ROBOTS THAT WALK, NO CIRCUITS NEEDED
Robots are increasingly vital in warfighting, disaster zones, and even space exploration, but electronics can fail in harsh environments. For example, in areas with high radiation, unless electronics are hardened (a process which generally adds significant cost and weight) they may be unusable. Scientists at UC San Diego are pursuing a different approach: 3D-printed soft robots powered by air. Using a pneumatic circuit inspired by steam engines, the robots are printed from a single material and connected to a small, compressed air tank that drives their leg actuators The robots have walked non-stop for a duration of three days, including on sand and in water. The innovation offers a pathway to rugged, low-cost machines for environments where electronics cannot survive. (NDTV, April 1, 2025)
ARMY PRODUCES CHEAP DRONE SWARMS...
Military planners warn that the next major conflict will hinge on drone swarms, and the Army is racing to prepare. 3D printing offers a way to quickly produce cheap drones that can simulate enemy attacks at scale. "What we need right now is the ability to replicate the UAS threat during training at home station... and we need to do it at a price point that is ridiculously low: We don’t need the Gucci cameras and everything else," says Army Futures Command chief Gen. James Rainey. The Army is currently producing 10 drones per week, but believes it can scale up to 10,000 per month—training soldiers to face the kinds of swarms already reshaping battlefields in Ukraine and beyond. (Breaking Defense, April 9, 2025)
...WHILE NAVY DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON SHOOTS THEM DOWN
The U.S. Navy is testing non-kinetic defenses against swarming drone and small-boat threats, with promising results from the Leonidas H2O high-power microwave system. At the Coastal Trident exercise, the Epirus-built platform used directed energy to disable multiple drones and incapacitate four commercial boat engines while only operating at half power. Unlike lasers, as long as Leonidas has a power source it offers essentially unlimited "shots," and its modular amplifiers make the system easily scalable. (Wonderful Engineering, April 13, 2025)
QUANTUM SENSING FOR DEFENSE
While quantum computing's potential to break encryption continues to dominate headlines, quantum sensing could be the near-term game changer. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf), a satellite payload designed to map subtle variations in Earth's gravity field. Once operational, this tool could expose underground tunnels, missile silos, and hardened bunkers with unprecedented precision. Moreover, it has the potential to provide a distinct maritime advantage, given its ability to generate gravity maps that could improve submarine navigation and mine detection. Beyond Earth, the technology could be applied to planetary exploration and resource detection. (SciTech Daily, April 18, 2025)
FRENCH INTERCEPTOR TAKES AIM AT ORBITAL DEBRIS
Low Earth Orbit is filling up fast, and much of the debris there lacks a plan for safe disposal. French startup Dark has proposed a fix with Interceptor, an air-launched craft that can rendezvous with debris, grab it, and guide it into a controlled reentry over the Pacific. The ability to avoid traditional rocket launch means Dark can retrieve any target within 24 hours and not have to worry about having a spaceport or waiting for a launch window to do so. The company hopes to begin test flights in 2027. (SpaceNews, April 29, 2025)
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