soldiers

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is developing a new system to help military personnel perform complex tasks. Perceptually-enabled Task Guidance (PTG) technology uses sensors to see and hear what the user sees and hears, guiding them through AI-produced instructions displayed in augmented reality (AR). PTG combines sensors (a microphone and head-mounted camera) with AI and AR headsets to integrate into the user’s environment. The idea is to help soldiers and other military personnel enhance their skills,…

The Aughts were a pretty busy time for Grant Morrison in the DC Universe. Even with an excursion over to Marvel in the early part of the decade. They finished their epic run on JLA with Howard Porter, kicked off a lengthy tenure that changed the landscape of the Batman office, and helped build a foundation for a number of events and characters. The most ambitious of those latter efforts may well have been the patchwork crossover series under the Seven Soldiers banner, that took the old moniker and a handful of existing…

Illustration of bacteriophage viruses attacking bacterium.Scientists harness bacteria-eating viruses to create a powerful new weapon against contamination and infection.Researchers have developed a way to coax bacteriophages – harmless viruses that eat bacteria – into linking together and forming microscopic beads. Those beads can safely be applied to food and other materials to rid them of harmful pathogens such as E. coli O157. Each bead is about 20 microns, (one 50th of a millimeter) in diameter and is loaded with…

Local authorities in China's Henan province are urging retired soldiers and government workers to take on stints at Foxconn's iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.The plant, the world's largest iPhone manufacturing facility, has been hit by discontent over government mandated measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, which required the company to isolate many workers but also prompted many others to flee in recent weeks. The calls to retired workers have come from…

If you think of robots in the military, your mind may conjure of science-fiction battlefields with AI-powered machines trading laser fire. But in a much more humane application, UK researchers are developing a potentially lifesaving medical system equivalent to a VR triage video call. University of Sheffield researchers are to treat military personnel during combat. The plan is for offsite medics to don virtual reality headsets and control a battlefield robot. The machine can take the patient's vitals with the same…

Photo: Courtney Bacon, PEO Soldier Public AffairsU.S. soldiers are experiencing one of mixed reality’s oldest, pervasive problems. Simply put, their Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality headsets make them want to puke.Soldiers testing out the recently procured devices reportedly experienced nausea, headaches, eye strain, and other “mission-affecting physical impairments” according to summaries of an internal Army report seen by Insider and Bloomberg. Though officials still stand by the technology, the stomach churning…

Microsoft’s augmented reality Hololens goggles are getting a rough ride in tests by the US Army, according to internal military evaluations seen by Bloomberg and Insider. Soldiers testing the headsets have complained about their “mission-affecting physical impairments,” and say that wearing the goggles can cause headaches, nausea, and eyestrain. Acceptance of the tech “remains low,” says a summary prepared for Army and Defense Department officials and seen by Bloomberg, with soldiers complaining that the headsets don’t…

Once a festival fixture, Catalan writer-director Isabel Coixet’s latest presents as a post-Brexit olive branch, reminding us Brits that unspoilt sea, sand and self-improvement is only ever a few rebuilt bridges away. Yet it progresses with such eccentricity it seems unlikely to reverse anybody’s trajectory.An especially downtrodden Timothy Spall plays Peter, wearied finance drone and keen meteorology buff whose small, palpably lonely life – measured out in nightly ginger snaps – faces redirection after his brother…

Credit: Shutterstock There's a long history and growing evidence base that the use of performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic-androgenic steroids to build muscle mass and strength is common in the armed forces, including in Australia. …

As if the tumultuous din of battle is not horrendous enough, over the ages humans have discovered plenty of ways to exploit sound in warfare. I found an astonishing variety of ancient acoustic weapons while researching my book "Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Unconventional Warfare in the Ancient World." Deploying sound in war has evolved over millennia, from natural animal sounds and music to today's advanced sonic devices.…