Many research companies were assigned or they just simply wanted to design equipment that is safer and easier to use and carry, but their results were unconvincing. MIT, the University of Toronto, and the Georgia Institute of Technology developed systems based on arm movements and using accelerometers, gyroscopes, and high-tech sensors but they “don’t work reliably and are not robust enough” as said by Gerd Kortuem, an assistant professor of computing at Lancaster University, in England.

Now a company called RallyPoint is testing a sensor-embedded glove called Handwear Computer Input Device (HCID) which will allow a soldier to send commands without having to take his hand off his weapon. This means that he will view and navigate digital maps, activate radio communications, easier and safer than current wearable computer systems.

According to Forrest Liau, the president and cofounder of RallyPoint, this glove is very practical and it’s exactly what they were looking for in the military domain. The glove includes lots of sensors that will make the soldiers forget about their heavy equipment.

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Arthur C. Clarke is a writer who brought up many great ideas that could become a reality and now DARPA will try to develop a weapon inspired from the 1955 Earthlight novel. The weapon that DARPA plans to build is based on the Stiletto which is “a solid bar of light” and with it you may pierce through a spacecraft.

DARPA named their weapon MAHEM or Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition and it make use of the magnetic fields in order to “propel either a narrow jet of molten metal or a chunk of molten metal that morphs into an aerodynamic slug during flight”. If DARPA manages to develop MAHEM then we hope that they will use it for good purposes.

The Miami Police Department is very near to using a technology that would allow them to have extra sets of eyes in emergency situations. Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is developed by Honeywell International and is a flying pilotless drone with electro-optic or infrared sensors.

These allows it to capture images from overhead, hovering around dangerous areas or eventual crime scenes. MAV is a 14 inch wide craft that weights 16 pounds and can lift off and land vertically. The drone is under tests by the Federal Aviation Administration, and if it will be approved, Miami criminals will have to take a second look above before committing any sort of delinquency.

Juan Villalba, the police department spokesman, stated that their intentions are to use it only in tactical missions. The wingless device seems perfect for aiding the SWAT teams in hostage situations or in the ones with barricaded law breakers.

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The technologies involving laser caught the attention of many scientists from various domains. Now, the Navy is trying to equip their battleships with weapons based on laser technology. This can be possible if it were to rely on a project made in 2004 by the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility which designed a Free Electron Laser that generates 10,000 watts of power.

Now, the Navy allocated $163 million for five-years and they hope to get a laser weapon capable of producing 100 kilowatts of power. FEL was nicknamed the “Holy Grail” of lasers because it uses a different technique which sends electrons and photons on various wavelengths for a long time. The other types of laser are losing their strength because of climatic conditions like moisture.

If the project will not be a success, the Navy has a cover - they demanded some defense contractors to come up with a energy weapon concept until 2014. As soon as they receive some good news about the 100 kilowatts FEL, they will install it on a ship and begin testing. We hope that they will use it only for defense because lasers might provide huge amount of power.

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