Radiation Robot Makes Troops Safer 134
Darkman, Walkin Dude wrote to mention a plucky little radiation-proof robot working to make life easier for folks in the military. From the article: "By this time an hour and a half had gone by, and the team was temporarily out of ideas. Phil had estimated that the robot could remain ambulatory in the radiation field for only 50 minutes, and in fact the robot's lower portion was no longer responding to commands. The RAP team, as a precaution against this very circumstance, working with White Sands personnel had tied a rope to M2 before sending it into the work area. The rope, attached to a RAP team winch 100 feet outside the structure, ensured the robot could be hauled out if radiation damaged its drive unit. But radiation shields now blocked a direct haul. M2 was hemmed in. Using a ten-foot-long pole and standing at the edge of the field (which fanned out like a flashlight beam, strongest at its center and weakest at its edges), team members hooked and then tugged at the rope hauling M2. The deflection of the rope's pull slid the robot around a moveable radiation shield without knocking it over. The RAP team's winch then pulled the robot directly out. "
Could Someone Please Explain This? (Score:3, Interesting)
Nuclear Power (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Could Someone Please Explain This? (Score:4, Interesting)
"There are many different types of radiation effects, many of which cause both mechanical and electrical degradation. Mechanical defects consist of ones that cause properties of materials to be altered. For instance, such defects could alter the mechanical, optical, thermal and electrical properties of metals. Electrical degradation would physically occur during operation. Due to the accumulation of alpha particles, bits can be flipped during operation and cause system failure"
There's more in-depth info out there, but most of the detailed stuff I was trying to access requires memberships in consortiums etc. I was a little surprised by the bitflipping.
I hate reading about stuff like this (Score:1, Interesting)
Seriously, a military humvee looks like something an 8 year old built with an erector set. It's definately not where I'd want to be when an IED goes off. A real military vehicle would be armored. A real military vehicle would have the seats (except for the driver's) facing outward--so you can shoot at the bad guys.
The government just wastes our tax money handing out big contracts to corrupt businesses. Then, they go to the media with stuff like this to try and convince us otherwise.
Re:I hate reading about stuff like this (Score:2, Interesting)
News flash.
The Humvee is not intended for use as an APC or any sort of fighting vehicle. The Humvee is intended as replacement for the Jeep. It is not intended to be fought out of, it is intended as transport. If someone shoots at you while you are in it you may shoot back as you drive off but regarding it as a portable foxhole is foolish at best, utterly suicidal at worst.
The fact that it is enclosed may be what is leading to the current misuse of the vehicle.
If it was produced as a roofless vehicle then perhaps it would be more obvious that it is intended for use as transport only.
Re:I hate reading about stuff like this (Score:4, Interesting)
We have these [defense-update.com] armored IED hunting vehicles. They save lives. And I guess things have changed in the HMMWV department too: ours have been up-armored. I don't want to down play your experience here in Iraq, but things are getting better everywhere, every day.
-t
Re:The RAP team (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I hate reading about stuff like this (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Could Someone Please Explain This? (Score:3, Interesting)
They flew some off the shelf (non radiation hardened) FPGAs on the FedSAT-1 spacecraft.
I was involved with a different (GPS) payload, but i believe the HPCE payload was able to successfully self-diagnose and correct single gate errors on the chip. (http://www.crcss.qut.edu.au/comp/hpce.pdf [qut.edu.au])
Really? I was thinking of I,Robot... (Score:2, Interesting)