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7 futuristic DARPA projects the U.S. government is developing right now

From nanotechnology in medicine to a universal translator, the future is already here Science | Military | Space | Innovations | Future | Show All Leave a comment

By Anna Washenko, updated 71 days ago

Military Technology: How the armed forces interact with

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Rockstar female astronaut to head up DARPA's 100 Year The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has funded many strange and amazing research programs that have advanced military technology. It's helped to create new robots and test augmented reality contact lenses, and there are even more innovations on the way. Here are seven research endeavors that DARPA is currently funding. 1. Creating pop-up weapons factories You've heard of pop-up restaurants and pop-up retail, but what about pop-up weapons factories? DARPA gave $3.5 million to the Instant Foundry Adaptive through Bits (iFAB) project. With partners TechShop and the Department of Veteran Affairs, the program aims to develop mobile factories that can follow soldiers into war and build and repair military equipment.

2. Curing disease with nanotechnology In June, the department sent out a call for proposals that would use nanotechnology to fight diseases on a cellular level. The solicitation was titled In Vivo Nanosensors for Therapeutics. The approach uses nanoparticles called small interfering RNA, which are involved in the body's biological processes, to directly stop the development of diseases. While DARPA is especially interested in treating infectious diseases in soldiers, the technology could be used to treat medical problems ranging from bacterial diseases to traumatic brain injuries. 3. Improving studies of biology Integrated renewable products company Amyris received a DARPA contract last month to develop better DNA assembly and rapid integration in complex biological platforms for the Living Foundries program. Since biological material is complex and often unpredictable, Living Foundries is working to develop better tools for testing and engineering biologic products. Amyris is focused on industrial synthetic biology, a field that has applications in alternative energy and consumer products. With the $8 million DARPA contract, Amyris will work to expand the scope of its technologies that could be used for designing, building, and testing new biology breakthroughs.

4. Pursuing interstellar travel One of DARPA's most ambitious projects is looking to the stars and not the ones in the Milky Way. The agency gave $500,000 to the 100 Year Starship Study, which is working to send a human to another star system. Mae Jemison, a former astronaut and the first woman of color to go to space, is heading the project. The DARPA funding represents a tiny fraction of the money needed to make interstellar travel a reality. It is an initial grant aimed at building interest and enthusiasm for the project. "It's got to be a global aspiration," Jemison told the Washington Post. 5. Recycling satellites Another space project called Phoenix is working to create new orbiting communications links from the parts of decommissioned satellites. The DARPA project could see the creation of a self-operating servicing satellite device that will collect those defunct devices (now littered around the earth's orbit) and use the components that are still working. Phoenix recently entered a new stage of progress, with DARPA seeking a test satellite for its first subject. According to Knovel, the agency is hoping to start work on the guinea pig satellite by 2015.

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6. Seeing through clouds Another program is the Video Synthetic Aperture Radar, or ViSAR, which could create a targeting system for warplanes that allows the pilot to see through cloud cover. DARPA is looking to develop a synthetic aperture radar system based on an extremely high-frequency targeting sensor. Such a system could let pilots see enemies in clear or cloudy conditions without the need to alter tactics. 7. Crafting a universal translator DARPA has been pursuing better technology for universal language translators for some time, and in May, it awarded $41.5 million over five years to a group led by SRI International. The money is for the first phase of the Broad Operational Language Translation program. Scientists will work on technology that can translate foreign languages into English, either conversational speech or written communication. After the initial phase, researchers will develop information extraction technology that translates English into those other languages. It's a project that could reach far beyond military applications, improving fields from international business to medical research. And more on the way This is just a small sample of some of DARPA's most high-tech ventures. The agency regularly puts out calls for inventive new ideas and creations that could have applications for the military. Who knows what amazing project it will help make a reality next? [Image credits: The National Guard, ynse, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Ryan Somma] Related Stories DARPA's new robot will make you run for your life Watch the contenders for DARPA's flying robot competition take to the sky New DARPA technology extinguishes flames without water or chemicals 63 Leave a comment

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Andrew Mechem Lima, Peru And this is why you don't cut government spending to the military. Reply Like July 23 at 6:34pm Miguel Ferro Mohawk Valley Community College Dude can we like get together and down some brew. I need to get together with a true American if you know what I mean. I'm tired of holding back because of the lack of understanding from significant others. Yeah dog we have to kick it. Reply Like July 23 at 10:48pm
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