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PISCES Exoskeletons Turn Every Solider Into Aquaman
Posted by Sean Fallon at 1:45 AM on September 19, 2008
Apparently the military has been working with West Florida's Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) for several years trying to develop an underwater exoskeleton that would improve a soldier's speed and endurance underwater. Much like early pioneers of flight, IHMC has looked to nature to provide answers. So far, the project known as Performance Improving Self Contained Exoskeleton for Swimming ("PISCES") has investigated how dolphins, sea turtles and penguins move through the water. Not surprisingly, the results have been...a little odd.
A team of MIT engineers is hoping to develop tomorrow's body armour today with a fish whose family tree stretches back 96 million years. Called the Polypterus senegalus, or "dinosaur eel" to layman schlubs like me, this primitive fish still thrives in the muddy rivers of Africa, and has retained a full-body suit of armoured scales that was common on species of fish millions of years ago. For years scientists have known that the eel's interlocking, millimeters-thick scales were capable of stopping penetrating attacks, but couldn't figure out why. Now, thanks to nanotechnology and a grant from the U.S. Army (go Joe!), they've figured it out.
You're probably familiar with Blackwater Worldwide, the mercenary group that works in warzones and doesn't allow itself to be held back by silly things like ethics or respect for human life. Well, they're looking to hire some new mercenaries, and they know that they want people with wartime experience. That means troops. How do you get on current troops' good side? How about dropping free Xbox 360s with Guitar Hero out of planes for them in Afghanistan?
This picture, showing a soldier "riding" an Apache helicopter--one of the coolest, deadliest flying toys ever--outside its cockpit, is going to make the usual "FAKE!" web shouters jump off their chairs. But before you do that, military expert Christian Lowe at 
Pentagon gadget lab DARPA has just earmarked US$6.7 million to develop "brain-wave binoculars." Electrodes placed on the user's scalp records electrical brain activity in an attempt to use the cranium's unrivaled ability to spot patterns. With time, the binoculars can learn to identify objects that would normally pique the user's interest and direct them towards it. The binoculars are supposed to help soldiers out in the field by pointing out tanks or enemy combatants that they may have seen, but not noticed.
Wearable computers may be a reality in today's army, but use is restricted to safe environs like a bunker or an armoured vehicle—out in the open, soldiers' priority is keeping hold of their guns. The 
Five years in the making, Pharad's wearable antenna is aimed at troops in covert operations, and, I guess, undercover cops and agents. Waterproof and flexible, the wearable antenna, which is made out of dielectric material, supports and is aimed to be integrated into body armour vests and helmets, and there's even a snug-fitting undershirt that wouldn't look out of place on one of Bouncy's backing dancers, which you can see below, alongside more information.
Here are new pictures and diagrams of the awesome 
Rockwell Collins has been selected by the US Marines to deliver 3,000 of its ParaNav GPS units for parachutists. Soldiers plummeting towards earth will soon have the advantage of GPS navigation with a HUD that will help improve landing accuracy and allow for target zones to be easily changed on the fly. 
