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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Life Under Kinetic Evolution
12/22/2016

DARPA Provides Mobius Bionics LUKE Arms to Walter Reed

The holiday season is bringing high-tech offerings for U.S. war veterans this year in the form of sophisticated bionic arms developed under the direction of DARPA. In a ceremony today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Md., Justin Sanchez, Director of DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, delivered the first two advanced “LUKE” arms from a new production line—shiny evidence that the fast-track DARPA research effort has completed its transition into a commercial enterprise. As part of that transition process, DARPA is collaborating with WRNMMC to make the advanced prostheses available to service members and veterans who are rehabilitating after suffering upper-limb loss.
| Health | Med-Devices | Restoration | Transition |

Image Caption: The Mechanically Based Antenna (AMEBA) program could enable radio communication through seawater and the ground. and directly between warfighters hundreds and ultimately thousands of kilometers apart. Click on image below for high-resolution.
12/16/2016

Underwater Radio, Anyone?

Here’s something easy to forget when you are chatting on your cell phone or flipping channels on your smart TV: although wireless communication seems nothing short of magic, it is a brilliant, reality-anchored application of physics and engineering in which radio signals travel from a transmitter to a receiver in the form of electric and magnetic fields woven into fast-as-light electromagnetic waves.
| Communications | Mobile | Tech-Foundations |

Image Caption: DARPA’s High-speed Optimized Handling of Holiday Operations (HO HO HO) initiative aims to help Santa Claus and his elves more quickly and efficiently complete their holiday duties by providing access to research from numerous DARPA programs. This year’s contributions include technologies developed through the Cyber Grand Challenge (upper left), Intrachip/Interchip Enhanced Cooling (ICECool)(top center), Transformative Designs (TRADES)(top right), Multifunction RF (MFRF)(bottom left), Warrior Web (bottom center), and the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST). Click below for high-resolution image.
12/15/2016

DARPA Renews Popular HO HO HO Program

DARPA today announced it would extend for the third year its High-speed Optimized Handling of Holiday Operations (HO HO HO) initiative, in which the Agency shares some of the year’s top breakthroughs to help Santa Claus and his elves more quickly and efficiently complete their holiday duties.
| Agency |

Offensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET)
12/7/2016

OFFSET Envisions Swarm Capabilities for Small Urban Ground Units

Urban canyons—with their high vertical structures, tight spaces, and limited lines of sight—constrain military communications, mobility, and tactics in the best of times. These challenges become even more daunting when U.S. forces are in areas they do not control—where they can’t rely on supply chains, infrastructure, and previous knowledge of local conditions and potential threats.
| Air | Autonomy | Games | Ground | Interface | ISR | Robotics | Unmanned |

Global Interaction
11/30/2016

Gamifying the Search for Strategic Surprise

National security challenges today are increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, demanding technological solutions that reflect the combined expertise of a broad diversity of professionals. But even when such experts are available and engaged, progress towards an integrated solution can be slowed by the lack of a versatile, domain-agnostic, collaborative platform, where innovation can happen not just despite but because of the disparate mix of participants’ perspectives and experiences.
| Fundamentals | Games | Opportunities | Tech-Foundations |

Image Caption: DARPA is creating the Consortium For Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) program to establish an open industry/government forum that would leverage best practices from government and industry to develop non-binding, consensus-derived technical safety standards for on-orbit servicing operations. Click below for high-resolution image.
11/29/2016

DARPA Creating Industry/Government Group for Safe Operation of Space Robotics

Recent technological advances have made the longstanding dream of on-orbit robotic servicing of satellites a near-term possibility. The potential advantages of that unprecedented capability are enormous. Instead of designing their satellites to accommodate the harsh reality that, once launched, their investments could never be repaired or upgraded, satellite owners could use robotic vehicles to physically inspect, assist, and modify their on-orbit assets. That could significantly lower construction and deployment costs while dramatically extending satellite utility, resilience, and reliability.
| Opportunities | Policy | Robotics | Satellites | Space |

Designing Agile Human-Machine Teams
11/28/2016

Designing Agile Human-Machine Teams

Modern military operations are dynamic and complex—requiring, for example, that infantry squads carry out their missions simultaneously in the 3-dimensional physical world, the cyber domain, and across the electromagnetic spectrum. As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, the future of kinetic, cyber, and electronic warfare envisions humans and intelligent machines working together as a team. A challenge in designing human-machine systems, however, is determining how best to meld human cognitive strengths and the unique capabilities of smart machines to create intelligent teams adaptive to rapidly changing circumstances.
| Autonomy | Complexity | Interface | Math | Systems |

Image Caption: Tern, a joint program between DARPA and the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), has made significant advances during Phase 3 on numerous fronts, including commencement of wing fabrication (above) and completion of successful engine testing for its test vehicle, and funding of a second test vehicle. Click below for high-resolution image.
11/17/2016

DARPA Doubles Down on Tern by Funding 2nd Test Vehicle

Tern, a joint program between DARPA and the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), seeks to greatly increase the effectiveness of forward-deployed small-deck ships such as destroyers and frigates by enabling them to serve as mobile launch and recovery sites for specially designed unmanned air systems (UASs). DARPA last year awarded Phase 3 of Tern to a team led by the Northrop Grumman Corporation to build a full-scale technology demonstration system. The program has since made significant advances on numerous fronts, including commencement of wing fabrication and completion of successful engine testing for its test vehicle, and DARPA has tasked Northrop Grumman with building a second test vehicle.
| Air | ISR | Maritime | Unmanned |