Important Innovations

Turning Insects into Weapons for Good Protecting the Nation's Food Supplies The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA- has a research project straight out of science fiction.  It's called Insect Allies.  The idea is to use insects, such as leafhoppers, aphids and white flies, to protect the nation's food supplies against drought, crop disease and bioterrorism. Controversial Insect Armies DARPA expects to achieve its "Insect Allies" goals by infecting the insects with engineered mutations and viruses that can be passed on to the plants to make them stronger or more resistant to biological attacks.  This project involves brand new technologies.  The concern and controversy is that the technologies could be used as weapons to destroy the enemy's crop supplies.  DARPA response:  most new technologies can be weaponized but that is not the purpose or intent of Insect Allies.  The goal is to protect the US food supply.

Constellations of Small Satellites Source:  Airbus Airbus Wins Blackjack Program Contract DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, just awarded Airbus a contract to develop a satellite bus for its Blackjack program.  Blackjack is a satellite architecture for the US military.  Essentially, it is the utilization of constellations of small satellites in low orbit for the military. DARPA's New Small Satellite System DARPA plans on pairing the satellite buses with military sensors and payloads.  The buses will generate power for the satellites, provide propulsion and transmit spacecraft telemetry.  The use of small, inexpensive satellite constellations for military purposes is a concept DARPA has been developing over the past several years.  For more news stories on innovation, go to  amazon.com/author/ekane

Cooling Hypersonic Vehicles Source:  DARPA Hypersonic Concept Vehicle DARPA's MACH Program The big challenge with hypersonic jets is to keep them cool as they reach a speed of Mach 5 and above.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - has declared 2019 the year of hypersonics.  DARPA is pursuing new materials and designs for cooling the hot, leading edges of hypersonic vehicles as they accelerate to hypersonic speeds. New Architecture, Materials and Design for Heat Management The new program is called MACH - Materials, Architecture and Characterization for Hypersonics (MACH) program.  DARPA wants totally new, breakthrough technology, not evolutionary improvements on existing technology. Decades of Trying Effective cool down of the hypersonic vehicles at Mach 5 and above is the key factor between success and disaster.  The DARPA MACH programs kicks off in late January 2019.  According to DARPA Program Manager Bill Carter, scientists

Long Duration & Long Distance Sea Duty Source:  DARPA - The Angler Autonomous with No Need of GPS DARPA, the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency, is applying robotics developed for space and terrestrial exploring robots to a new undersea robotic system.  It's called The Angler. The Angler DARPA is developing an underwater robotic system that autonomously explores the sea floor.  It wants the robot to be capable of physically manipulating manmade objects that it encounters.  Put simply, it's developing highly advanced underwater robots. Robotic Innovation Some of the robotic innovations that will be incorporated into these sea exploring robots: Highly accurate navigations where's there is no GPS Perception and manipulation strategies to grasp objects Systems that allow the robot to know their location and the health of their own system. Current Limits Currently underwater operations are conducted by tethered, remotely controlled robots

On Military Duty Source:  Sikorsky S-76B Ready When Needed When US pilots go to war, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA wants robots as their co-pilots.  These are not auto-pilots.  DARPA wants fully functional robot pilots capable of performing routine piloting tasks. Demonstration DARPA just demonstrated what the plan consists of in Virginia.  They used a S-76B helicopter, which is the civilian version of the Army's Blackhawk, to perform maneuvers.  The aircraft landed, maneuvered to avoid a vehicle, lifted-off and then hovered motionlessly for several minutes.  No human was on board.  The pilot was a robot controlled by a human pilot from a computer in another aircraft. Kit to Quickly Deploy The demonstration lasted an hour.  The Army calls it Mission Adaptive Autonomy, meaning the robot is there when the pilot needs to focus on the mission rather than the flight.  DARPA wants a kit that can quickly add a robot co-pilot to any m

Human and Machine Interactions Source:  DARPA Supersonic Jet DARPA and Sikorsky Autonomy Flights The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, and Sikorsky are demonstrating ways for pilots to interact with autonomy.  The purpose is to help military pilots build trust and confidence in autonomous flight systems.  The progressive training is being performed in simulated military missions in Virginia. This will have eventual impact on commercial passenger flight too. Building Pilot Trust for Autonomous Systems This is part of DARPA's Aircrew Labor in-Crew Automation System (ALIAS) program.  DARPA believes that cockpit assistance builds pilots' trust in autonomy.  The October 2018 flights started introducing pilot inceptors as a way for them to interact with the autonomous system in addition to a tablet interface for interaction.  The pilot is in command and can choose to engage autonomy to help operate, plan, adjust or execute responsibilit

The Holy Grail - AI with Common Sense DARPA's New Initiative It's so ironic.  AI can identify objects in nanoseconds, enable cutting edge robotics and perfectly mimic the human voice.  But most machine intelligence doesn't understand the basics of everyday life like actions and objects.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is on a mission to teach AI basic common sense. Not So Fast and Not So Easy DARPA calls the initiative the Machine Common Sense Program.  They're teaming up with Seattle-based The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.  The team is facing a profoundly daunting task.  They acknowledge it probably won't be solved in a year to two. Goals DARPA wants to define the problem and make progress on it.  AI works extremely well and at warp speeds, for instance on the classification of very specific areas.  According to DARPA:  "The absence of common sense prevents an intelligent system from und

DARPA's EXACTO for US Military DARPA's EXACTO Bullet US Government Bulls-Eye Project with Classified Technology The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is developing a smart bullet for the US Military.  The project EXACTO ammunition is a matter of public record.  But the guidance system, that's apparently so successful, is top secret.  It's a bullet that changes and corrects its direction after being fired and in flight to accurately hit the target. No More Misfires  This is a real-life project that could soon end misfiring problems caused by shooter errors, bad weather conditions and wind.  The goal is to save the lives of US troops by arming them with smart bullets with bulls-eye guidance systems. EXACTO Ammunition EXACTO uses a built-in guidance system to keep the bullet on target and be bulls-eye.  The specifics on how the guidance system works are classified.  This is a DARPA government project to provide the US mil

Harvard's Soft Exosuit Harvard & DARPA's Exosuit Enhancing Strength, Speed and Endurance Every individual has their distinct physical limits.  For instance, the maximum weight you can lift and the time and distance you can run.  But, thanks to researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, physical limits are being overcome. Lightweight Exoskeleton Working in conjunction with the Pentagon's advanced research projects agency DARPA, Wyss has developed a soft Exosuit  for soldiers.  It's a lightweight skeleton frame that enhances the person's abilities, including faster speeds, greater strength and endurance. Very Smart Suit This is state of the art innovation.  It's a smart suit, loaded with built-in sensors and a microcomputer to intelligently calibrate and match exactly what the user needs.  DARPA and Wyss researchers continue to build on the Exosuit's capabilities.

The Walrus Project - US Pentagon Source:  DARPA Walrus Concept Can It Take Off? This is a high flying and heavy load research project being spearheaded by the US Government.  The Walrus, pictured above, is probably the world's largest airship.  It's designed to fly millions of pounds of troops, gear and equipment quickly to breaking incidents thousands of miles away for the US Military. DARPA's Walrus The US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is leading this program.  The purpose is to design a giant air vehicle that can haul a payload of 500 to 1000 tons in under a week to a destination up to 12,000 nautical miles away.  You can understand the importance of this technology to the US Military.  It would provide the ability to quickly deploy huge numbers of troops with all their gear and equipment to breaking military and other incidents globally. HULU Walrus is still waiting to take-off. It's a huge and heavy load aviat

Ambitious US Government Robotic Program Source:  DARPA HI-MENS Robotic Program Spying Insec ts You might call them Cyborg Insect Spies.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA has a novel, science fiction like robotic research program underway.  It's called the HI-MEMS program. Insect Controlled in Flight by Implants Scientists have explored using a variety of insects as part of the program.  They have put implants on flying moths and beetles.  Using the implants, researchers are able to stimulate insect brains and actually control them in flight. End Game The potential use of these robotic insects is fascinating.  The goal is to deploy them on missions in the field to gain access to areas not reachable by traditional robots and humans.  This is an important scientific research program that DARPA is actively pursuing.

DARPA's Subterranean Robotic Olympics Robotic Race to Win DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, gathered leading roboticists in a Kentucky cave recently and issued its most daring challenge yet.  Design robots to navigate some of the most unforgiving environments - a grueling course of tunnels and caves. Triathlon DARPA has split the competition into 3 fields.  Tunnel environments with a lot of passageways.  Caves with crags, slopes and tight squeezes.  And, an urban, bunker like environment with lots of stairs.  The winning robot will be the fastest at overcoming all 3 environments. Prestigious Competing Teams NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, Caltech and Carnegie Mellon are among the competitors.  The race starts in August 2019.  The key to winning is developing a robot flexible enough to overcome cave, tunnel and urban environments.  Some uses of this emerging robotic tech:  search and rescue and urban warfare.

24/7 Highly Advanced Medical Biomarker Monitoring DARPA's Biosensor Connects to Devices Like Smartphones You know when you don't feel well. But this advanced research would take monitoring your health to a whole new level. Implantable health trackers are futuristic technology being developed right now for delivery ASAP.  It's called tissue-integrated biosensor technology and it's being developed by the US Army Research Office and DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency. Biosensors The biosensors are tiny, soft, hydrogel-based sensors implanted under the skin.  The purpose is to use them to measure biomarkers related to oxygen, lactate, urea, glucose and ion levels.  The sensors can stay in the human body for up to 2 years.  They can read out information to connected devices such as smartphones. General Public Use Every project that DARPA undertakes is aimed at providing the US military with overwhelming technological advan

Controlling Drones and Aircraft by Brain Waves Image from DARPA Mind over Matter The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is working on highly innovative technology that enables humans to control drones and full-sized aircraft by their minds' brain waves.  It's command and control by thoughts. Microchip Implant that Sends and Receives Data For the DARPA research, a micro-chip was implanted into a volunteer's brain. In simulations with drones on computer screens, the person was able to command and control the drones. DARPA also disclosed at a recent symposium the system works with swarms of drones and multiple aircraft.  The user is able to steer multiple jets at once. The user of the microchip can send and receive signals from the aircraft and understand the dynamics of its environment. Innovative & To Some Controversial Thinking To some this is controversial research.  DARPA's mission is to provide the US military wi

Geospatial Cloud Analytics Photo:  Courtesy of Descartes Labs - Fishing Boats off Singapore A New Mexico startup company Descartes Labs is receiving up to $7.2 million from the US government to bring geospatial data from satellites to the Cloud.   The volume of data is huge, in the terabytes, unwieldy and of the highest value. Descartes has been tasked by the government to use machine learning to process massive amounts of visual data from satellites. Images of Earth and Space Images of the Earth including heat imagery are available in massive volume from many satellites.  They contain rich and compelling information on such dynamic issues as changing global oil supplies, potential food shortages and climate change.  This is very big data from many sources that can't be fully capitalized on because it's not organized and centralized. Cloud Infrastructure Descartes Labs will build out cloud infrastructure to import, store, process and curate the data.  They'l

DARPA Protecting World Wide Web Goal:  Take Them Out Before They Take Out Your Website DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, has just launched a program that targets botnet hacking.  The goal is to develop tools to dismantle botnets before they destroy websites, companies and even nations. Contract Awarded DARPA just awarded a $1.2 million contract to the cybersecurity frim Packet Forensics.  Their mission is to identify and locate hidden online armies.  DARPA wants an arsenal of tools that troll the internet, identify and counter cyber adversary system programs before they attack. System Automatic & Undetectable The system DARPA wants to deploy would be automatic.  It would automatically spot botnet-infected systems and disable the malware without their knowing. To build botnets, hackers infect devices connected to the internet with malware that lets them do harm from a remote server.  The virus is dormant most of the time so you don

DARPA's ALTA Project - Up, Up & Away Flying Wind Currents at 90,000 Feet The U.S. Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is going back into stratospheric balloon research and development.  After a hiatus of several years, it's launched a project to demonstrate that balloons, lighter than air, can drift between wind layers and go into the stratosphere for days and weeks at a time.  The balloons can reach altitudes up to 90,000 feet. Potential Uses:  Delivering the Internet to Remote Locations - A Google Idea DARPA is working with Raven Aerospace on the project.  Raven has developed super pressurized balloons capable of long duration.  The fact that DARPA has gotten back into developing this technology tells you the capabilities are very promising. The balloons could obviously be used for surveillance and intelligence.  And, there's an intriguing idea that Google is separately working on.  Using the high altitude balloons to deli

Germany's New Cybersecurity Agency German DARPA Germany just announced the creation of a DARPA-like agency.  DARPA is the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency whose mission is to develop game-changing technology to provide the US military overwhelming technological advantages.  It's behind the creation of the internet, drones, cloud computing and GPS. Hacking Problems German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen says the new federal agency allows Germany to invest in new technologies and the protection of critical digital infrastructure from cyberattack. Some German officials believe Germany needs better encryption and more open source software.  German ministries have had a problem with being hacked.  Some suspect Russia. Controversy The new agency is expected to be structured like DARPA.  The Ministries of Defense and Interior will manage it.  Some German lawmakers are very concerned about Defense management.  They fear the cybersecurity ag

DARPA's Satellite Servicing System RSGS Satellite Bodyguards The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is developing a robotic system to service satellites in geosynchronous orbit (RSGS).  Besides doing refuels, repairs and other services, RSGS is also designed to protect vital US satellites against adversaries' robotic systems used as antisatellite weapons.  RSGS is a satellite bodyguard system against space threats. Satellite Stalking Threat By early 2020, Russia and China will have robotic systems in geosynchronous (G) orbit.  Satellites in G-orbit are difficult to reach by other types of antisatellite weapons.  Experts are warning of a growing threat in space of satellite stalking. US Budget Issues The US Air Force wants to launch the US RSGS system in March 2021,  The US Senate just cut the $209 million in launch money from the USAF budget.  As Russia and China ramp up their systems, experts are warning of growing, US satellite v

Computer Chips Go 3D The Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA, MIT and Minnesota based SkyWater Technology are teaming up to push computing speed forward.  They're developing a computer chip that has circuitry on more than 1 plane.  It's a "3D-System on a Chip" to accelerate speed on chips the size of a fingernail. Pushing the Limits The chip industry is pushing the space limit.  Right now, transistors on chips are 7 nanometers apart.  Between 2020 and 2024 to increase speed they're expected to be 5 nanometers apart.  Experts forecast that's the space limit to maintain the integrity of the chips. Layering Building circuits on multiple planes is a solution.  The MIT-DARPA-SkyWater team is designing layer on layer of circuits, both logic and memory, to be stacked up to the 3rd dimension...creating chips with increasing speed.  By 2020, the team hopes to demonstrate their manufacturing process. By 2021, they expect to have it ready fo