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DARPA's steerable bullet proves it can hit moving targets
DARPA announced that its self-steering bullet program, dubbed the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO), passed another developmental milestone in late February. Per an administration release, and the video below, experienced and novice shooters alike were able to strike moving targets. And, in the case of expert shooters, able to hit actively evading targets as well.
DARPA creating software that won't need upgrades for a century
Software upgrades and outdated applications that don't work on new platforms are just a fact of life for people who use computers and other devices. DARPA, however, wants to change that by making software systems that can run for over a century without getting updates from their developers and despite upgrades in hardware. Pentagon's mad science department has recently announced that it has begun a four-year research to figure out what algorithms are necessary to create software that "can dynamically adapt to changes." The agency calls the project "Building Resource Adaptive Software Systems or BRASS," and it knows it won't be easy. In fact, DARPA's expecting to build everything from the ground up. In return, though, we could see a whole new list of programs with longer lifespans that are easier to maintain.
KILSWITCH Android tablet delivers airstrikes in four minutes
For years, American Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) have been forced to call in their Close Air Support (aka airstrike) requests using radios and paper maps, then wait half an hour or more for help to arrive. During that waiting period, the JTAC would also have to carefully coordinate with and monitor the positions of inbound aircrews in order to avoid friendly fire. However, doing so is far easier said than done when you're in the middle of a firefight. But thanks to a new ruggedized Android tablet from DARPA, our frontline soldiers can call in the air cavalry in less time than it takes to order a pizza. Not have a pizza delivered, order one.
DARPA wants an army of drones to overwhelm the enemy
US air warfare superiority has always been a constant, but the nation's pricey, complex new fighter jets can't dominate the air if they can't get there. Even the military's science arm, DARPA, said that "US military systems today are often too expensive... (and) are obsolete by the time they become operational." Ouch. But DARPA is at least doing something about the problem. It's developed a project called the System of Systems Integration Technology and Experimentation (SoSITE) with the aim of nothing less than completely overhauling US military air power. To do that, it wants to build open systems that help drones, missiles, "mission truck" planes and fighter jets work together.
DARPA is working on something way better than GPS
When your location marker on Google Maps is pinging all over the place, it's usually due to temperamental GPS signal. DARPA thinks this isn't cutting it anymore, and is developing a "radically" new tech that will offer real-time position tracking -- something that'll work despite blind spots or jamming efforts. DARPA expects this will offer a huge boon to the US Military over, well, everyone else. Beyond war, the new location tech will be good for some much more, and will be far more flexible than GPS. Just like how we now use that once-military network for navigation and location services, new tech is very likely drip down to muggles like us too.
DARPA taps golden age computers to solve tough simulations
If you thought modern computers were fast enough to solve any problem, nope! While certainly powerful, modern supercomputers aren't always great at complex fluid and plasma dynamic simulations, and DARPA, the outfit that does science for the US defense department, wants to fix that. To do so, it's invoking to the age of analog computers, "which solve equations by manipulating continuously changing values instead of discrete measurements." As an example, it cited the Norden bombsight, which calculated bomb trajectories using analog methods. That said, it's not planning on going back to vacuum tubes and rotating capacitors.
DARPA is trying to reinvent online privacy
You can't help but admire DARPA's tech, even when it could track you down and murder you. However, the military agency's latest program actually wants to make it harder to find folks and their valuable data. Named after right-to-privacy pioneer, Supreme Court Judge Louis Dembitz Brandeis, the Brandeis program "would allow individuals, enterprises and US government agencies to keep personal and/or proprietary information private." We imagine that the emphasis is on "government agencies," though DARPA said its systems would work for everybody. Reading between the lines, we'd say the US government has seen one too many cyber-attacks, and wants its top eggheads on the job protecting confidential information.
DARPA wants your help to monitor the Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is a lot busier than it used to be, a state of affairs that's keeping DARPA awake at night. America's mad science division doesn't like not knowing what's going on up there, and so is asking the public for help. The agency has asked for the science and business community to dream up a cheap and easy to maintain Arctic warning system that'll spot threats on land, in the sky and, crucially, below the ice.
Watch how DARPA plans to launch small rockets from flying jets
Small satellites are usually launched to space as secondary payloads aboard big rockets, but DARPA's Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program could change that. Folks under that project have been working on small rockets that can carry 100-pound satellites into orbit since 2011, but now DARPA has released a video showing how the takeoff process works. As you'll see in the animation below the fold, those rockets have to be light, because they're designed to be carried by unmodified jets into the air, before they're released to make their way into space. Since the planes will serve as the "first stage," (hence, reusable) the government/military/companies with access to the technology will be able save money.
Daily Roundup: Tesla Model X, DARPA YouTube robots and more!
Tesla's Model X has been spotted in the wild; a new DARPA technology lets robots learn from YouTube videos; and Verizon is changing its policy on "supercookies." Get the details on these stories and more in the Daily Roundup.
DARPA's new tech lets robots learn from YouTube videos
Things would be a lot easier for roboticists if their creations can learn from any instructional video they watch without further programming. While we're still far from teaching robots complicated skills using just a playlist of YouTube clips, a University of Maryland research team is in the very early stages of making that happen. The team's research is funded by DARPA's Mathematics of Sensing, Exploitation and Execution (MSEE) program, which aims to teach machines not only how to collect data, but also how to act on it. For this particular study, the researchers have developed a system that allowed their test robots to learn from a series of "how-to" cooking videos on YouTube. During testing, the robots were able to perform the tasks shown in the videos using the right utensils and with zero human input.
DARPA gives its Atlas robot a makeover, cuts the wires
The Atlas robot is shedding its safety cables to be able to adhere to the more stringent rules of the DARPA Robotics Challenge finale scheduled for June this year. DARPA almost completely redesigned its humanoid machine, bringing over only the lower legs and feet of the old robot to the new version called Atlas Unplugged. By using lighter materials for its body, the team was able to add a 3.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack that has the potential to power the new Atlas for an hour of walking and other activities. Its designers also added a wireless router for communication, tweaked its wrists to be able to rotate further and gave it three perception computers for task planning, among other improvements.
DARPA taking inspiration from birds of prey to create agile UAVs
The US military would like to use small drones a lot more, especially to gather intelligence inside buildings and other structures. The problem? Most drones aren't fast or maneuverable in tight places, to the point that even a kangaroo can take one out. Enter DARPA: the gadget arm of the military has just created the Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program to build fully autonomous UAVs that can get through "a labyrinth of rooms, stairs and... other obstacle filled environments." The drones would also have to move at 45 miles per hour in complex spaces without relying on GPS waypoints -- which is where the birds of prey come in.
Stanford University makes its own Gecko-inspired wall climbing pads
Military types are obsessed with the Gecko because of the unique structure of its feet, which enable it to climb walls like Spider-man. Earlier this year, DARPA told the world that one of its labs had built a pair of pads that would enable a 218-pound person wearing 50 pounds of gear to pretend that they're Tobey Maguire. Of course, the method for building the pads was a closely guarded secret, but a team at Stanford University believes that it's cracked the formula. In essence (really paraphrasing here), the group started with PDMS -- polydimethylsiloxane -- a composite more commonly found in water-repellant coatings, skin moisturizers and at least one franchise burger joint's chicken nuggets. The substance was then molded into microwedges to increase the surface area, and crammed into a hexagonal plate with a handle. Testing is still underway, and as you can see in the video below, it's not the most exciting thing to see -- but we figure that millions of teenagers are currently adding this to their gift lists in the hope of making it easier to sneak in and out on a Friday night.
America's mad science division wants to build a flying drone base
DARPA's mission is to look at insane concepts from science fiction and ask if they'd work in real life, and it's clear that the agency's staffers have recently gone back to playing StarCraft. Drones, you see, are small and don't require a pilot, but can't quickly cover long distances like a manned fighter jet. Imagine then, a flying airbase that could drop a legion of drones close to their target and swoop them up in a manner similar to the Protoss Carrier from the aforementioned video game. That's the project that DARPA is hoping you'll all help out on, and has put out a request for information from anyone with the technical, security and business brains to help bring the concept into reality. For now, the request envisages using a large bomber plane as the carrier, like a B-52 or C-130, but it's entirely plausible that as technology marches on, floating platforms could become involved. Oh, and before you ask, we have already sent the agency the footage of both Flite Test's homemade helicarrier and a copy of The Avengers on DVD.
Here's what happened at Engadget Expand 2014
If you didn't get to come out to the Javits Center in New York City for this year's Engadget Expand, but still wanted to see what all the fuss was about, we've got you covered. The entire two-day celebration of tech and talks has been whittled down into a megamix of sorts, giving you a sample of the sights, sounds and people that make Expand so great. Care to hear DARPA's director talk about the future of neurotechnology, glimpse Google's modular Ara smartphones, gawk at dancing robots or even see Engadget editors go head to head in a toy car race? It's all right there in the video below. Hope to see you next year!
DARPA goes beyond killer robots with prosthetics and Ebola research
DARPA, the military's mad science division, is also a master of PR -- we all cheer them on, even though they may be building a robot army that one day hunts us down (kidding!) There's a lot more to the Agency than robotics work, however. DARPA was actually founded to "prevent technological surprises" of any kind after the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957. As a result, it also supports projects peripherally related to defense, like Ebola research, brain-controlled prosthetics and space exploration. Here at Engadget's Expand NY, we sat down with Director Arati Prabhakar to learn about how its pushing boundaries with its, shall we say, less terrifying work.
Five questions for the woman running the Pentagon's mad science research agency
DARPA. It's an acronym that comes loaded with certain expectations -- a governmental research organization from which emerges some of the most advanced military technology the world has ever seen. While there's truth to that description, it fails to encapsulate all the work DARPA does. Yes, the research agency is developing robots, tactical drones and futuristic weaponry, but it also has its hands in biotechnology, big data analysis and telecommunications research, among other projects, too. And managing all of that fast-paced, groundbreaking work is Dr. Arati Prabhakar, DARPA's director. She's joining us this Saturday, November 8th, onstage at Expand in New York to share (some of) her agency's secrets, but you can read on to get a sneak peek into the United States' most renowned governmental skunkworks, right now.
10 reasons to join us at Engadget #ExpandNY!
It's what you've all been waiting for! Engadget Expand is the place this week. We're taking over the Javits Center in Manhattan on November 7th and 8th. We're pretty damn excited for what's on tap this year, and we think you should be too. But, in case you need convincing read on for 10 reasons to get pumped.
Engadget Expand is all about you. And us. But really, you.
Engadget Expand is our annual event that's all about you -- our fans. It's not your typical tech conference that's priced for people fortunate to have an expense account. We make the event completely FREE thanks to our generous sponsors, giving you the chance to experience the future -- right now. And while you're at it, you get to meet your favorite Engadget editors. When you join us at the Javits Center North in New York City next week on November 7-8, you'll be set loose on our show floor. You can check out some of our exhibitors and get your hands on gadgets that people can't buy yet (or in some cases, build your own in our workshops), head to our Expand stage and hear from some smart and inspiring people and so much more.
