Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Creating and Preventing Strategic Surprise

DARPA SEEKS PERVASIVE COMMUNICATIONS FOR DEPLOYED TROOPS

Dropped calls are an annoyance in a major metropolitan area. But when you’re conducting military patrols in a remote forward-operating location, a loss of data signal means no connectivity between you, reachback support, firepower and valuable intelligence. DARPA’s Fixed Wireless at a Distance program seeks to enable pervasive, high-throughput military communications using a mobility backbone infrastructure that provides unlimited scalability for high-speed communication for warfighters. News Release Program page

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DARPA’S LEGGED SQUAD SUPPORT SYSTEM (LS3) TO LIGHTEN TROOPS’ LOAD

Today’s dismounted warfighter can be saddled with more than 100 pounds of gear, resulting in physical strain, fatigue and degraded performance. Reducing the load on dismounted warfighters has become a major point of emphasis for defense research and development, because the increasing weight of individual equipment has a negative impact on warfighter readiness. The Army has identified physical overburden as one of its top five science and technology challenges. To help alleviate physical weight on troops, DARPA is developing a highly mobile, semi-autonomous legged robot, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), to integrate with a squad of Marines or Soldiers.News Release Program Page

DARPA research on electronic neural architectures cited

Computers are constrained by physical limits, as well as the requirement for humans to program how computers interact with their environments. In contrast the human brain autonomously processes information and learns from its environment. If available, neuromorphic electronic machines, computers that function more like a brain, may enable autonomous computational solutions for real-world problems with many complex variables. News Release Program Page

DARPA Seeks to Improve Security of Embedded Computer Systems

Embedded computer systems play a part in every aspect of DoD technology. The software in these systems does everything from managing large physical infrastructures, to running peripherals such as printers and routers, to controlling medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps. Networking these embedded computer systems enables remote retrieval of diagnostic information, permits software updates, and provides access to innovative features, but it also introduces vulnerabilities to the system via remote attack. News Release Program Page

DARPA researchers design eye-enhancing virtual reality contact lenses

Currently being developed by DARPA researchers at Washington-based Innovega iOptiks are contact lenses that enhance normal vision by allowing a wearer to view virtual and augmented reality images without the need for bulky apparatus. Instead of oversized virtual reality helmets, digital images are projected onto tiny full-color displays that are very near the eye. These novel contact lenses allow users to focus simultaneously on objects that are close up and far away. This could improve ability to use tiny portable displays while sill interacting with the surrounding environment. News Release Program Page

DARPA SEEKS NEW POWER DYNAMIC FOR CONTINUATION OF MOORE’S LAW

Computational capability is an enabler for nearly every military system. But computational capability is increasingly limited by power requirements and the constraints on the ability to dissipate heat. One particular military computational need is found in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems where sensors collect more information than can be processed in real time. To continue to increase processing speed, new methods for controlling power constraints are required. News Release Program Page