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While the US military continues to develop new and awesome ways of blowing aerial drones to smithereens, not many of these systems can easily be adapted to use in the civilian realm. That's why Battelle has developed the DroneDefender, a shoulder-mounted rifle that knocks UAVs offline with a barrage of radio waves.
"It can help us in numerous settings, from the White House lawn to bases and embassies overseas; from prisons and schools to historic sites,"Alex Morrow, technical director on the project, said in a statement. "It easily and reliably neutralizes the threat." The weapon weighs roughly 10 pounds and can target drones up to 400 meters away. When the trigger is pulled, the gun emits a blast of electromagnetic energy tuned to the most common GPS and ISM frequencies, safely disabling the drone and preventing it from accepting any additional commands from its operator. This is especially helpful if the drone is equipped with an improvised explosive device.
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You've probably read an article or two about the negative effects of staring at a screen before going to bed (hell, you've probably read one of them while in bed). But, a study recently published in Current Biology finds that we may be blaming our illuminated robots for no reason. Poor robots. Many "screens are bad for sleep" stories carry the assumption that before electricity, smartphones and laptops, people slept longer -- but it's difficult to pin down how long our ancestors spent in dream-land, The Economist says. To tackle this issue, two researchers observed three groups living pre-industrial lives: the Hadza of northern Tanzania, the Ju/'hoansi San of South Africa's Kalahari Desert and the Tsimané in Bolivia. After 1,165 days collecting data, researchers found the average sleep time among these groups was 6.5 hours a night. In industrial societies, the average is 7.5 hours per night, The Economist writes. So, scroll away, sleepy readers. Until the next study, at least. The Economist
EngadgetRemember when the best way to make your gadget look more futuristic and all-powerful was to make it clear? Reddit user Skarface08 does. That's why he or she took a heat gun and suction cup to the back of a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 to pull its glass back off and then used a razor to remove the colored inside. Boom: clear glass view into the internals of your phone. Of course, this will absolutely void the warranty of your expensive device, so think twice (or three times even) before taking this on yourself. I certainly don't have the steady hands likely needed to make this viable -- but if you do, more power to you. [Image credit: Skarface08/Reddit ] Reddit
EngadgetThe Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, one of America's premiere scientific research centers, was reportedly hacked last June by unidentified forces operating in China. According to a staff letter sent by WHOI President and Director Mark Abbott this week, the institute has so far found that only emails and commercial data have been tampered with. While the WHOI does a lot of classified research for the US Navy, an institute spokesman points out that sensitive data is stored on a network separate from the one that was attacked. "The attack was similar to those that have been experienced by many federal agencies, defense contractors and other businesses developing advanced technologies. The investigation of the attack is ongoing, however, the investigation indicates the intent was not to obtain financial or personal identity information," Abbott's letter read. This hack comes after the US threatened sanctions against China over the Asian nation's repeated intrusions and cyber attacks against American corporations, universities and government agencies. Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to curtail such activities during his recent state visit and the Chinese government has even begun assisting in US investigations against its hackers. However, China has been pushing hard in recent years to increase its status as a maritime power -- going so far as to build its own islands in the South China Sea. Should this attack be shown to have originated from the Chinese government itself (or, at least, state-sponsored hackers), the diplomatic fallout could be enormous. But before the US government goes pointing fingers, we'll first have to wait for the WHOI's internal investigation, which is being conducted by cybersecurity firm Mandiant, to run its course. NBC News
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