LabTV Videos

Soldiers in combat require massive amounts of energy to be able to endure the tough conditions. To fuel their bodies, they must consume about 3,600 calories (or units of energy) every day -- nearly twice the amount that teenagers back home need to stay healthy!

Each soldier carries his own food -- a portable meal (called an MRE, or Meal, Ready to Eat) that's lightweight, nonperishable, and tasty. These meals contain entrees and side dishes, snacks, and drinks as well as a flameless ration heater -- a plastic pouch that heats food when a soldier adds water.

Launched using a portable catapult and captured by a hook when its mission is over, the Scan Eagle is 40 pounds of amazing aircraft. The plane and its payloads are tested at a Navy Research Lab in China Lake.

Flying all day on just a little gas and remotely controlled by mouse clicks, the unmanned arial vehicle returns live video that helps keep Navy and Marine units safe in the field.

“It keeps the human away from the danger,” says T.J. Zacman, an aircraft engineer. “You can fly down to 1,000 feet and not worry about getting shot down.”

Physician Scientist Peter Weina and his team at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have declared war on the world's most deadly disease, malaria.

Malaria kills over six million people each year, most of them in South America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. It is a nasty disease caused by a tiny protozoa and transmitted by mosquitoes. The current treatment is a 300-year-old drug named quinine and it doesn't work very well.

American soldiers are masters at using their weapons to survive in combat zones. Now, with a video-game system called ELECT BiLAT, scientists and engineers are showing troops how to add another dimension -- enhanced cultural awareness and social skills -- to their arsenal of talents.

Lighter, stronger and resistant to flames. That's what researchers at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division - China Lake want from materials that will be used to build future ships, jets and space craft.

These chemical and materials scientists start with molecules 100,000 times tinier than the width of a human hair. They end with exotic materials called composites.

It resembles a movie set, with characters stopping in doorways to interact while the street scene outside the window changes. But things are not as they appear.

This immersive training environment was developed by researchers with the Institute for Creative Technologies in Los Angeles for the U.S. Army. Physical props like chairs, desks and rubble are combined with rear screen projection in the doorways and windows to allow virtual humans to interact with participants.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs, are aircraft that fly without a human pilot on board and are used in the field to keep soldiers out of harm's way. Raven UAVs are backpack-portable aircraft that can be launched simply by tossing them into the air. Like most, they get their energy from batteries, but a team of engineers at an Air Force Research Lab in Dayton, Ohio, has developed a smarter way to power them -- fuel cells.

Soldiers are on their feet all day -- whether in the desert, the jungle, or even the snow. The loads they carry, their environment, and the speeds at which they move all impact their feet -- and the boots they're wearing. So engineers at an Army research lab in Natick, Mass., are working to ensure that the boots on the ground work well and feel great. Footwear engineer Mike Holthe uses his training in biomechanics -- applying the principles of engineering to the human body -- to create and test boots.

Shelters protect people from the sun and wind and help them stay warm. Army shelters must do more -- they shield soldiers from chemical and biological agents and the fragments from enemy mortar.

Engineers at an Army research lab in Natick, Mass., design shelters with even better capability. Their portable homes are energy-efficient, thanks to LED lighting and solar panels; easy to assemble with the use of inflatable tubes called air beams; and are invisible at night!

For centuries -- until only about 30 years ago! -- sailors tossed their trash overboard into the sea. Now Navy ships focus on protecting the environment as scientists at NAVSEA Carderock in Bethesda, Md., develop and evaluate ways to treat waste.