Darpa Armors Up
It worked for robot driving. So maybe a little competition will scare up some new ideas on how to armor up Humvees, too.
That seems to be the thinking over at Pentagon fringe science arm Darpa. Its Grand Challenge -- the $25 million, all-robot race across the Mojave -- inspired some very smart people to come up with some very smart new ways for machines to manuever on their own. Along the way, the race inspired reporters to give the agency the best press its had in years.
So, not surprisingly, Darpa is rolling out a second competition: the "Armor Challenge." The agency is hoping that a series of "shoot-outs" will prompt someone to figure out how to create a defensive system that's twice as light as rolled homogeneous armor steel, but still just as good at stopping 7.62mm and .50 cal rounds.
Proposers should expect to deliver three (3) eighteen inch (18 in.) by eighteen inch (18 in.) panels for each threat to be addressed. It is acceptable to propose a different panel configuration or weight to address each threat, but armor systems that can provide protection against the range of threats using a single configuration will be evaluated more favorably...
Armor Challenge “shoot-outs” will take place periodically (approximately quarterly) throughout the program... After the shoot-out, the team's performance will be evaluated in two areas: 1) potential for reducing armor weight as determined by appropriate metrics, and 2) the expected cost of the armor in production quantities.
Maybe one day, the government hopes, the software and engineering behind the Grand Challenge can be used to create robotic trucks, so flesh-and-blood convoy drivers can be kept out of harm's way. The Armor Challenge, on the other hand, is meant for more pressing needs. Insurgents are getting increasingly wise about tearing through American armor. That problem could be compunded in the coming years, as the Army moves to vehicles that are much, much lighter than the current crop. The replacement for the 70-ton Abrams tank, for example, is supposed to weigh in at only 24 tons. And a big chunk of that weight reduction is supposed to come with lighter, tougher armor.
Post a comment
Replica A Lange & Sohne
Replica Accutron
Replica Audemars Piguet
Replica Baume & Mercier
Replica Bell & Ross
Replica Breitling
Replica Bvlgari
Replica Cartier
Replica Chanel
Replica Chopard
Replica Christian Bernard
Replica Christian Dior
Replica Citizen
Replica Coach
Replica Concord
Replica Corum
Replica D&G
Replica DKNY
Replica Ebel
Replica ESQ
Replica Fendi
Replica Fila
Replica Franck Muller
Replica Girard Perregaux
Replica Givenchy
Replica Gucci
Replica Guess
Replica Hamilton
Replica Haurex
Replica Invicta
Replica IWC
Replica Jacob & Co
Replica Jacques Lemans
Replica Jaeger LeCoultre
Replica Levis
Replica Longines
Replica Mont Blanc
Replica Movado
Replica Omega
Replica Orient
Replica Oris
Replica Panerai
Replica Patek Philippe
Replica Piaget
Replica Rado
Replica Rolex
Replica Sector
Replica Seiko
Replica Skagen
Replica Swatch
Replica Swiss
Replica Swiss Army Victorinox
Replica Tag Heuer
Replica Technomarine
Replica Timberland
Replica Tissot
Replica Ulysse Nardin
Replica Vacheron Constantin
Replica Wenger
Replica Wittnauer
Replica Zenith
Replica Zodiac ecommerce
open source
shop
online shopping
Rolex Sports watches
Rolex Datejusts watches
A Lange & Sohne watches
Aigner watches
Alain Silberstein watches
Audemars Piguet watches
Bell & Ross watches
Breguet watches
Breitling watches
Bvlgari watches
Cartier watches
Chanel watches
Chopard watches
Concord watches
Corum watches
Dior watches
Dolce & Gabbana watches
Ebel watches
Emporio Armani watches
Glashutte watches
Gucci watches
Hermes Watches
IWC watches
Jacob & Co watches
Jaeger LeCoultre watches
Longines watches
Louis Vuitton watches
Mont Blanc watches
Movado watches
Omega watches
Oris watches
Panerai watches
Patek Philippe watches
Philip Stein watches
Porsche Design watches
Rado watches Roger
Roger Dubuis watches
Sarcar watches
Tag Heuer watches
Technomarine watches
Vacheron Constantin watches
Zenith watches ecommerce
open source
shop
online shopping
Posted by: wristwatchesadminstrator at April 17, 2009 02:30 AM