14 Amazing DARPA Technologies On Tap
Go inside the labs of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for a look at some of the most intriguing technologies they're developing in computing, electronics, communications, and more.
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The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has announced its latest technological advance, a combination of "mind and machine" to help soldiers on the battlefield respond more quickly to deadly threats. It's the latest in a series of technical breakthroughs from the Penatgon's research arm, some of which can be applied in areas other than national defense.
A few months ago, DARPA revealed it had successfully tested a camera (pictured above) with 1.4 gigapixel resolution. To achieve that resolution--the equivalent of 1,400 megapixels--the camera builds a panoramic image from more than 100 micro cameras.
DARPA's newest development, called the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS), includes a 120-megapixel camera, radar, computers with cognitive visual-processing algorithms, and brainwave scanners worn by soldiers. It aims to help scouts assess battlefield input using a portable visual threat-detection device.
DARPA is trying to solve a common problem with CT2WS, said program manager Gill Pratt, in a statement on the initiative's progress: "How can you reliably detect potential threats and targets of interest without making it a resource drain?"
CT2WS is based on the concept that humans have a natural ability to "detect the unusual," according to DARPA. The soldier wears an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap that monitors brain signals and records when a threat is detected. Users are shown images, about 10 per second, and their brain signals indicate which images are significant.
Launched in 2008, the program is being transitioned to the Army's Night Vision Lab. Field tests and demonstrations resulted in a low rate of false alarms--five out of 2,304 "target events" per hour--and the technology identified 91% of threats. Common alternatives such as binoculars and cameras have a much higher error rate.
DARPA draws a lot of attention for far-out research projects like the world's fastest robot and a plan to capture and recycle space junk, but electronics, communications, and IT are core to its mission. That's been true since the agency created ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet, in 1969.
The research agency has dozens of projects underway in various research offices. Its Information Innovation Office focuses on IT research and development, its Microsystems Technology Office on electronics and photonics, and its Strategic Technology Office on communications, networks, and electronic warfare.
Dig into our InformationWeek Government visual guide to 14 of DARPA's most innovative technology projects. Image credit: DARPA
As part of the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System, soldiers wear an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap that monitors brain signals and records when a threat is detected. Users are shown images, and their brain signals indicate which images are significant. Image credit: DARPA
DARPA has partnered with Raytheon Missiles Sytems to develop wireless hotspots capable of transmitting data at a minimum of 1 Gbps through aerial, mobile, and fixed endpoints, over a 25-mile range. The technology, which will be tested on an unmanned aerial vehicle, aims to connect remote soldiers with support from nearby bases and intelligence resources. Image credit: DARPA
When GPS is unavailable, the military uses bulky, expensive sensors for navigation. DARPA is working on fabrication techniques for "microscale inertial sensors" as part of its Micro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing program. During an early phase, the work focused on 3-D microfabrication methods using bulk metallic glasses, diamond and ultra-low expansion glass. Small 3-D structures were fabricated. Image credit: University of Michigan
DARPA is funding research into automated translation and linguistic analysis technologies that will make it easier for English speakers to understand foreign-language chat, messaging, and face-to-face conversation by translating on the fly, regardless of the use of slang, colloquialisms, varied pronunciation, or incomplete syntax. Image credit: DARPA
DARPA has already developed radar that can penetrate trees and other foliage. Its Foliage Penetrating Ground Moving-Target Indicator Radar Exploitation and Planning project aims to take that work further by enabling radar to, among other things, estimate the size of groups of enemy soldiers walking on foot, and to distinguish between people exiting vehicles and, say animals or wind-blown foliage. Image credit: DARPA
The Clean-Slate Design of Resilient, Adaptive, Secure Hosts (CRASH) program aims to develop computers that, in the wake of a cyber attack, can "continue rendering useful services, learn from previous attacks how to guard against, and cope with future attacks." In fact, the program goes a step further in its pursuit of computers that can repair themselves after attacks have succeeded. Image credit: DARPA
The Deep Exploration and Filtering of Text (DEFT) program uses natural-language processing and artificial intelligence to parse documents and conversations for deeper meaning by making inferences, analyzing context, and navigating causal relationships among various statements. Image credit: DARPA
Standoff Precision ID in 3-D uses optics technologies, including a technology often found in radio telescopes (focal plane arrays), to more easily assess the three-dimensional characteristics of targets from a long range. Image credit: DARPA
The Detection and Computational Analysis of Psychological Signals program seeks to analyze and log soldier behavior to help make speedier diagnoses of problems like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or suicidal thoughts. Data points include sleep patterns, text and voice communications, facial expression, and posture. Image credit: DARPA
Early pilots in DARPA's so-called Mind's Eye program have demonstrated an ability to recognize and describe certain events. The program uses artificial intelligence to analyze video feeds from a camera, then describe what is going on within the camera's fields of vision. Image credit: DARPA
Programming Computation on Encrypted Data, a.k.a. PROCEED, aims to make practical use of encrypted data without having to first decrypt it. A breakthrough could make it harder for hackers to develop malware, says DARPA. Pictured here is a supercomputer used by the National Security Agency for code breaking. Image credit: Austin Mills (Creative Commons)
Snipers are a dangerous threat in hostile environments. DARPA's Counter-Sniper Program is working on technology to automatically sense, track, and return fire on snipers. The C-Sniper system will operate day or night from a moving vehicle and give the operator information to make split-second decisions. Image credit: DARPA
Originally slated for use in drones in Afghanistan, DARPA's Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System uses a series of cameras and processing systems in the sky to perform high-def video monitoring of events on the ground. Image credit: DARPA
Originally slated for use in drones in Afghanistan, DARPA's Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System uses a series of cameras and processing systems in the sky to perform high-def video monitoring of events on the ground. Image credit: DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has announced its latest technological advance, a combination of "mind and machine" to help soldiers on the battlefield respond more quickly to deadly threats. It's the latest in a series of technical breakthroughs from the Penatgon's research arm, some of which can be applied in areas other than national defense.
A few months ago, DARPA revealed it had successfully tested a camera (pictured above) with 1.4 gigapixel resolution. To achieve that resolution--the equivalent of 1,400 megapixels--the camera builds a panoramic image from more than 100 micro cameras.
DARPA's newest development, called the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS), includes a 120-megapixel camera, radar, computers with cognitive visual-processing algorithms, and brainwave scanners worn by soldiers. It aims to help scouts assess battlefield input using a portable visual threat-detection device.
DARPA is trying to solve a common problem with CT2WS, said program manager Gill Pratt, in a statement on the initiative's progress: "How can you reliably detect potential threats and targets of interest without making it a resource drain?"
CT2WS is based on the concept that humans have a natural ability to "detect the unusual," according to DARPA. The soldier wears an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap that monitors brain signals and records when a threat is detected. Users are shown images, about 10 per second, and their brain signals indicate which images are significant.
Launched in 2008, the program is being transitioned to the Army's Night Vision Lab. Field tests and demonstrations resulted in a low rate of false alarms--five out of 2,304 "target events" per hour--and the technology identified 91% of threats. Common alternatives such as binoculars and cameras have a much higher error rate.
DARPA draws a lot of attention for far-out research projects like the world's fastest robot and a plan to capture and recycle space junk, but electronics, communications, and IT are core to its mission. That's been true since the agency created ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet, in 1969.
The research agency has dozens of projects underway in various research offices. Its Information Innovation Office focuses on IT research and development, its Microsystems Technology Office on electronics and photonics, and its Strategic Technology Office on communications, networks, and electronic warfare.
Dig into our InformationWeek Government visual guide to 14 of DARPA's most innovative technology projects. Image credit: DARPA
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