Rugged

September 13, 2005 EDO Corporation is introducing its new MINI-T Rugged Mini-Tablet Computer at the Defence Systems & Equipment International (DSEi) Exhibition, which is being held this week in London. The one-kilogram, personal-digital-assistant (PDA) design offers "situational awareness in the soldier's pocket" that is useable from the Antarctic to the desert. Typical PDA screens tend to be too small for situational awareness information needed in the battlefield and thus have been limited mainly to sending messages. The MINI - T rugged computer solves this problem with as much as twice the usable screen area as a PDA, powered by substantially faster digital-signal processing. It includes a 6.4 inch sunlight-readable touch screen and dual processing with a 200MHz RISC/DSP.  Read More

September 1, 2005 The Hummer brand is one of the most potent on the planet. Burned deep into the global psyche by the televised wars of Eastern Europe, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the Hummer is instantly recognisable and indistinguishable from America’s military dominance. As a brand, it carries with it all the brand values of the battlefield and the most technologically dominant fighting force since the Romans – reliability and ruggedness, with a liberal splashing of distilled testosterone and topped off with “essence of Arnie” thanks to the screen tough guy’s sponsorship of the brand. Hummer’s Fragrance for Men was one thing, but this time the brand extension has much more relevance. – the Hummer Ruggedised Computer. We’ve recently written about the Panasonic Toughbook’s role in an Everest ascent, and as more people take computers into hostile environments, ruggedised computers will become a robust and established market segment with Panasonic’s Toughbook and ruggedised computer specialist Itronix the lead players. Based on the GoBook VR-1 semi-rugged computer that will be released by Itronix later this month, the Hummer-branded VR-1 will be a "semi-rugged" notebook computer designed to be much tougher than the average laptop and capable of withstanding temperature extremes and hard knocks.  Read More

August 24, 2005: New Zealand-based Sealegs has unveiled an all-new aluminium amphibious craft. The 5.6m amphibious D-Tube features a 4mm marine grade aluminium hull with 3mm aluminium D-Tube shaped pontoons. An inboard air-cooled 16hp Honda engine powers hydraulic wheels motors, allowing the D-Tube to drive at up 10kmph on land and 60kmph on the water. Once in the water, a button is pushed to hydraulically retract the wheels and the Sealegs D-Tube becomes a normal sea-going boat. The boat is based on the boat which halved Sir Richard Branson's English Channel record in June. The standard SeaLegs boat cut the previous record of one hour, forty minutes and six seconds to 43 minutes and 12 seconds ( see pics inside of record). Gizmag has covered a wide range of amphibious vehicles in recent times, including the original launch of Sealegs, the Gibbs Aquada Sportcar, the Gibbs Humdinga 4WD amphibian, the Platypus 4WD amphibian, the Rinspeed Splash, the Phibicat and the Amphicar.  Read More

August 5, 2005 We can’t believe the lack of fanfare for the Motorola i560. The i560 offers advanced Walkie-Talkie services, Java capability, an external display and MMS but the thing that makes it waaay special is that it is a mobile phone built to take serious punishment – not the sort dished out by your average klutz, but the sort of extreme treatment you can encounter from tradesmen, firemen, public safety workers or on a building site or even in a war zone. The Motorola i560 is actually certified to meet military standards for dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, low pressure and solar radiation. Its external display allows information such as incoming calls, time and date to be quickly viewed without the need to open the phone. Why has a phone of this ilk taken so long? We predict a best-seller!!!!  Read More

November 30, 2004 Sealegs amphibious vehicles can drive straight from land into the water using high-torque, motorised wheels and 'legs' that retract when the craft is afloat. The New Zealand company has unveiled designs for a new Rugged Amphibious Craft (RAC) targeting commercial, military and recreational applications which featues a 140hp inboard engine, jet drive and a solid aluminium hull.  Read More

The US Army is digitising the battlefield to such an extent, that it has awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract valued at approximately US$100 million for the supply of DRS Technologies rugged Applique Computer Systems for the U.S. Army's Force XXI Battle Command. The US Army already has over 9000 DRS FBCB2s which incorporate advanced digital information processing and networking for improved combat support, real-time command and control, and enhanced operability and situational awareness throughout the military's force structure. Under the new contract, the FBCB2 will complete transition to full-rate production.  Read More

The US Army is digitising the battlefield to such an extent, that it has awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract valued at approximately US$100 million for the supply of DRS Technologies rugged Applique Computer Systems for the U.S. Army's Force XXI Battle Command. The US Ar...  Read More

Itronix claims there is no more rugged notebook computer available, and to prove it they've put the GoBook Max through a rigorous testing regime - it's survived 54 drops from over ten metres onto plywood over concrete, been baked in an oven and exceeds military specifications for water resistance, vibration and dust...  Read More