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Boeing is building a killer robot which will “decide when, where — and who — to shoot”


Lethal. Cheap. Smart. Australia’s air force will become one of the first in the world to put ‘killer robots’ in the skies alongside its combat pilots. But are we opening a Pandora’s box?

This afternoon, an automated bot at Quora suggested that I answer a reader question. Quora is essentially an “Ask the expert” web site. It is the world’s largest, cataloged and indexed Q&A repository.

This is the question I was asked to answer:

Some pundits believe Bitcoin is a fad, while others seem to feel that it is better than sliced bread. I like sliced bread.* Is Bitcoin really that cool? —Or is it just a lot of Geeky hype?

The ORION™ Non-Linear Junction Detector (NLJD) detects the presence of electronics, regardless of whether they are radiating, hard wired, or even turned off. Electronics containing semi-conductor properties return a harmonic signature the ORION NLJD can detect when radiated with RF energy. An NLJD detects physical properties, and not energy emissions. Therefore, devices that contain circuit boards and their components, like cell phones, video cameras, and microphones can be detected by the ORION NLJD.

How does a non-linear junction detector work?

The NLJD antenna head is a transceiver (transmitter and receiver) that radiates a digital spread spectrum signal to determine the presence of electronic components. When the energy encounters semi-conductor junctions (diodes, transistors, circuit board connections, etc.), a harmonic signal returns to the receiver. The receiver measures the strength of the harmonic signal and distinguishes between 2nd or 3rd harmonics. When a stronger 2nd harmonic is represented on the display in red, it indicates an electronic junction has been detected. In this way, a hand-held ORION is used to sweep walls, objects, containers, furniture, and most types of surfaces to look for hidden electronics, regardless of whether the electronic device is turned on.