Smartphone doubles as remote control for cars

Hitachi Automotive Systems and infotainment system vendor are together developing a remotely-controlled parking system for vehicles. The system will support multiple parallel and perpendicular parking styles, controlled by a smartphone app. During the parking process, the driver stays outside the car.

The virtual remote control uses a WiFi link between the smartphone and a system installed in the vehicle. The system in the car includes Clarion’s SurroundEye camera which is connected to an ECU and a brake control unit from Hitachi Automotive Systems. In contrast to available systems, Clarion is utilizing video cameras and ultrasound sensors for better performance, the company said.

Thanks to this constellation, the driver sees live images of the vehicle’s surroundings on its smartphone. Thus, he can visualize the vehicle’s trajectory which in turn enables him to safely operate the car, taking potential obstacles into account. The user interface contains a large variety of parallel and perpendicular parking space geometries which is particularly useful if space is limited – for instance in garages.

The driver can stop the vehicle at any time with immediate effect, for instance if he identifies an obstacle. For better safety, the car stops automatically if its sensors detect a pedestrian or a similar obstacle. The system can also be operated from inside the car, using the built-in navigation touch screen.

The system is currently available for Android smartphones. However, the companies have the intention to roll out versions for all major operating systems.

VCO

TMS VCOs utilize bipolar transistors & silicon varactors over the 40MHz to 18GHz range. Designs incorporate internal filtering, regulation & amps to meet total system requirements in a small, integrated package.

• BANDWIDTHS: <1% to Multi-Octave 

• PACKAGING: Connectorized, Pin & SM 

• PLATFORMS: Ground, Airborne, Marine, Space

Air Force to defend B-52 with laser weapons

Air Force scientists are working to arm the B-52 with defensive laser weapons able to incinerate attacking air-to-air or air-to-ground missile attack.

Offensive and defensive laser weapons for Air Force fighter jets and large cargo aircraft have been in development for several years now. However, the Air Force Research Lab has recently embarked upon a special five-year effort, called the SHIELD program, aimed at creating sufficient on-board power, optics and high-energy lasers to defend large platforms such as a B-52 bomber.
“You can take out the target if you put the laser on the attacking weapon for a long enough period of time,” said Air Force Chief Scientist Greg Zacharias.
Using an externally-mounted pod or similar device with sufficient transportable electrical power, the AFRL is already working on experimental demonstrator weapons able to bolt-on to an aircraft, Zacharias added.
Given that an external pod would add shapes to the fuselage of an aircraft likely to be vulnerable to enemy air defense radar systems, the bolt-on defensive laser would not be expected to work on a stealthy platform, he explained.
However, a heavily armed B-52, as a large 1960s-era target, would need to defend itself in the air, and so a new technology would be useful to the Air Force, as the service is now immersed in a series of high-tech upgrades for the B-52 designed to allow it to serve for decades to come. 
Lasers use intense heat and light energy to incinerate targets without causing a large explosion, and they operate at very high speeds, giving them a near instantaneous ability to destroy fast-moving targets and defend against incoming enemy attacks, senior Air Force leaders explained.

Air Force tests massive B-2 sensor upgrade

• BY KRIS OSBORN
• FEB 06, 2017

The Air Force is now testing new, high-tech sensors, software, electronics and other enemy radar-evading upgrades for its B-2 stealth bombers that are designed to preserve its stealth advantages and allow the aircraft to operate more effectively against increasingly capable modern air defenses.

The massive upgrade, designed to improve what’s called the bomber’s Defensive Management System, is described by Air Force developers as “the most extensive modification effort that the B-2 has attempted.”

The Defensive Management System is a technology designed to help the B-2 recognize and elude enemy air defenses, by using various antennas, receivers and display processors to detect signals or “signatures” emitting from ground-based anti-aircraft weapons, Air Force Spokesman Capt. Michael Hertzog said in a written statement.

The modernized system, called a B-2 DMS-M unit, consists of a replacement of legacy DMS subsystems so that the aircraft can be effective against the newest and most lethal enemy air defenses.

“This system picks up where mission planning ends by integrating a suite of antennas, receivers, and displays that provide real-time situational awareness to the aircrew.  The DMS-Modernization program addresses shortcomings within the current DMS system,” Hertzog added.

Upgrades consist of improved antennas with advanced digital electronic support measures, or ESMs along with software components designed to integrate new technologies with existing B-2 avionics, according to an Operational Test & Evaluation report from the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Single Board Computer (SBC) News

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Cobham aboard GOES-R Satellite’s EXIS Instrument

Cobham’s VRG8663 Voltage Regulators are on board NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series (GOES-R) spacecraft. GOES-R is the next generation of geosynchronous environmental satellites intended to provide atmospheric measurements for weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and space weather monitoring.

Cobham’s Voltage Regulators provide the regulated -5V distributed to all five detector interfaces on the Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) Instrument Read more...

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