Gryphon Attack Glider

Formerly known as The ESG Gryphon Personal Flying Wing this has to be the ultimate in Spy Gear! It has a maximum glide speed of 135 mph and has a heads up display and even on board oxygen for those high altitude launches. This one can carry a payload of 100lbs of on board gear and has hard mount points for hooking up tactical bombs or missiles! With a glide range of 125 miles and a radar cross section of a seagull (or Stealth Bomber) you can glide into North Korea take out The Great Leader and like Ace Rimmer be back in time for a smoked kipper for breakfast. Only thing is you’ll need an extraction team as landing is achieved by separation from the wing which will activate your parachute.

•  It weighs only 30 pounds and can be fully weaponized for assault and rescue. It has a 6-foot jet-wing that is steered with handheld rotary controls connected to its rudder. And it can hide more than 100 pounds of combat gear in a built-in compartment.
• The Gryphon attack glider, designed to penetrate combat zones at 135 miles per hour, could revolutionize the art of parachuting. It has got to be at the top of James Bond’s Christmas list this year.
• A vision straight out of "Batman," the carbon-fiber stealth glider quadruples the speed of similar craft — and there are quite a few special forces soldiers who would like to jump out of a plane at 30,000 feet and give it a whirl.
• Its helmet has a heads-up display and provides on-board oxygen for the jump. To land, a soldier separates the wing from his pack and releases his parachute to slow his descent. The wing remains attached to the soldier by a cord and lands before him.
• You might wonder who would volunteer to test-pilot a glider traveling at such high speeds. At ISNR London, a security conference, I had the opportunity to meet Erich Jelitko, who not only conceived the ultimate boy toy but also enthusiastically test-pilots the glider.
• A former special forces operator and German army paratrooper instructor, Jelitko has made more than 50 jumps with the glider.
• He took me through a test flight of a simulation of Paris. He demonstrated the glider’s agility by flying through the legs of the Eiffel Tower — not an easy feat at high speed. Soldiers also can opt to train on other city simulations from New York to London.
• Currently, planes and pilots are put at risk because soldiers need to jump close to combat areas. Typical high altitude, high-opening, or HAHO, jumps from around 27,000 feet allow soldiers to travel only about 30 miles after exiting the aircraft.
• The Gryphon could increase that range fourfold, creating an attack corridor of nearly 125 miles. Unaffected by headwinds or crosswinds because of its favorable lift-to-drag ratio, the glider would allow elite units to reach targets with increased speed, precision and stealth.
• The Gryphon’s built-in oxygen supply system allows soldiers to jump from up to 30,000 feet. And with temperatures at that altitude sometimes reaching minus 64 degrees Fahrenheit, every second counts. Even in upwind conditions, the Gryphon could reduce HAHO jump duration to a third, from an average of 45 minutes to just 15, vastly reducing the risk of exposure to extreme cold.
• The Gryphon’s designers, SPELCO GbR, are even planning to affix a relatively cheap and small turbo jet, which is used for unmanned military drones. Harnessing that jet, the glider would allow soldiers to jump lower, maintain altitude and travel farther than is currently possible.
• With its stealth technology and high speed, the Gryphon will provide maximum surprise and safer entry into target areas. And with the Gryphon virtually invisible to ground and airborne radar, enemy forces would struggle even to detect it.
• The stealth and speed capabilities also could be handy for agile hostage rescue operations and rapid reaction to moving targets. SPELCO is developing an electronic system to automate some of the steering to make it easier to fly, more like an airplane. If it succeeds, the average bungee jumper — and not just elite forces with specialized training — can have a go, too.
• And those commercially available Gryphons could mean that friendly neighborhood Batmen might be just around the corner.

Erector Spykey – Kit spy Robot

Erector Spykee – Kit Robot

This DIY kit Robot has caterpillar type tracks and has a camera, Wi-Fi and an in-built microphone. Spykey even comes with its own software to enable it to be controlled from anywhere on the net. It has a functional webcam and a VOIP (Skype compatible) speaker phone. We only wish it would come in black or a Darth Vader model. 

While the Spykee set can be built into three different robot models and is compatible with other Erector sets, the most intriguing aspect of the $280 kit for me is the telepresence capability: Spykee serves as a fully functional webcam and VOIP speakerphone; it’s even Skype compatible. 

Draganflyer X8

Draganflyer X8 8-Rotor UAV Helicopter Provides High Definition Wireless Video and High Resolution Photographs The latest in aerial photography and videography is this Draganfly X8, a unique machine powered by eight motors, each with its own rotor blade! This stable flyer can carry 1.7 pounds of equipment and features 11 onboard sensors and a sophisticated autopilot to self-stabilize during flight. Its foldable carbon-fiber frame makes transport easy. Police departments across the U.S. and Canada are already using the Draganflyer X6, a smaller UAV, in search and rescue operations, training, surveillance and even homicide investigation. Draganfly Innovations Inc. is announcing the release of the new Draganflyer X8 helicopter, a miniature UAV for commercial/industrial aerial video and photography. The unique design utilizes eight main horizontal rotor blades and allows the Draganflyer X8 helicopter to hover efficiently and maneuver rapidly using differential thrust. Eight industrial electric motors allow the Draganflyer X8 to carry heavier and more advanced payloads while providing more safety features than ever before. The Draganflyer X8 will also be compatible with our latest technologies, including the handheld Ground Control Station (GCS) and IP video camera systems.The increased payload capability of the Draganflyer X8 has allowed it to carry a select variety of digital SLR cameras and various 1080p video cameras. The Draganflyer X8’s industrial-strength electric motors provide increased thrust over the Draganflyer X6, which allows the Draganflyer X8 to carry an increased payload.Innovative new camera systems will be offered as options for the Draganflyer X8 UAV, including the new IP video cameras. IP video cameras work by transmitting digital video over an 802.11n wifi connection. Digital video is less susceptible to random noise than analog video. Digital video is also more secure because IP cameras work over their own wireless network, which can be encrypted to protect the video stream from unauthorized viewing. Because the IP cameras are digital, they can record video to a buffer in internal memory before streaming it to the receiving station. This means that the cameras can be used to capture high resolution still pictures while video is being recorded. Video from the IP cameras can be streamed over the internet easily, allowing you to transmit your video live to almost anywhere in the world.The Draganflyer X8 UAV will be our first UAV helicopter to offer the new handheld Ground Control Station (GCS) as an option. The GCS is currently in development; when complete, it will effectively contain all the features of both the handheld controller and the video base station in one handheld package. Running a Linux operating system on an Intel Atom™ processor allows the GCS to run our existing DraganView software and provide helicopter control at the same time.Safety and durability have been incorporated into the design of each Draganflyer helicopter and the Draganflyer X8 is no exception. It offers more safety features than ever before. Even if an in-flight collision causes one of the motors to stop working, the Draganflyer X8 helicopter, with dual motors on each of the four arms, will still be able to fly using the remaining seven motors. Other safety features include high intensity LED navigation lights for distance or low-light flying and auto-landing if the radio link between the helicopter and its controller is lost. An onboard flight recorder stores telemetry and flight data in a removable memory card. This information can be used for post-flight analysis with our DraganView software.The Draganflyer X8 UAV helicopter has been designed with a unique folding carbon fiber frame. This allows the Draganflyer X8 to become conveniently compact for storage and transportation. Once the Draganflyer X8 carbon fiber frame is folded, it fits securely in its back-packable case.The Draganflyer X8 is a fully functional, miniature, unmanned, electric powered helicopter. Aimed at industrial and commercial use, it provides reconnaissance and inspection information using onboard wireless video (equipped with digital video recorders) and still images. The Draganflyer X8 helicopter achieves its stability by using an onboard processor running custom-designed Draganfly software and receiving data from eleven onboard sensors (three gyros, three accelerometers, three magnetometers, one barometric pressure sensor, and one GPS receiver). It is easily piloted by users with minimal training. The Draganflyer X8 helicopter determines its own orientation and motion, moving where the operator instructs it, automatically handling the complex attitude and altitude adjustments that would normally require an experienced pilot.The Draganflyer X8 helicopter can be put into GPS hold mode where it will maintain its position without any user input. This means that once the GPS hold is activated, the pilot can concentrate on framing the shot using one of the various cameras that the Draganflyer X8 can carry.The Draganflyer X8 helicopter is flown using a custom-designed handheld controller with a 2.8” color OLED touchscreen that displays telemetry and flight data. The Draganflyer X8 handheld controller receives streaming video sent by the helicopter and in turn, sends this video to a pair of video goggles. The video goggles enable the operator to view what the helicopter is seeing in real-time while also keeping an eye on the helicopter itself.


 The increased payload capability of the Draganflyer X8 has allowed it to carry a select variety of digital SLR cameras and various 1080p video cameras.

Q-SOUND Bluetooth headphones---Solar-powered Bluetooth headphones

When it comes to wearable devices that harness the power of the sun, it would seem to make sense that the obvious place for solar panels would be the place that generally gets the most sunlight – namely the top of the head. That might not be desirable for items such as backpacks, jackets or sunglasses, but it’s such a perfect fit for headphones that you wonder why no one has thought of it before. Engineering student Shepeleff Stephen has hit on the obvious with his concept for Bluetooth-enabled headphones that incorporate solar panels into the headband.

 The Q-SOUND headphones would not only allow you to listen to music via any Bluetooth-enabled digital audio player, but also would let you take calls on any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. If your player doesn’t support Bluetooth there is also a 3.5mm jack to allow for a wired connection. The headband is constructed of flexible plastic incorporating amorphous silicon solar cells, while each rubber-based earpiece can be adjusted to fit differently shaped and sized heads.

 Two removable NiMH rechargeable batteries, with a capacity of 800mAh and operating voltage of 1.2V, are located within the headband, just above either earpiece, which keep the headphones charged for up to 40 hours. According to Shepeleff, an hour of sunlight should provide more than 2.67 hours of running time for the headphones when operating on maximum volume.

Shepeleff’s futuristic design for the Q-SOUND headphones not only ensures that your music enjoyment is energy-efficient, but also that your projection of detached cool won’t be compromised. Makes us wonder just how long it is before we see something like Shepeleff’s concept crop up in the real world.