Model Airplanes

US military scientists have invented a miniature drone that fits in the palm of a hand, ready to be dropped from the sky like a mobile phone with wings.

The “micro air vehicle” is named after the insect that inspired its invention, the cicada, which spends years underground before appearing in great swarms, reproducing and then dropping to the ground dead.

“The idea was why can’t we make UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] that have the same sort of profile,” Aaron Kahn of the Naval Research Laboratory said.

“We will put so many out there, it will be impossible for the enemy to pick them all up.”

The “Cicada”, short for Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft, was designed to be smaller, cheaper and simpler than any other robotic aircraft – but still able to carry out a mission in a remote battlefield.

The prototype cost just a thousand dollars, and the cost could come down to as little as US$250 apiece, said Kahn, a flight controls engineer at the naval lab.

With no motor and only about 10 parts, the Cicada resembles a paper airplane with a circuit board. It is designed to glide to programmed GPS coordinates after being dropped from an aircraft, a balloon or a larger drone, researchers said.

In a test about three years ago in Yuma, Arizona, Cicada drones were released from 17,500 metres. The little drone flew – or fell – 16km, landing within four metres of its target.

The Cicada drone can fly at about 74km/h and are virtually silent, with no engine

Article source: http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1801841/cicadas-us-militarys-new-swarm-mini-drones

Lodi residents are looking for a new spot in town for exercise and socialization. No, it’s not a new gym; in fact it’s not even for humans.

Molly Cabaj and Curtis Ryan brought discussion of a local dog park to the city of Lodi Common Council at the May 5 meeting.

Cabaj and Ryan often travel out of town to dog parks in Waunakee and Middleton to exercise their 18-month old puppy.

“I’m assuming a lot of people on the board have dogs, and if you do, you probably like to take them to the dog park to let them expend their energy for the day,” Cabaj said. “My idea of a dog park would be to be able to go over there first thing in the morning and go back home and go about your day, or go after work. It would be nice to

Article source: http://www.hngnews.com/lodi_enterprise/news/local/article_b2f81582-f8f6-11e4-b1ae-c359d51d5b3e.html

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2015 (AFP) – US military scientists have invented a miniature drone that fits in the palm of a hand, ready to be dropped from the sky like a mobile phone with wings.

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k.find(‘span’).slice(0,1).html(data[1]);Article source: http://www.haveeru.com.mv/technology/60517

Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally. Image source: Ford Motor Company.

It was abundantly clear by the mid 2000s that the once-revolutionary automaker, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F  ) , had lost its way. In fact, you could argue that the company had slowly been going out of business for about 30 years.

Ford was locked into unfavorable contracts with union workers, had lost roughly a quarter of its North American market share between 1990 and 2006, had insider fighting that rivaled a Game of Thrones episode, and posted a staggering $12.7 billion loss in 2006. 

Ford knew it had to turn things around — fast — and that’s when Alan Mulally came on board and performed a business turnaround that was nothing short of a miracle.

Doubts surfaced
Many had doubts when Alan Mulally officially took over the helm at Ford, not because he lacked talent, but because he was an outsider to the auto industry. One of my favorite quotes from Mulally was in response to being asked how he planned to tackle the complex automotive business that he was unfamiliar with.

“An automobile has about 10,000 moving parts, right? An airplane has two million, and it has to stay up in the air.” Mulally responded. 

Touche, Mr. Mulally. Producing cars doesn’t seem all that difficult in that context.

In addition to understanding complex industries — Mulally was also largely credited with helping Boeing navigate difficult business

Article source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/05/16/alan-mulally-the-savior-of-ford.aspx