Oto Melara desarrolla un uav lanzado desde el cañón de ánima lisa de 120mm de un tanque

el Horus, fabricado con fibra de carbono, mide 98 centímetros de largo y 34,6 de altura, tiene un peso máximo de despegue de 1,3 kilogramos, lleva alas plegables y puede volar a velocidades de entre 21,6 y 108 kilómetros por hora, manteniéndose operativo en vuelo durante media hora.


http://www.defensa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2474:oto-melara-desarrolla-un-robot-aereo-lanzado-desde-el-canon-de-un-tanque&catid=56:industria&Itemid=164

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New manufacturing method gives shape to carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes, despite all the technological advances they're making possible, look pretty boring. When viewed though a microscope, they are, essentially, just straight tubes. Now scientists from the University of Michigan have used a process called "capillary forming" to create nanotubes that resemble twisting spires, concentric rings, and bending petals. It's not about aesthetics though, giving nanotubes complex 3D shapes is seen as an important breakthrough in the development of microdevices and nanomaterials.

http://www.gizmag.com/nanotubes-capillary-action-research/16702/

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Imagining a Day When Airliners Are Flown Solo

It once took a cockpit crew of three to fly an airliner: captain, first officer and flight engineer. Today, it's two, the captain and first officer. But on-board computers have made flying commercial jets relatively easy—so easy there's talk of a day when airliners could be flown solo.

Aircraft manufacturer Embraer, a major supplier of 40- and 100-seat jets to U.S. airlines, says it wants its planes capable of single-pilot flight within 10 to 15 years. And avionics group Thales says it is working on a next-generation cockpit that would enable single-pilot operations with a backup for incapacitation.

"It's something that would be potentially feasible," said Kevin Hiatt, a former international chief pilot for Delta Air Lines who is now executive vice president of the Flight Safety Foundation.

Read Full text in Wall street journal

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