US Army Wants To 3D-Print Mini-Drones

Imagine a squad of US Army soldiers preparing to capture a high-value subject barricaded inside a three-story building. The Rangers decide send in a small camera drone to check for IEDs, but there’s a problem: the enemy has begun putting its booby-traps on the ceiling, where the downward-facing drones can’t see them. If only those little gizmos had cameras on the top.

A new project by the US Army Research Laboratory and Georgia Technical Institute just might help. It aims to give soldiers the ability to 3D-print swarms of mini-drones to specific specifications within 24 hours. Its creators call this approach “aggregate derivative approach to product design,” or ADAPT.

“A soldier with a mission need uses a computer terminal to rapidly design a suitable drone,” says a poster by project chief engineer Zacarhy Fisher. “That design is then manufactured using automated processes such as laser cutting and 3D printing. The solution is sent back to the soldier and is deployed.”

Fisher says the drone itself could be fabricated in less than a day, with total turn-around time of less than three days.

In their research paper on the design approach, they lay out a four-step process: requirements analysis, which is figuring out what type of drone you need for the mission; architecture selection, selecting among a variety of standard and custom parts to build it; interface design, making sure it all fits together; and concept refinement.

The trick is to limit the number of potential build options around one of the four different tasks a soldier might need a small drone for. Previous research from Georgia Tech has identified those as perimeter surveillance and defense, reconnaissance for inside buildings, reconnaissance for inside caves, and jungle reconnaissance. Depending on the mission type, you know if you need a video camera, target designator, light detection and ranging and other pieces.

The authors describe the basic approach as inspired by Lego.

“The on-demand approach is succinctly explained via an analogy to Lego®,” they write. “Lego® bricks contain a number of modular parts that can be constructed into different models depending on what outcome is desired.

Instructions are provided to help the user build different systems out of the same set of components.” At the beginning of December, the researchers performed a demonstration on several of the drones at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

Future capabilities could include combining 3D printing, drones, and artificial intelligence, an of research being led by Kyrre Glette at the University of Oslo, who in 2014 demonstrated the first steps in program to allow robots to 3D-print themselves.

DefenseOne:        A New Autonomous Tactical Drone:         Effective Drone Defence & Control:

 

« Fear Factor: Pushing Up Cyber Insurance Costs
How Cyber Propaganda Influenced Politics in 2016 »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Authentic8

Authentic8

Authentic8 transforms how organizations secure and control the use of the web with Silo, its patented cloud browser.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes provides artificial intelligence-powered technology that stops cyberattacks before they can compromise computers and endpoints.

Cybsecurity Foundation (CSF)

Cybsecurity Foundation (CSF)

Cybsecurity is a non-profit NGO, which aims to work on improvement of security levels in the Polish cyberspace.

CyberSecurityJobsite.com

CyberSecurityJobsite.com

CyberSecurityJobsite.com is a specialist job board designed to attract candidates working within Cyber Security, Information Security or Information Assurance.

Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm with offices in the USA, Europe and Asia. Practice areas include Data Security & Privacy.

BackBox Software

BackBox Software

BackBox is a leading provider of solutions for automated backup and recovery software for security and network devices.

Owl Cyber Defense

Owl Cyber Defense

Owl patented DualDiode Technology enables hardware-enforced network segmentation and deterministic, one-way transfer of all data types and file sizes.

Logz.io

Logz.io

Logz.io is an AI-powered log analysis platform that offers the open source ELK Stack as a enterprise-grade cloud service with machine learning technology.

OmniNet

OmniNet

OmniNet delivers the next generation of cybersecurity and is the only provider in the market to move the edge of small businesses to a virtual, omnipresent perimeter.

Early Birds

Early Birds

Early Birds is a Business to Business (B2B) marketplace for Innovators (Startups/Scaleups) and Early Adopters to exchange value early on.

Blackbird.AI

Blackbird.AI

Blackbird.AI provides an intelligence and early-warning system to help users detect disinformation and take action against threats.

Adit Ventures

Adit Ventures

Adit Ventures is a venture capital firm with a focus on dynamic growth sectors including AI & Machine Learning, Big Data, Cybersecurity and IoT.

Wing Security

Wing Security

Wing fosters a stronger security culture by engaging SaaS end-users and enabling easy communication with security teams.

Clearnetwork

Clearnetwork

Clearnetwork specializes in managed cybersecurity solutions that enable both public and private organizations improve their security posture affordably.

Nerds On Site

Nerds On Site

Nerds On Site provide on-site & in-home IT and technical support, managed IT services, and cyber security through our collaborative team of highly-trained IT and Security professionals.

CyberNut

CyberNut

CyberNut are a security awareness training solution built exclusively for schools.

SecureKloud Technologies

SecureKloud Technologies

SecureKloud is a global leader in the Cloud services arena. Our experience in cloud consulting and servicing for highly regulated industries extends more than a decade.