Armed with Science | Tag Archive

Discovering DARPA

Filed under Featured, Technology by jtozer on May 2, 2013 at 7:19 am {no comments}

(Graphic photo provided by DARPA)

If you’re familiar with the advancements in science and technology in any way, chances are you’ve heard a thing or two about the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. You might know them better by their buzzworthy acronym DARPA.

Ah, DARPA.

Mother of the cheetah robot. Creator of magnificent stealth machines. Problem solving with science so spectacular it brings science fiction to life in front of our very eyes. Yes, this agency is one that makes my life – all our lives, really – more exciting. As a science journalist, the word DARPA is to me what the word Enterprise is to a Star Trek convention: immediately interesting and intrinsically on topic.

But for as much as I love the robotastic DARPA, there are a lot of people who don’t really know what the agency is, or what they do.

That, my friends, is about to change.

Surprising satellite was surprising. Also, frankly, pretty neat looking, too.

Let’s start with a little bit of history. In 1957, the Soviet Union surprised the world with their launch of Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial Earth satellite. Shortly after that (in 1958), President Eisenhower founded the Advanced Research Projects Agency – what we now know as DARPA. It’s mission? To be at the forefront of scientific and technological development. Basically, he wanted to make sure that there would be no more, ahem, surprises.

Basically, this institution was designed to put the government in a position where they would be seeking and exploring science and technology, rather than learning about it second hand.

And now, 55 years later, they’re still doing just that.

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Navy Unveils Its First Laser Gun

Filed under Technology, Videos by jtozer on April 25, 2013 at 11:05 am {no comments}

We all know the old saying about the unfortunate soul who brought a knife to the gunfight. In the not-too-distant future, we should be able to say we bested our adversaries because we had lasers, and they showed up with only a gun.

In fiscal year 2014, the Navy will put a solid-state laser gun aboard USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf. The tests we run with this weapon will help us develop a prototype system that can be tailored to many surface combatant classes.

Watch a demonstration of the high-energy laser aboard a moving surface combatant ship

It’s impossible to overstate the significance of this milestone and our continued research into directed energy. I’ve been working with weapon systems for 30 years, and this capability is poised to change the face of modern warfare.

As Navy leaders have said, we never want to see a sailor or Marine in a fair fight. We always want them to have the advantage.

This new kind of weapon will give our warfighters options like no other system before. I like to use the “five Ds” when describing its myriad of capabilities: deter, disable, damage, defeat and destroy. The solid-state laser can vary the power and accomplish each of these, independently or sequentially. (more…)

Understanding The Brain = Supporting National Security

Filed under Technology by jtozer on April 19, 2013 at 7:45 am {no comments}

The President unveiled a bold new research initiative designed to revolutionize the understanding of the human brain, and it could change the way we think about national security.

DARPA plans $50 million in 2014 investments to increase understanding of brain function and create new capabilities. (Photo illustration provided by DARPA)

As part of this initiative, DARPA intends to invest roughly $50 million in 2014 with the goal of understanding the dynamic functions of the brain and demonstrating breakthrough applications based on these insights.

“The President’s initiative reinforces the significance of understanding how the brain records, processes, uses, stores and retrieves vast quantities of information,” explained DARPA Director, Arati Prabhakar.

“This kind of knowledge of brain function could inspire the design of a new generation of information processing systems; lead to insights into brain injury and recovery mechanisms; and enable new diagnostics, therapies and devices to repair traumatic injury.”

DARPA plans to explore two key areas to elicit further understanding of the brain.

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The BRAIN Initiative

Filed under Videos by jtozer on April 14, 2013 at 7:10 am {no comments}

President Barack Obama has announced a new research initiative to prevent, treat and cure brain injuries. The “BRAIN Initiative” gives scientists the tools they need to get a better picture of how the brain functions.

In his upcoming budget, the President plans to propose $100 million in 2014 –or what he calls a “significant investment” in the project– by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation to start the BRAIN Initiative.

The goal is to better understand how brain cells interact to help crack the code of brain injury and disease.

Specifically, DARPA plans to explore new tools to measure and analyze electrical signals to the brain, as well as, researching the vast spectrum of the brain’s functionality.

To learn more about traumatic brain injury awareness, visit Health.mil.

Story and information provided by Health.mil

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Have Two Arms, Will Work

Filed under Robots by jtozer on April 11, 2013 at 7:12 am {no comments}

Who’s ready for some ROBOTS?

DARPA‘s Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program is developing software, hardware and sensors to enable robots to semi-autonomously grasp and manipulate objects in unstructured environments (meaning, “outside of a laboratory”) with human operators providing only task-level instructions.

Simply put, these robots are pretty awesome at doing things outside of the usual robot norm. Like changing your tire, maybe:

Video provided by DARPAtv

For example, rather than dictating step-by-step every movement a robot makes, a human can give DARPA’s ARM robot a high-level command like “Open the door” or “Screw in the bolt.”

Performers on the ARM program have already demonstrated success using one arm and hand to manipulate objects. Now DARPA is having teams test two arms and hands on tasks that require bimanual manipulation, like the robot changing a tire shown in this video.

If DARPA is successful with grasping and manipulation, while also making robots more adaptable to changing environments and driving down the cost of production, robotic manipulation systems can be applied to a wide range of potentially dangerous Department of Defense applications, including defusing improvised explosive devices and searching bags.

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Bulking Up The Wireless Network

Filed under Featured by jtozer on April 5, 2013 at 7:20 am {no comments}

Wireless Network Defense program seeks to develop new technologies to help make wireless networks more resilient to unforeseen scenarios and malicious compromise. (photo provided by DARPA)

In areas lacking trustworthy communications infrastructure, deployed servicemembers rely on wireless devices to perform double duty: they not only provide access to the network; they are the network.

Protocols for these networks require nodes to coordinate among themselves to manage resources, such as spectrum and power, and determine the best configurations to enable sharing of information.

A problem with these protocols is that they implicitly trust all information shared about the security and operational state of each node, and the network as a whole. Consequently, inaccurate control or security information can quickly render the network unusable. This shortcoming could put productivity and mission success at risk as use of military wireless systems increases.

To help address these issues, DARPA has created the Wireless Network Defense program. The program aims to develop new protocols that enable military wireless networks to remain operational despite inadvertent misconfigurations or malicious compromise of individual nodes.

“Current security efforts focus on individual radios or nodes, rather than the network, so a single misconfigured or compromised radio could debilitate an entire network,” said Wayne Phoel, DARPA program manager.

“We need to change how we control wireless networks by developing a network-based solution for current and future systems that acknowledges there will be bad nodes and enables the network to operate around them.”

A key objective of the program is to develop protocols that determine the viability and trustworthiness of neighboring nodes and automatically adapt the network to operate through problems. Similar to a neighborhood watch program – where neighbors know each other and can identify suspicious or unusual behavior on their street – the protocols must help identify unusual activity that may indicate a problem on the network.

Inspiration for addressing these challenges could come from economic and social networks.

“Credit card companies use various indicators for trying to determine if someone has stolen your credit card and is posing as you,” Phoel said. “Unexpected purchase locations, amounts and other factors could raise an alert. Online social sites for buying and selling personal items use seller ratings to help you decide the trustworthiness of someone before you make a purchase. Similar concepts of reliability estimation and control methods could be applied to wireless military networks by calling out specific areas of the network that may have untrustworthy nodes.”

Wireless Network Defense is specifically not a new waveform or radio program. Phoel seeks solutions that make existing and future wireless networks more robust and resilient to compromise, regardless of specific radio node hardware or software.

Phoel believes expertise in the following areas may likely contribute to the success of the program: military and commercial wireless network system design and operation, wireless network security protocols, distributed control theory, and economic and social networking structural analysis.

Story and information provided by DARPA

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Diffusing The Threat Of Ionizing Radiation

Filed under Physical Sciences by jtozer on March 25, 2013 at 7:08 am {no comments}

Ionizing radiation can be a silent killer.

Graphic provided by DARPA

While scientists have made some strides in preventing immediate death from exposure, there are currently few intervention technologies to protect against long-term morbidity and mortality.

In light of the diverse, persistent and substantial threat posed by ionizing radiation, the Department of Defense seeks new ways to protect military and civilian personnel against the immediate and longer-term effects of acute exposure.

Exposure to ionizing radiation would be a particular concern in the aftermath of a large-scale release of nuclear material, such as might occur following either a natural disaster or a deliberate attack. The damage to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake raised concerns regarding U.S. preparedness to treat large-scale human exposure to ionizing radiation. Additionally, the immediate destructive potential of nuclear and radiological weapons, as well as their long-term health and economic impacts, continue to be of concern to DoD.

DARPA seeks to gain a better understanding of the biophysical effects of acute exposure to ionizing radiation in humans and develop mitigating technologies to enable immediate and long-term survival.

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Where DARPA Is Going, They Don’t Need Passwords

Filed under Cyber Security, STEM, Technology by jtozer on February 27, 2013 at 7:43 am {no comments}

This…doesn’t seem like the ironclad system one ought to have to secure passwords. That’s about as secure as a grocery list. (Graphic from DARPA)

In the world of network cyber security, the weak link is often not the hardware or the software, but the user.

Passwords are often easily guessed or possibly written down, leaving entire networks vulnerable to attack. Mobile devices containing sensitive information are often lost or stolen, leaving a password as the single layer of defense.

DARPA’s Active Authentication program is addressing this problem by adding additional ways to validate a user’s identity beyond the password based on user behavior. The program focuses on the development of new types of behavioral biometrics focused on the user’s cognitive processes—usage patterns or habits of individuals that, in combination, can serve as an online fingerprint and identity check.

The program’s initial thrust developed tools to protect desktop workstations–an effort that continues. Active Authentication begins a second, parallel thrust using biometrics to secure mobile devices using apps, sensors and other resources unique to these platforms.

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