It is a fact universally acknowledged that a smartphone in possession of Wi-Fi must be in want of more power. Wi-Fi enables us to stay connected without cell service, sparing many a millennial the dreaded text from mom, reminding us that we’ve already used most of our data for the month. (This is usually preceded…
Watch: Soldiers Take Down UAV During Training With Anti-Drone Weapon
U.S. Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment successfully disabled a drone during a training exercise at Fort Bliss, New Mexico. The footage, captured by Sgt. Steven Hitchcock, demonstrates the Batelle’s DroneDefender, an anti-drone weapon that utilizes a non-kinetic solution to defend against unmanned aerial systems and avoid collateral damage. Anti-drone weapons are a…
See the Universe in 20 Primary Colors, Thanks to this Radio Telescope
A telescope has yielded breathtaking, technicolor images of the night sky, showing what the universe would look like if humans could see in radio waves. Since 2013, the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA (GLEAM) survey has produced a catalog of 300,000 galaxies, captured by Australia’s Murchison Widefield Array (MWA)—a $50 million radio telescope that observes…
Top Tweets: #EDICONUSA
The Electronic Design Innovation Conference, or EDI CON USA, brings together RF, microwave, EMC/EMI, and high-speed digital design engineers and system integrators for networking, training, and learning opportunities. Attendees flocked to the Hynes Convention Center in Boston from September 20th to 22nd to find solutions, products, and design ideas to put into practice for today’s…
Strange Radio Signals Have Researchers Wondering: Interstellar Anomaly or Aliens?
The RATAN-600 radio telescope in the Russian Republic of Karachay–Cherkessia has picked up an unusual signal from a star, HD164595, located about 94 light-years away from Earth in the constellation, Hercules. The international team of researchers, led by N.N. Brusilov, first detected the signal on May 15, 2015, and will present their findings at next…
When It Comes to Keeping Drones Away from the Olympics, Rio May Not Win the Gold
***Editor’s note: This blog is part of the “Drone Story of the Week” series. If you have an idea for a story, please email sarah.goncalves@advantagemedia.com*** For months, Brazilian authorities have been taking several preemptive measures to keep drones away from designated Olympic areas—such as partnering with drone manufacturers, like China-based DJI, to update their software to…
Tech Throwback: World’s First Nuclear Sub Reaches North Pole (and She’s American)
On August 3, 1958, the Nautilus—the world’s first nuclear submarine—completed its first undersea voyage to the North Pole, traveling 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap. After reaching its historic destination, it then made its way to Iceland, pioneering a new, shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe. Because the Nautilus relied…
Tech Throwback: World’s First Jet Liner Crushes Test Flight
On July 27, 1949, the British De Havilland Comet successfully completed its test-flight as the world’s first jet-propelled aircraft. The brainchild of English aircraft designer and aviation pioneer, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1883-1965), the Comet would forever change the game for the airline industry. In 1952, the British Overseas Aircraft Corporation (BOAC) initiated the world’s…
Tech Throwback: Ben Franklin, Founding Father of Wireless (and America)
Statesman, inventor, and colonial lady-killer, Benjamin Franklin, didn’t invent wireless technology, per say, but his research did pave the way for his scientific successors to do exactly that. Although it’s debatable whether or not he actually flew the kite in his proposed now-famous lightning storm experiment, his work led him to propose a new model…
Tech Throwback: Work Begins on the First Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable
On June 10, 1858, two ships set sail for the mid-Atlantic Ocean to begin work on the world’s first Transatlantic telegraph cable—a kind of symbolic linking of the “old” and “new” worlds. The system was based on Samuel Morse and his eponymous code of dots and dashes, which was already widespread in many countries, including…