Technologies

The U.S. Navy intends to strengthen its submarine fleet with a series of six robotic submarines of the “Orca” type from Boeing in the near future. The first of them – XLEO, a test version of the future series, was commissioned on December 20 last year. The other five will be full-fledged combat units designed to penetrate enemy territory for reconnaissance, sabotage and other missions.

“Orca” is a diesel-electric autonomous submarine with a modular section that will house equipment and weapons depending on the mission. It has impressive dimensions: 15, 5 x 2.6 x 2.6 x 2.6 meters, weight 50 tons. Range – about 10500 km, depth of immersion – 335 meters.

Hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system provides a speed of about 15 km/h in the underwater position. Powerful batteries provide “Orca” with a long stay underwater. The 10-meter-long cargo bay is located in the middle part of the robotic submarine.

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Special police units often have to act decisively and quickly, which is not helped at all by their protective equipment – ballistic body armor has an impressive weight, to which must be added the weight of standard weapons and ammunition.

The EchoM Up-Armored exoskeleton (a joint development of Mehler Protection (Germany), Canadian company Mawashi Science & Technology and the French GIGN special forces) solves two tasks at once – it protects against bullets and reduces the load.

Protection is provided by armor panels of the European standard VPAM (designed to withstand three 7.62 x 39 mm cal. bullets from a distance of 10 m) covering the entire surface of the exoskeleton. In turn, the titanium frame redistributes up to 70% of the total load from the shoulders to the ground or floor.

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In the capital of South Korea, the construction of an amazing tourist attraction has been launched. The Seoul Twin Eye Ferris wheel will be the tallest among analogs that do not have spokes. It will have the form of two intersecting rings, and cabs with people wishing to admire the views of Seoul will ride on them.
The project will be realized by UNStudio in close partnership with Arup and Heerim Architects. The object will be located at a height of 40 meters at the top of one of the cultural centers of Seoul. With the wheel itself being 180 meters across, tourists will be lifted to a height of 220 meters. Each of the 64 capsules will have 25 seats, and the wheel will be able to transport up to 1,600 people at a time. An ingenious track system has already been developed to propel the capsules.

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Mercury Marine showcased two new motors at CES 2024 that may be of interest to boating enthusiasts. The 75e and 110e electric motors, the company assures, offer world-leading power levels compared to third-party counterparts. They feature a modular battery system and extended life.
The company does not deny that the new products will lose out in power to diesel or gasoline-powered outboards. Nevertheless, 10 and 14.8 hp on the propeller shaft for 75e and 110e look quite attractive for those who prefer silence during voyages on boats. The new motors also get Avator ecosystem integration, remote controls and a color display.

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Guard From Above (Netherlands) once became famous for training birds of prey to fight enemy drones. An unusual continuation of this theme was the Evolution Eagle drone developed by its specialists, which resembles a real eagle in shape, size and movements.

Unlike some bird drones, it moves not by flapping its wings, but with the help of motors located in the front part of the wings. The flaps at the back of the wings and the tail are responsible for control.
All this, like a real eagle, at the same time does not prevent it from using upward currents in flight and even allows you to fly for some time with the engines turned off, saving battery power and not creating unnecessary noise.

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