunnels and underground bunkers. The sensor system, called GATE, Gravity Anomaly for Tunnel Exposure, is a gravitational anomaly for detecting tunnels, is installed on board an aircraft, with a low altitude it is possible to measure slight changes in gravity, on the basis of which the system provides information about the underground environment.
3. Shells aiming at the end
Almost all computer shooters have a variety weapons, producing smart projectiles that pursue a specified goal wherever it goes. In reality, this technology was developed by the same DARPA agency, and it is called the anti-tank Javelin missile system. The purpose of using the complex is to destroy armored vehicles, bunkers, other protected objects, as well as aircraft at low speed at low altitude, such as helicopters.
Real video, not a computer video showing the destruction tank using the Javelin system can be seen below. The tank is located at a distance of 65 meters. The first frames show the launch of the projectile and the explosion of the tank, after which they will show individual frames before and after the explosion.
Another explosive development is MAHEM, Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition, that is, a Magnetohydrodynamic explosive device.
The idea of such a weapon was borrowed in the novel “Earthly Light”, which was written by Arthur Clark back in 1955 year. Clark describes a device that can send a jet of molten metal into space at a speed of several hundred kilometers per second, using the most powerful electromagnets. The created system also strikes targets with a stream of molten metal, pushed out by a powerful electromagnetic field. Such a projectile easily penetrates the protection of any bunker, building or vehicle.
4. Superarmy
Any crazy idea of Hollywood or a science fiction author in the field of war or weapons can be the beginning of DARPA development. From the film “Alien” and the game Crysis, the agency brought out the idea of an exoskeleton, which it began to implement ten years ago, in collaboration with Sarcos, which now bears the name of Raytheon. This device is worn on a person, whose strength is greatly increased due to the external frame. The exoskeleton completely duplicates the biomechanics of the carrier and proportionally increases the result of its efforts during movement.
The XOS2 exoskeleton model increases a person's 17 force by a factor, which makes it possible to lift loads weighing hundreds of kilograms a huge number of times, while the person wearing the exoskeleton almost never gets tired. The only difficulty - the severity of the charging batteries, will be eliminated with the advent of the wireless model.
In a video filmed in September 2010, Hollywood actor Clark Gregg (agent Phil Colson in Iron Man) tried on the XOS2 super costume in the Sarcos lab in Salt Lake City. See the video below.
The exoskeleton is not the only development that allows to increase the physical abilities of a person. The Z-Man technology, based on the ability of some species of animals to crawl on vertical surfaces, allows you to climb steep walls and humans.
The adhesion to the wall is done with tiny hairs and a special sticky substance. Documents confirm that the project was being tested, during which soldiers climbed the walls to a height of eight meters and dragged over a hundred kilograms of equipment with them.
5. Not one hour will fall asleep at the post
Even if the soldiers are armed with the best weapons, means of observation and incredible equipment, they continue to be just people who tend to get tired and lose concentration. DARPA is looking for a way to fix this. Experiments are underway on the response of the brain to various chemicals and drugs. Large funds invested in the project of creating ultrasonic stimulation devices. It is assumed that when exposed to the brain, this device will relieve stress from the soldier on the battlefield and increase concentration when you need to do without sleep. The invention is based on deep brain stimulation, which is used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. And it is planned to place the device directly in the soldiers' helmets.
The most sensational invention is Orexin-A, nasal drops, the use of which will allow a person to feel completely rested, even if he hasn’t slept for the past 24 hours.
The name of the drug comes from the name of the brain hormone orexin, which is responsible for the concentration of attention and makes people feel rested. Suffering from narcolepsy is not enough of this hormone, so they are able to fall asleep at any time.
If this drug gets into wide access, it will be possible to forget about stimulants and thermoses with coffee. In this case, the creators claim that Orexin-A is not addictive. One can imagine what will begin when this drug is started to be smuggled on the streets - everyone wants to get it.
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