For all the futuristic advancements packed into modern space-based telescopes, they all still rely on the same bulky, heavy glass optics that Galileo used centuries ago. But thanks to this DARPA project, future telescopes could eventually use optics as thin as saran wrap to peer into deep space. Read More >>
ATLAS, Boston Dynamic's great robotic hope and the obvious star of DARPA's Robotics Challenge, is one of the most advanced humanoid robots ever created. It's capable of surprisingly human like movements and motions, and could one day replace soldiers in the battlefield the same way drones have (sort of) replaced pilots in the skies. Read More >>
Featured comment by ispy:
"they are trying to test its ability to cross the terrain, not avoid it. i'm sure they could build a robot which could complete the test 100% by proddi..." More »
DARPA's always working on a bunch of crazy projects, whether it's to find the next insane robot hero, or just Star Wars robot arms. On their long list of wants is an unmanned "X-Plane" that can do vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) like the dope-ass F-35B. Boeing whipped up this slick contest entry in 27 days. Read More >>
Featured comment by Hennifer Lopez:
"Now they just need to make a real plane on schedule and that doesn't cause problems after it is sold for commercial flights like they used to." More »
As the Chernobyl and Daiichi Fukushima nuclear disasters illustrated in unnerving clarity, mankind commands technology capable wreaking destruction we can't clean up without putting people's lives at risk. That's why DARPA is hosting the DARPA Robotics Challenge, with the hope of jump starting development of tomorrow's mechanical first responders. Read More >>
Any day is a good when the government's most futuristic R&D lab starts cavorting around Twitter with Scientology superstars. And this is one of those days. Read More >>
Drones are nuts. After all, they're robotic war machines that kill on command. But the mad scientists at DARPA are working on something that's even more nuts: a submarine that can carry an assortment of drones around the sea and launch them into the air. That's nuts. Read More >>
Planned obsolescence is a dirty word for most tech consumers. But for scientists developing a new breed of circuitry that vanishes on command, it's the ultimate goal. Christened "transient" or "dissolving" electronics, these devices are poised to change how electronics decay, how wounds heal, and how war is fought. Read More >>
Featured comment by Jynto:
"What if I decide I want to keep the device 1 month after its 'use-by' date? 1 year? What if I bought an old phone because it's just cheaper, and I don..." More »
As impressed by we all were by Petman, DARPA and Boston Dynamics' remarkably agile and nimble humanoid, it's about to get upstaged by the company's latest and greatest robot creation: ATLAS. Designed to compete in DARPA's upcoming Robotics Challenge, we actually already got a glimpse of ATLAS' impressive skills back when it was just a prototype, but as it nears completion we're now seeing just how damn impressive it really is. Read More >>
Tony Stark used exotic composites, metal alloys, and other Hollywood-only make-believe materials to build his armour-plated Iron Man suit. But researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute, constrained by the limitations of reality, took a different approach with a muscle-enhancing exoskeleton that could one day be as comfy to wear as your favourite pair of jeans. Read More >>
Amputees may one day regain actual feeling thanks to Darpa and researchers at Case Western University who have created what we thought was once only possible in science fiction. As apart of Darpa's Reliable Neural-Interface Technology (RE-NET) program, CWRU's flat interface nerve electrode (FINE) system has demonstrated that it can provide enough sensation to give amputees the ability to feel their way around, just like Luke Skywalker. Read More >>
Featured comment by pwsnow:
"Basically making everything inc the controllers smaller and more affordable. Recent advancements in material research will make this possible. Also ha..." More »
We've known for a few years now that DARPA-funded prosthetics research is yielding some pretty incredible technology. We're not talking incredible in the robotic cheetah sense. We're talking incredible in The Incredibles sense of the term. Specifically, DARPA is literally building superheroic technology that enables amputees to control prosthetic limbs with their minds, and it's getting pretty darn good. Read More >>
Just a few weeks after President Obama announced plans to scale back the country's drone program, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA) announced plans to roll out a program for the rapid development and manufacture of sensors to help power unmanned aerial, land and underwater vehicles. Read More >>
It's not as exciting as seeing Big Dog or Petman in action, but infantry in the US Army should be happy now that DARPA's begun testing its Warrior Web support system. One day robotic exoskeletons will allow humans to easily lift and carry hundreds of pounds, but for the immediate future DARPA has set its sights on a more immediately achievable goal with what could be described as the future of supportive undergarments. Read More >>
Featured comment by holmergreen:
"My wife has heart failure and both knees have had replacements. Please get this out into civilian use ASAP - it would change her life and we could thr..." More »
Gone are the days when we could look at cutting-edge robots and at least take some satisfaction in the fact that the human body was still superior. It seems like DARPA is getting closer and closer to outdoing Mother Nature, this time with its ARM-H robot hand that's as impressively dextrous as it is cheap and durable. Read More >>
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