ΤΕΛΕΤΗ ΚΑΘΕΛΚΥΣΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΥΠΟΒΡΥΧΙΟΥ ΠΙΠΙΝΟΣ ΤΟ ΟΠΟΙΟΝ ΘΑ ΑΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΗ ΜΟΧΛΟ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΤΑΘΕΡΟΤΗΤΟΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΠΕΡΙΟΧΗ ΤΟΥ ΑΙΓΑΙΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΓΕΝΙΚΟΤΕΡΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΠΕΡΙΟΧΗ ΤΗΣ ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΟΥ ΜΑΖΙ ΜΕ ΤΑ ΑΛΛΑ ΥΠΟΒΡΥΧΙΑ ΕΓΙΝΕ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟ ΕΘΝΙΚΗΣ ΑΜΥΝΑΣ ΤΟΝ ΠΡΩΘΥΠΟΥΡΓΟ ΤΟΝ ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΛΗ ΤΗΣ ΣΤΡΙΑΤΩΤΙΚΗΣ ΗΓΕΣΙΑΣ.
ΚΑΙ ΛΙΓΑ ΛΟΓΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΟΝΟΜΑ ΠΙΠΙΝΟΣ!
Γεννήθηκε στην Ύδρα. Το έτος 1822 κατόρθωσε μαζί με τον Κωνσταντίνο Κανάρη να μπει νύχτα στο στενό μεταξύ Χίου και Τσεσμέ όπου ήταν αγκυροβολημένος ο εχθρικός στόλος και κατόρθωσαν ο μεν Κανάρης να πυρπολήσει το πρώτο δίκροτο, ο δε Πιπίνος να προσκολλήσει το πυρπολικό του σε ένα δεύτερο πλοίο. Το εχθρικό πλοίο αποσπάστηκε από τον στόλο, καταστράφηκε όμως και έχασε όλο του το πλήρωμα.
Η επιτυχία αυτή ήταν ιστορική και προκάλεσε τρόμο στον εχθρικό στόλο, ο οποίος αναχώρησε για την Κωνσταντινούπολη.
Ο Πιπίνος τιμήθηκε από την Ύδρα με θρησκευτικές παρατάξεις και με στεφάνια. Στην Νέα Σμύρνη ονομάστηκε προς τιμή του η «οδός Πιπίνου».
Στη ναυμαχία στις 8 Σεπτεμβρίου 1822 νίκησε και καταδίωξε τον τουρκικό στόλο, ενώ το 1824 στη Ναυμαχία του Γέροντα ο Πιπίνος κατέκαψε εχθρικό πλοίο, αλλά τραυματίστηκε βαριά. Ανάρρωσε όμως και συνέχισε να πολεμάει. Διορίστηκε από το νεοσύστατο Ελληνικό κράτος αρχηγός της ανατολικής μοίρας, και αποστρατεύτηκε το 1836.
A new animation from NASA shows how a remarkable instrument called the HIWRAP looks into tropical cyclones at wind, rain and ice to analyze storm intensity.
The HIWRAP is the High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler, a "conically scanning" Doppler radar, meaning it scans in a cone-shaped manner. Wind measurements are crucial for understanding and forecasting tropical storms since they are closely tied to the overall dynamics of the storm. The HIWRAP instrument is able to measure line-of-sight (along the radar beam) and because it scans in a cone beneath the aircraft, it gets two looks at most parts of the storm, allowing calculations of the 3-dimensional wind and rain fields. In the absence of rain, it can also measure ocean surface winds.
HIWRAP while flying on board an aircraft is capable of examining storms down to a very small scale.
"HIWRAP allows us to see how strong bursts of thunderstorms contribute to the intensification of the low-level wind field in hurricanes," said Research Meteorologist Scott Braun of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The 2 minute visualization shows how scans from the HIWRAP instrument are done in a cone-like shape over storms, measuring winds within heavy rain throughout.
"What's interesting about the HIWRAP Doppler radar is that it's a dual-frequency and dual-beam radar," said Gerry Heymsfield, Cloud Radar Expert and Research Meteorologist from NASA Goddard. "That means it has two frequencies that measure at two different angles." The instrument scans in a cone shape toward the surface, with the peak of the cone at the HIWRAP radar on the aircraft. "As the plane flies over a particular target—say the eyewall of a storm— scanning it with a cone-shape provides views of the same region from different directions. That's what allows scientists to measure the three-dimensional winds and precipitation within the storm."
The video shows that the HIWRAP sends out about 5,000 pulses a second to get an accurate read on precipitation particles, like rain or ice as the storm and the aircraft are both moving. The signals that bounce back reveal the type, size and distribution of rain or ice particles, as well as how fast the particles are moving. The speed of the particles can help determine the wind and circulation in a storm.
The Inventors of the Wristwatch Drone Share Their Vision of the Future
Nixie is part quadcopter, part smart watch, and could change the way we take photos. Image: Nixie
A drone that can be dispatched with the flick of a wrist feels like an invention likely to fly out from the Batcave, but a Stanford Ph.D. and a Google program manager are close to finalizing a quadcopter that can be worn like a slap bracelet.
Called Nixie, this diminutive drone weighs less than a tenth of a pound, but can capture HD images and sync with a smartphone while its owner is busy scaling an Alp or biking through the Teutoburg forest. “Quadcopters give you a new perspective you can’t get anywhere else,” says Jelena Jovanovic, Nixie’s project manager. “But it’s not really feasible to pilot a drone and keep doing what you’re doing.”
Being able to wear the drone is a cute gimmick, but it’s powerful software packed into a tiny shell could set Nixie apart from bargain Brookstone quadcopters. Expertise in motion-prediction algorithms and sensor fusion will give the wrist-worn whirlybirds an impressive range of functionality. A “Boomerang mode” allows Nixie to travel a fixed distance from its owner, take a photo, then return. “Panorama mode” takes aerial photos in a 360° arc. “Follow me” mode makes Nixie trail its owner and would capture amateur athletes in a perspective typically reserved for Madden all-stars. “Hover mode” gives any filmmaker easy access to impromptu jib shots. Other drones promise similar functionality, but none promise the same level of portability or user friendliness.
“We’re not trying to build a quadcopter, we’re trying to build a personal photographer,” says Jovanovic.
A Changing Perspective on Photography
Jovanovic and her partner Christoph Kohstall, a Stanford postdoc who holds a Ph.D. in quantum physics and a first-author credit in the journal Nature, believe photography is at a tipping point.
Early cameras were bulky, expensive, and difficult to operate. The last hundred years have produced consistently smaller, cheaper, and easier-to-use cameras, but future developments are forking. Google Glass provides the ultimate in portability, but leaves wearers with a fixed perspective. Surveillance drones offer unique vantage points, but are difficult to operate. Nixie attempts to offer the best of both worlds.
Origin of the Species
After receiving a quadcopter for Christmas last year, Kohstall began tinkering and looking for ways to improve the technology. He quickly learned that drones have a tendency to crash and drown in bodies of water, so he built a working prototype that could dive and reemerge from under the surface.
As more of Kohstall and Jovanovic’s friends got the quadcopter bug, common complaints about bulk, weight, and arcane user interfaces popped up. Kohstall experimented with wearable solutions, including hacking a pair of eye glasses with propellors so that they could fly at a moment’s notice, and if equipped with a tiny camera, capture a drone’s-eye-view. This was an interesting UI experiment, but limited the wearer’s ability to see, leading him to focus on designing a soaring smart watch.
Can They Build It?
Nixie will can fly autonomously, but can also be piloted via a smartphone app. Image: Nixie
Nixie is an undeniably impressive concept, and while rough prototypes prove the principle, the question remains if its myriad design challenges can be solved without sacrificing the sleek look.
Jovanovic has previously worked on submersible drones and comes from family where hardware is dinner table conversation—Her mom leads PCB design for Google Glass, her dad heads R&D for a high-end headphone company, and her little brother is in charge of product at quantified car startup Automatic. Nixie team members Michael Niedermayr, Floris Ernst, Stefan Niedermayr, Steven Le, Kris Winer, and Jeremy Swerdlow add expertise in motion prediction algorithms, design, and engineering.
Despite a world-class technical pedigree, Nixie will require near perfect execution of both control algorithms, usability affordances, and industrial design. Current prototypes are light, but lack the durability and polish consumers will require. Concept renderings show a gleaming white future for Nixie, but finding durable, lightweight, and flexible materials to make it a reality is no small task.
“Anything wearable has to beautiful. I heard someone say ‘wearables need to be sensual and need to represent you as a person’ which is a tremendous design challenge,” says Jovanovic. “Fortunately, no one on our team is inspired by small problems.”
One thing that’s settled is the name. “A heavy word like drone wasn’t going to take off for the average consumer,” says Kohstall who also dinged “falcon” because of its aggressive connotations. Inspired by his submersible drone he chose “Nixie” which is a playful German water spirit, like a mermaid. “Nixie, was cute, light, and fun so the name stuck.”
Nixie is one of 10 projects in the running to win $500,000 in seed funding fromIntel’s Make It Wearable competition. Unfortunately, there is no word yet on retail pricing or availability.
Navy's Self-Guided, Unmanned Patrol Boats Make Debut
NORFOLK, Va. — Oct 5, 2014, 6:37 AM ET
By BROCK VERGAKIS Associated Press
Self-guided unmanned patrol boats that can leave warships they're protecting and swarm and attack potential threats on the water could join the Navy's fleet within a year, defense officials say, adding the new technology could one day help stop attacks like the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen.
The Arlington-based Office of Naval Research demonstrated the autonomous swarm boat technology over two weeks in August on the James River near Fort Eustis in Virginia — not far from one of the Navy's largest fleet concentration areas. It said the Navy simulated a transit through a strait, just like the routine passage of U.S. warships through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
In the demonstrations, as many as 13 small unmanned patrol boats were escorting a high-value Navy ship. Then as many as eight of the self-guided vessels broke off and swarmed around a threat when a ship playing the part of an enemy vessel was detected, the office said, calling the demonstrations a success.
Robert Brizzolara, program manager at the Office of Naval Research, said that the boats can decide for themselves what movements to make once they're alerted to a threat and work together to encircle or block the path of an opposing vessel, depending on that vessel's movements and those of other nearby vessels.
The rigid-hull inflatable patrol boats can also fire .50 caliber machine guns if called upon to do so. However, a human will always be the one to make the decision to use lethal force, officials said. A sailor on a command ship would be in charge of each of the unmanned boats and could take control over any of the boats at any moment. And if communication between the unmanned boats and the sailor overseeing them were ever broken, the boat would automatically shut down.
"I never want to see the USS Cole happen again," said Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research, speaking about the attack by a small boat packed with explosives that killed 17 sailors and injured 39 on that warship. "I can tell you the systems we just put out on the water would've prevented the Cole."
Brizzolara said the technology is intended to allow sailors who would ordinarily be manning such boats to stay out of harm's way while the self-guided boats seek to "deter, damage or destroy" enemy vessels.
Officials said while the Cole bombing was not the sole inspiration for the program, it was a significant one. Researchers have been working on the technology for about a decade. The kit can be placed on any small vessel and includes sensors and radar that tells it what's happening in the area. Advanced algorithms help the boat plan its route and determine its course of action and speed.
Klunder said that manpower can sometimes be an issue as to why more patrol boats aren't escorting larger ships, and that potential enemies may try to outnumber those boats. He said such technology could put more protective boats in the water, freeing up sailors for key roles aboard ship.
"We've really put our sailors back where they need to be anyway, which is back manning our combat systems, manning our weapons systems, steering our ships," Klunder said.
Klunder said the technology should be rolled out to fleet commanders within a year. He said the parts for the small, transportable kit cost about $2,000 and can be applied to existing patrol boats present at Navy installations and aboard many large warships.
#TheRidge is the brand new film from Danny Macaskill... For the first time in one of his films Danny climbs aboard a mountain bike and returns to his native home of the Isle of Skye in Scotland to take on a death-defying ride along the notorious Cuillin Ridgeline.
Σήμερα οι Κούρδοι Πεσμεργκά ανακοίνωσαν επίσημα το θάνατο της Ceylan Ozalp, μιας 19χρονης που ντύθηκε στο χακί και πολεμούσε τους Τζιχαντιστές.
Υποστηρίζουν ότι κατά τη διάρκεια της μάχης στην πόλη Kobani, η 19χρονη περικυκλώθηκε μαζί με τους συντρόφους της από τρομοκράτες του Ισλαμικού Κράτους. Σκοτώθηκαν όλοι και έμεινε μόνη χωρίς πυρομαχικά. Τότε έστρεψε το όπλο στον εαυτό της και αυτοκτόνησε με τη μοναδική σφαίρα που της είχε απομείνει για να μην πέσει ζωντανή στα χέρια των Τζιχαντιστών.
Αυτή είναι η ιστορία που κάνει το γύρο του κόσμου και ήδη έχει ανεβάσει στο βάθρο των ηρώων τη 19χρονη αμαζόνα. Δεν ξέρω αν είναι αλήθεια, καθώς το γεγονός δεν επιβεβαιώνεται από ανεξάρτητες πηγές. Ξέρω όμως ότι, αν πέθανε, πέθανε μια όμορφη κοπέλα!
«Ο θάνατος μιας όμορφης γυναίκας είναι χωρίς αμφιβολία το πιο ποιητικό θέμα στον κόσμο». Edgar Allan Poe
