boomerang

Can Super Mario 3D Land save the 3DS?

It's no secret that the Nintendo 3DS has suffered from a dearth of compelling software to play on its unique 3D glasses-less screen. While we were shocked to see the system debut without the company's leading plumber, Nintendo calmed gamers' fears with the announcement of Super Mario 3D Land at this past summer's E3 2011 expo.

Just in time for the holiday season, Mario is back in his first-ever portable 3D adventure. He's got an enormous gaming void to fill, so how does the latest game stack up?… Read more

Working to make combat soldiers' lives easier

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--In combat, things can be so chaotic and loud that soldiers sometimes aren't even aware they're being shot at.

But thanks to technology from the company that is often credited with inventing the Internet, thousands of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are now able to rely on an automatic system that not only alerts them--in a very loud, urgent voice--that shots are being fired but also gives them an almost instant notification of where the shots are coming from.

This is Boomerang, a vehicle-mounted mobile acoustic shot detection system first developed by BBN Technologies in … Read more

CROSSHAIRS to protect vehicles against bullets, RPGs

DARPA has ordered a new system that could make taking a shot at the U.S. military's 38-ton sitting ducks just a little more problematic.

CROSSHAIRS (Counter Rocket-Propelled Grenade and Shooter System with Highly Accurate Immediate Responses) is a modular, vehicle-mounted, threat detection and countermeasure system that locates and engages enemy shooters. It will take on bullets, rocket propelled grenades (RPG), Anti-Tank Guided Missiles and even direct fired mortars, whether on-the-move or sitting still, according to DARPA.

The sole source $8 million contract went to Mustang Technology Group to integrate and test the system on the massive MRAP (Mine … Read more

Fuel efficient spy drone for sale

While the U.S. military has several incarnations of airplane drones running on various alternative fuel sources, it's not something the average person, or even company, can go out and buy.

That might be changing.

BlueBird Aero Systems and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies announced Thursday that they've co-developed the Boomerang, the "world's first commercial fuel cell Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)."

So far the Boomerang only seems to have flight approval for Israel, but it's about to be unveiled next week at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference in Washington, D.C., which … Read more