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The brightly coloured beach umbrella providing shade for the umpire at centre court at the finals of the City of Onkaparinga ATP Challenger.
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The umpire sitting in his high chair on the day of the Finals. He had a microphone and a computer tablet for entering the scores.
You may call them umpires, or referees, or game officials...whatever the title, they are the ones to keep order in a sporting event. Lego minifigures need that order whenever they play their different sports. The games in which we participate and the games we watch, either in person or on the 'telly' (TV, tube, whatever name you call it!) are often determined by how well the officiating goes. Coaches do their best work in teaching their team about respect for the officials, even if the call goes against them. That is when skill and teamwork must rise to the top in order to gain the victory.
Because of the high demand for American presence in numerous regions across the globe, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) has continued to harp on the issue of fulfilling personnel numbers. With sizable deployments to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Central and East Asia, the United States' armed forces are being stretched thinner than anticipated. Moreover, the global trend towards greater urbanization means conventional fights against peer-level adversaries will swallow up tremendous resources as city blocks have to be cleared one-by-one and policed during an occupation. This sorry fact was more than alluded to by the two Eastern European Wars which saw extreme urban combat across the Balkans and Ukraine--and many of the cities involved pale in size when compared to those of East Asia. To cut to the chase, the DOD has become tremendously worried about fulfilling its security obligations should one--let alone two or more--corners of the world crank up the heat.
With this in mind, the various service branches undertook independent initiatives to circumvent personnel problems. As to be expected, many of these experiments revolve around automated systems to lighten the burden on existing personnel and augment existing forces. For example, the Army's Army Evolved 2040 initiative produced the Oshkosh Future (Autonomous) Cargo Truck [or F(A)CT] to reduce the number of men and women necessary to keep physical logistical lines operational. By slaving trucks to escort vehicles or giving the driverless vehicles completely digitized routes to follow, the Army can focus more on shoring up its forward presence.
The principles outlined above were continued under a similar program executed by the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Designed by the Missiles and Fire Control facilities, LockMart unveiled the Unmanned Modular Platform for Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Engagement (UMPIRE) as a way to add more lethality and C4ISR redundancies to the Army Evolved 2040 initiative. Meant to be a cross between a patrol vehicle and an intelligence node, the UMPIRE is able to conduct both supportive and independent operations, particularly those within dense urban areas. Ideally, the UMPIRE is meant to replace sentries and vulnerable investigation crews via its abilities to traverse difficult terrain/obstacles and relay high fidelity spatial data with its assortment of optical and acoustic instruments. This reduces troop exposure to buried explosives, snipers, coincidental injuries, and other precarious traps that would otherwise attrite coalition forces in a given locale.
Early fielding experiments with the UMPIRE have proven overwhelmingly successful by Army Evolved standards. Although logistical setbacks have been encountered due to the need to learn how to maintain a new class of vehicle, the Army has been able to adjust and train skilled crews on how to properly care for the vehicle. Additionally, the UMPIRE's needs are relatively low compared to robotic platforms from other nations as the vehicle was heavily inspired by America's next generation of lunar and Martian exploration rovers. Indeed, the unique wheel setup not only gives the UMPIRE the ability to climb challenging terrain (e.g. the moon's surface or a collapsed building), but offers propulsion redundancies as each wheel is equipped with a hub motor. Furthermore, the entire platform uses hybrid energy sources, so it has a relatively high range and prolonged ability to loiter/stalk depending on the mission set. The modularity of the base unit also allows for various weapons to be mounted on the vehicle (the units demonstrated above are equipped with 20mm remote weapons stations), or non-lethal crowd-control devices, enhanced intelligence-gathering instruments, or anything along those lines. More or less, the UMPIRE is indeed a highly versatile and autonomous system--perfect for the growing demands placed upon the US military.
Minda Haas Kuhlmann | 2019
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You know it's autumn...when the World Series arrives. In 1992 I was fortunate enough to attend game 3 of the World Series (Atlanta vs. Toronto). It was the first game ever played outside of the United States. The Blue Jays won 3-2 and went on to win their first of two World Series. Toronto and most of Canada exploded in delirium.
This photo (from my previous Flickr account) was taken by me at a local house league softball game two years ago. One of our sons was playing. Funny how these days seeing my kids play means so much more to me than attending any professional sports event. That being said...good luck to both St. Louis and Boston. Hope it's a great series. PLAY BALL!!
~ Sneaking up on the umpire.
Markham, ON., July 2011.