04-29-2003, 02:03 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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SAIC's Technology Includes iPAQs
This article is an interesting overview of SAIC, the Science Applications International Corp.
"Most people have never heard of either Beyster or SAIC -- and that's fine with Beyster, the company's reclusive founder and CEO. Privately held SAIC makes much of the supersecret technology that's at the core of the sleuthing done by the National Security Agency, CIA, and other spook services...About a third of SAIC's business is systems integration for other companies, such as Pfizer and BP, but its heart and soul is spy tech. Intelligence agencies don't list or rank their contractors. Intelligence sources, however, say SAIC was the NSA's top supplier last year and in the top five at the CIA."
Check out this picture as an example of what they're doing:
Yes, those are iPaqs sitting in their cradles. We'll probably never find out exactly what these devices do, but they're presumably some sort of surveillance tool. bdegroodt, who submitted this, thinks they look like Pocket PC-powered BattleBots :lol: What's your guess?
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04-29-2003, 02:22 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 361
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They're probably just office bumper cars. In military circles SAIC is renowned for their motto: "If you're breathin', we're hirin'." ;-)
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04-29-2003, 02:33 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 232
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My guess is they are designed to roll into Staples, OfficeMax, and Office Depot stores and emit small concentrated electromagnetic pulses right near the Palm displays. :lol:
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04-29-2003, 02:36 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,185
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by trachy
They're probably just office bumper cars. In military circles SAIC is renowned for their motto: "If you're breathin', we're hirin'." ;-)
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Wow. That's interesting. Having worked with their employees and having some personal friends that work there, I can say that some of the brightest people I know work for SAIC. I've seen some pretty cool stuff come out of that company.
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04-29-2003, 02:59 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 55
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The bright red color indicates they're not covert :lol:, but they're almost certainly Surveillance/remote sensor devices. My guess would be that they provide at least audio/video fee over a secure network. They may provide other information as well. Quite similar to the "hedgehogs" mentioned in Tom Clancy's "Power Plays" books.
Using an iPAQ is a good idea. It saves a lot of effort creating an embedded processor/system/interface protocol and lets you concentrate on the important aspects of applications programming. OTOH, an iPAQ isn't likely to survive a direct hit by "buzzsaw" :bangin:
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04-29-2003, 02:59 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 10,981
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The machine at the front appears to have a camera mounted on it. So I'm guessing that this device might actually be able to look where it's going, and avoid obstacles. 8)
Do I get one if I guessed correctly?? :wink:
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04-29-2003, 03:01 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 416
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I've seen these before! They're for the CIA, and they're a highly ruggedized, 4-season/all-terrain drink-fetcher for the top execs. Word around here is that this project got elevated to priority levels not seen since the "executive parking space defender" from '93
__________________
"And then she understood the devilish cunning of the enemies' plan. By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger."-C.S. Lewis
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04-29-2003, 03:05 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 416
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Actually, seriously, you see the wireless card in each iPaq? They're probably rough prototypes for a network controlled vehicle (one of them spy-type vehicles). For a prototype, an iPaq would make a great "quick" controller...
__________________
"And then she understood the devilish cunning of the enemies' plan. By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger."-C.S. Lewis
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04-29-2003, 03:13 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 361
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by bdegroodt
Wow. That's interesting. Having worked with their employees and having some personal friends that work there, I can say that some of the brightest people I know work for SAIC. I've seen some pretty cool stuff come out of that company.
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I'm sure there are plenty of bright, innovative people working for SAIC. I just think their hiring practices in the military arena are less than exemplarary. I've worked on a few military bases over the past 10 years and often saw them hire former military personnel that didn't seem qualified. Filling slots to keep them active and generating income comes with a price - diminished reputation.
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04-29-2003, 03:13 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,185
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I don't know why the online version of this article doesn't have the same graphic, but there's a cool one in the print magazine.
Basically, it says these are designed to travel in packs. They communicate over an 802.11 network (Unless the terrorist turns on the microwave oven  ). There are a couple of jobs. One version is responsible for mapping and creating a 2 dimensional image of the area. The others are controlled by an operator in a safe location via a laptop. They report the location of the enemy and have cameras. Apparently, they replace each other on the fly if one is destroyed by the enemy.
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