Defense Advanced Research Projects AgencyNews

News

With more than 200 different programs across the spectrum of science and engineering, DARPA frequently has news to share. We regularly announce the launch of new programs, contract awards and—most exciting—compelling results from our ongoing research. We strive to report on our work and activities in language that can be understood and appreciated by the full range of individuals in military and civilian positions interested in our work—from technical experts with a need to know, to people who simply find our mission important and our accomplishments fascinating.

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10/4/2018

Discovering New Molecules for Military Applications

The efficient discovery and production of new molecules is essential for a range of military capabilities—from developing safe chemical warfare agent simulants and medicines to counter emerging threats, to coatings, dyes, and specialty fuels for advanced performance. Current approaches to develop molecules for specific applications, however, are intuition-driven, mired in slow iterative design and test cycles, and ultimately limited by the specific molecular expertise of the chemist who has to test each candidate molecule by hand.

9/26/2018

DARPA Selects Teams to Explore Underground Domain in Subterranean Challenge

The world beneath us leaves much to be discovered. These uncharted environments pose immense challenges to military and emergency personnel as they respond to threats from adversaries or natural disasters. DARPA has selected nine teams to compete in the Subterranean (SubT) Challenge – seven in the physical Systems track and two in the Virtual track – to develop new approaches to rapidly map, navigate, and search underground environments.

9/7/2018

DARPA Announces $2 Billion Campaign to Develop Next Wave of AI Technologies

Over its 60-year history, DARPA has played a leading role in the creation and advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that have produced game-changing capabilities for the Department of Defense. Starting in the 1960s, DARPA research shaped the first wave of AI technologies, which focused on handcrafted knowledge, or rule-based systems capable of narrowly defined tasks. While a critical step forward for the field, these systems were fragile and limited.

8/17/2018

Robotic Payload for RSGS Mission Moves to Next Phase of Development

DARPA has completed a major review milestone for its Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, or RSGS, program. Results from a recently completed preliminary design review showed that the robotic payload design – coupled with a spacecraft bus that Space Systems Loral (SSL) is providing through a partnership agreement – is on track to fulfill a multi-year mission to service at least 20 commercial and government spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit (GEO).

| Robotics | Satellites | Space |

8/9/2018

Restoring Trust in Electronic Documents

Today, the expeditious delivery of electronic documents, messages, and other data is relied on for everything from communications to navigation. As the near instantaneous exchange of information has increased in volume, so has the variety of electronic data formats–from images and videos to text and maps. Verifying the trustworthiness and provenance of this mountain of electronic information is an exceedingly difficult task as individuals and organizations routinely engage with data shared by unauthenticated and potentially compromised sources.

| Cyber | Systems | Trust |

7/24/2018

DARPA Selects Teams to Unleash Power of Specialized, Reconfigurable Computing Hardware

The general-purpose computer has remained the dominant computing architecture for the last 50 years, driven largely by the relentless pace of Moore’s Law—the transistor-scaling that has allowed for a half-century of rapid progress in electronics. As this trajectory shows signs of slowing, however, it has become increasingly more challenging to achieve performance gains from generalized hardware, setting the stage for a resurgence in specialized architectures.

7/24/2018

Research Teams Selected to Lower Barriers to Modern System-on-Chip Design Announced

A once highly manual process, circuit design has been transformed by the advent of electronic design automation (EDA) tools and modular design methodologies. Despite continuing advances in automation technologies, the demand for increasingly complex System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms has shown no sign of slowing. Today’s SoCs incorporate billions of transistors with miles of electrical wiring that are integrated within a tiny chip.

7/24/2018

Research Teams Selected to Uncover Novel Materials and Approaches to Circuit Integration

The use of intellectual-property (IP) blocks–discrete, modular, reusable blocks that deliver frequently used circuit functions—has significantly streamlined the design and creation of microchips. Just as the number of transistors per chip has grown dramatically in line with Moore’s Law—the transistor scaling that has allowed for 50 years of electronics advancement–so too has the number of IP blocks on those same chips.

News

Selected DARPA Achievements