theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/the-case-for-abolishing-patents-yes-all-of-them
The article discusses a Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis working paper by Michele Boldrin and David Levine, professors at Washington University in St. Louis.
The crux if their argument is that innovation is stifled as the patent system is used as a source of income through litigation.
Read the article and then discuss. Do you think that the patent issue has hurt or helped the tactical industry?
GEN (R) Stanley McChrystal, USA addresses leadership during this hour-long video for the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The takeaway? “Leadership is not a talent or a gift. It’s a choice. It’s not complex, but it’s very hard.”
When The Pope talks, people listen.
Thomas Barnett was the epitome of the disruptive thinker in the early 00s. His classic work, “The Pentagon’s New Map” inspired outside-the-box thinking all across government. Just the other day I was wondering what happened to Mr Barnett so I checked out his website and found that he is alive and well. He’s also still at it, taking a critical look at the world we live in and providing honest analysis on his blog. If you are interested in a different point of view on global economics and political freedom and how it effects the US, then you need to make a regular stop to read Thomas Barnett.
Here’s another story about those pesky 3D printers and the possibilities they represent.
Emma was born with a congenital condition known as arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC). It leaves her unable to control her arms. Her mother found out about the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton (WREX), an assistive device made of hinged metal bars and resistance bands.
WREX is designed for use in conjunction with a wheel chair so designers had to scale the system down for the tyke Emma. Tariq Rahman, Ph.D, head of pediatric engineering and research, and Whitney Sample, research designer, both from Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware set to work and were able to adapt the dimensions for her use. Additionally, the design can be refitted with larger and larger components as Emma grows. Not only are the current components produced on a 3-dimensional printed but future parts will as well. From all accounts, Emma’s life has been immeasurably improved by this technology. Already, other children are receiving customized variants of WREX.
This story affects our community on so many levels. First, there is the medical aspect. We have plenty of troops who have muscular and skeletal injuries. The lower profile, and the cheaper we can produce these robotic assistance devices the better. Second, is the robotics issue. technologies such as this may actually leap ahead of current military programs. And finally, we have the 3D printer phenomenon. The technology is becoming more powerful, more common and less expensive. It is going to drastically change how we interact with technology in the future. Stories like this should inspire us to apply these capabilities to our own community.
The very well respected Small Wars Journal recently published an article by COL Kevin Benson (USA, Ret) and Dr Jennifer Weber (Civil War expert) entitled Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A “Vision” of the Future.
It’s caused quite a stir all over the Internet, even spawning an editorial in the Washington Times, “The Civil War of 2016.”
You need to read both of these pieces. Then, we can discuss. No tinfoil hat stuff, those are the limits. This is serious and I’d like to see the discussion progress beyond the obviously controversial scenario. It’s quite unfortunate that they chose to demonize a right wing political faction to make their point. But, our point is considering the implications and likelihood of such a scenario coming to pass by any means.
We’re big fans of the home brewed Tactical NAV app and its creator Jonathon Springer so we’re quite pleased to bring you some news. If anyone has ever earned the title TacHacker, it’s this guy.
First off, the makers of Tactical NAV recently released “Compass NAV” for Android a couple of weeks ago. Basically it’s just the compass function of TACNAV and it’s priced at .99 cents.
Tactical NAV is also in the midst of an update that will include –
– Separate iPad and Android versions … plus a new iPhone version (free update for existing users)
– Troop tracking (all users on all systems — iPhone, iPad, Android will be able to see each other on the battlefield along with MMS/SMS messaging capabilities between each other, etc)
– A realtime “FreeDraw” – a sandtable-like capability that will act very similar to BFT and CPOF
– iCloud integration
– Facebook integration
– Ability to record video with geolocation-data updated in realtime for playback later
– Voice annotating function
– UTM addition
– “Go to Grid” will be able to work with MGRS, LAT/LONG, and UTM
Here are some screenshots of Tactical NAV running on iPad.
‘Like’ them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tacticalnav.
Tactical Fanboy picked this up the other day. Despite assertions elsewhere, by no means is this the first 3D printed firearm. It’s starting to make its way into the Main Stream Media and of course timing couldn’t be better so the ‘plastic’ gun and ‘anyone can print a gun’ talk has already started. To be sure, 3D printing is the next big thing. Industry is way out on front of Government on this issue as they are more concerned with patent and copyright infringement than anything else. Expect to see industry propose legislation to attempt to throttle printers in order to suppress certain types of items being produced.
The big issue in this instance is that a lower was produced. As far as ATF is concerned, that is the firearm. It is legal to build your own gun. However, as this technology proliferates, what would stop someone who cannot legally possess a firearm from printing critical parts and assembling a gun from the parts he couldn’t produce in house? A heavy question that balances liberty and social responsibility.
Will LE one day be on the lookout for unlicensed printers connecting to the network? Will everything we print have to be approved by a central server? Will printing certain items become illegal? These are all issues we will face in the not-too-distant-future. The capability presented by the 3D printer makes it an absolute Disruptive Technology.
HaveBlue of AR15.com has managed to create a working polymer AR-15 lower made from a 3D printer, specifically a mid 90’s Stratasys 3D printer. So far, the lower has been combined with a .22 LR upper, with over 200 rounds fired and no issues. A 5.56 upper was also used, with some feeding and extraction issues, however according to the creator this upper has also had problems with a standard aluminum lower.
A few other articles I’ve seen on this project have instantly jumped at the chance to (incorrectly) claim people now have the ability to create fully-functional firearms using just a 3D printer, so in the name of truth and fairness, I feel it’s important to mention that only the lower was created with the printer, not the trigger assembly and other required components.
AR-15.com thread detailing the project
The Aegis Parka is a garment designed by Nieuwe Heren to protect against urban pollution. The Aegis is made from Schoeller Ceraspace, a scally fabric far more abrasion and heat resistant then leather due to being made from ceramic particles. The inner liner consists of Schoeller PCM, a textile that contains millions of microcapsules filled with Phase Change Materials that balance out temperature extremes to achieve the wearer’s personal comfort climate. LEDs on the garment light up as a sensor measures hazardous molecules in the environment. An onboard respirator with an active carbon filter helps the wearer to breath in fresh air. The Aegis also filters the surrounding air as the suit is treated with a TiO2 (titaniumdioxide) solution which cleanses the air due to its photocatalystic properties.
This article was originally published on Tactical Fanboy. I’d consider this a disruptive technology as it incorporates several new fabric technologies and integrates an onboard respirator. As the styling is civilian in nature it could easily be put to use for combat in urban environments.
www.nieuweheren.com/products/aegis-parka
