Buzz
Established in 1958 in response to the Soviet Union's Sputnik satellite launch, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was created to ensure that the U.S. would never fall behind in the technological race. This objective was met spectacularly, with DARPA playing a crucial role in the development of groundbreaking technologies, such as stealth aircraft, GPS, and ARPANET—the forerunner of today’s Internet. With the continued investment of the U.S. military-industrial complex, DARPA is funding cutting-edge research that could shape the future. Here are 10 ongoing projects with the potential to change the world.
10. Memex
In February 2015, DARPA revealed its project to create a search engine specifically for the Deep Web. This part of the web is mostly hidden or only accessible via encrypted networks like Tor or 12P. While search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo could technically expand to index the Deep Web, there’s little commercial incentive for them to do so. DARPA, however, saw the opportunity and announced the development of the Memex search engine.
The primary motivation behind Memex's creation was to assist governments and law enforcement agencies in conducting focused searches on specific topics, yielding more relevant results than typical commercial search engines. This technology was initially intended for military and government use, but it’s now gaining traction as a potential rival to Google, with significant promise for both civilian and commercial purposes, especially in areas like human trafficking, slavery, and the drug trade.
A member of the team behind Memex shared the project's ultimate vision:
Using advanced web crawling and scraping techniques, combined with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, the aim is to develop a system capable of automatically retrieving nearly any content across the internet. Ultimately, our technology will act like an army of virtual interns who can fetch information on the web, leaving you free to do more important things like watch cat videos.
9. RAM Replay
RAM, in this case, stands for 'Restoring Active Memory.' RAM Replay is a project focused on enhancing the ability to recall memories and learned skills. The goal is to develop methods that improve the retrieval of both declarative memory (facts and experiences) and procedural memory (unconscious knowledge that enables learned skills).
Research on animals has demonstrated that memories stored in the brain are unconsciously reactivated during both sleep and wakefulness in a process known as neural replay. This process closely mirrors the brain activity observed when a memory is being formed. DARPA aims to explore how factors like the frequency of replay activation and the time intervals between replay occurrences influence subsequent performance in memory and skill-based tasks. Previous studies suggest that sensory cues, such as certain smells, and electrical stimulation on the scalp can enhance a person’s ability to recall a specific skill. Gaining a deeper understanding of these mechanisms could reveal the physiological or environmental elements that influence memory and skill retention.
Program manager Dr. Justin Sanchez states:
Memory aids come in all forms today, from simple mnemonic devices to advanced smartphone applications. However, most of these methods focus only on a few aspects of memory. In the long term, we hope RAM Replay will pinpoint key mechanisms that enhance memory and provide a universal set of solutions to address the challenge of memory reliability in an increasingly information-overloaded world. This could be beneficial not only for civilians but also for Service members, across diverse areas such as general education, job retraining, and battlefield awareness.
8. Energy Autonomous Tactical Robot
In 2012, rumors circulated online claiming that the US military was developing a terrifying flesh-eating robot. Fortunately, this was a misunderstanding. DARPA has been working on a system called the Energy Autonomous Tactical Robot, or EATR. This robot is designed to use plant-based biomass as fuel, equipped with a gripper and chainsaw to gather materials like twigs, grass, paper, and wood chips, which it converts into green energy. This would enable the robot to carry out missions without relying on conventional energy sources or refueling. However, it is also capable of using other energy sources such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar energy when necessary. Its primary role is to directly assist combat troops by carrying equipment, offering weapons and support, evacuating casualties, and providing a convenient power source.
A brief wave of sensational headlines spread the rumor that the military was developing robots that would devour humans on the battlefield. However, the fear that such technology might be used against people is unfounded, according to Harry Schoell, CEO of Cyclone Power Technologies, the company funded by DARPA to create the robot. He clarifies, 'We completely understand the public's concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission.' The company has emphasized that their robot is strictly vegetarian.
That certainly brings some comfort. Additionally, the likelihood of a scavenging robot wandering battlefields is slim, as desecrating the dead is considered a war crime. While the technology has a few civil applications—such as using food waste to power your car when you're running low on gas money—it’s still not hard to imagine a scenario where marauding, man-eating robots could be a consequence of this innovation.
7. Narrative Networks
With the West struggling to maintain an upper hand in the battle of ideas against groups like ISIS, the U.S. military has increasingly focused on understanding how stories and narratives influence human thought and behavior. This led to the creation of the Narrative Networks program, which aims to 'take narratives and make them quantitatively analyzable in a rigorous, transparent, and repeatable fashion.' While early research concentrated on how ideas spread through social networks, the program has now shifted its focus to micro-facial feature analysis and MRI scans to study the impact that stories and ideas have on individuals.
As stated in a DARPA paper:
Narratives have a profound impact on human thoughts, emotions, and behavior, making them especially significant in security-related contexts. [... ] In scenarios involving conflict resolution and counter-terrorism, it is crucial to detect the neural responses that empathy, triggered by stories, induces.
Recent studies involved undergraduates being connected to MRI machines while viewing films like Hitchcock’s thrillers, as well as others such as Alien, Misery, Munich, and Cliffhanger. The findings revealed that when emotional threats were present, participants’ spatial and conceptual awareness of their environment was diminished.
The ultimate aim is to develop devices that can discreetly detect the influence of narratives on the human mind. As DARPA states, “Efforts that rely solely on standoff/non-invasive/non-detectable sensors are highly encouraged.” However, this research has raised concerns, as expressed by George Mason University anthropologist Hugh Gusterson, who remarked, “[M]ost rational human beings would believe that if we could have a world where nobody does military neuroscience, we’d all be better off. But for some people in the Pentagon, it’s too delicious to ignore.”
6. Pathogen Predators, THoR, And Epidemic Forecasting
The growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses serious risks globally, both for potential military or terrorist applications and as a looming epidemic. DARPA has chosen to take an unconventional approach, seeking to harness bacteria to our advantage rather than fight against them. The plan is to use living predatory bacteria to combat infections caused by biological weapons and antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Certain pathogen predators, such as Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Micavibrio aeruginosavorus, have demonstrated the ability to target over 100 different human pathogens, including those resistant to drugs. This could pave the way for a new treatment strategy based on predatory bacteria.
DARPA has outlined three critical questions that must be addressed before developing a practical predator-based therapeutic system: First, could the pathogen predators pose any toxicity or danger to the host organism? Second, how effective would these predators be in targeting the specific pathogens in question? Finally, could the pathogens evolve resistance to the predators? If these concerns can be resolved, it could open the door to a safer and more effective treatment of bacterial infections compared to traditional methods.
DARPA is also advancing other initiatives aimed at helping humanity combat pathogens. One such project, the Technologies for Host Resilience (THoR) program, investigates the nature of host immunity by examining the immune response and tolerance levels in both humans and animals. Colonel Matthew Hepburn explains, 'Understanding the fundamental mechanisms of tolerance and transmission could lead to methods to reduce mortality from formidable threats like antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.'
In addition to its work on pathogen resistance, DARPA is focusing on improving predictions of how pathogens evolve and spread, with the goal of developing better countermeasures against epidemics. In 2014, DARPA initiated the CHIKV challenge, where research teams were provided with data sets on the spread of the Chikungunya virus across the Americas. The team of mathematics professor Joceline Lega and assistant epidemiology professor Heidi Brown from the University of Arizona emerged as the winners, accurately estimating the number, duration, and peak of Chikungunya cases in the Caribbean during 2014 and 2015. Colonel Hepburn states, 'The goal is to be able to contain an emerging epidemic, partly by predicting how a virus will evolve, similar to how a weatherman forecasts the weather for the coming days.'
5. Modern Vacuum Tubes
Vacuum tubes are devices that control the flow of electricity by directing current through electrodes placed inside a vacuum. First invented in 1904, they became essential components in early electronic devices like radios, televisions, radar systems, recording equipment, and computers. However, with the advent of semiconductors, which offered smaller sizes, better efficiency, and greater durability, vacuum tubes were gradually phased out. Despite this, they were still used in older television sets and monitors until plasma and LED screens replaced them. Additionally, the magnetron, a vacuum tube that was once crucial for radar, is still a vital component in modern microwave ovens. Vacuum tubes continue to be essential in communications satellites, as their reliability and efficiency make them ideal for use in orbit, and they remain a key part of both military and civilian communication systems and radar technologies.
While many people think vacuum tubes have outlived their usefulness, DARPA is working to reinvigorate this technology through its Innovative Vacuum Electronic Science and Technology (INVEST) program. Vacuum tubes have an edge over solid-state electronics as they can withstand extreme temperatures and harsh conditions that would otherwise destroy semiconductors. Moreover, they can operate at much higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths (in the millimeter wave range) than current electronic devices. This ability would generate stronger radio signals that are more resistant to interference, while also unlocking access to a wide range of new radio frequencies in underutilized parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, which has become increasingly congested in the radio and microwave frequency bands due to the explosion of commercial communications devices.
The goal of the INVEST program is to overcome the challenges associated with manufacturing vacuum tubes, including the use of rare materials, time-consuming production processes, and the need for precision machinery. The ultimate objective is to develop innovative methods for producing vacuum tubes, potentially even through 3D printing. If successful, this would grant both military and civilian sectors access to a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies that current communication technologies cannot access.
4. Jazz Robots
Artificial intelligence programs capable of generating their own music have been around for several years now. These systems analyze music created by human composers, identifying patterns and common traits, and then use this information to generate pseudo-original compositions. While this is impressive, DARPA has even grander ambitions. Although modern systems can easily produce artificial classical music or create listenable pieces in any genre, DARPA aims to develop robots that can create and perform authentic jazz music.
Jazz was chosen for this project for a straightforward reason: it requires improvisation. This makes jazz an ideal genre for teaching robots how to navigate structured problems, which is essential for improving their ability to react in unpredictable or emergency situations. A team from the University of Arizona, funded by DARPA, is working on teaching artificial intelligence software to improvise and jam along with jazz music. The ultimate goal is to create robots that can effortlessly perform alongside human musicians. Achieving this would mean programming the AIs to make real-time, spontaneous decisions in dynamic environments—skills that are just as valuable on the battlefield as they are in a jazz club.
Project leader Kelland Thomas outlines the process:
We are creating a musical transcription database: every solo by Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong will be meticulously curated. We will develop machine learning techniques to analyze these solos and uncover deeper connections between the notes and harmonies. This data will then form the knowledge base for the system.
Developing deep learning algorithms to enable jazz-playing robots and fast-reacting AI for battlefields is no simple task, but a successful outcome could be groundbreaking in the pursuit of genuine artificial intelligence that can solve problems and even express creativity. At the very least, by 2030, the robots tearing through the human population will have some funky jazz to accompany their rampage.
3. Gremlins and Subdrones
Drones have grown increasingly compact and versatile, with the ability to be deployed by soldiers on the ground. DARPA is looking to take things further by developing drones that can be launched from, and return to, a larger aircraft mid-flight. These drones, dubbed 'gremlins,' are inspired by 'imaginary, mischievous imps' that were considered good luck by British pilots during World War II. These will be affordable, reusable drones designed for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike missions. Gremlins could swarm enemy aircraft, disrupt communications and radar, confuse the pilot, and be too small and numerous to be taken down by missiles or guns.
Gremlins must be designed as reusable yet expendable, with 'low-cost, limited-life airframes.' As explained by DARPA program manager Dan Patt, 'We won’t be discarding the entire airframe, engine, avionics, and payload after each mission like with missiles. But we also won’t have to bear the high maintenance and operational costs of today’s reusable systems, which are intended to be in service for decades.' They will also require more advanced artificial intelligence and spatial awareness than current drones to launch from and return to a host aircraft while avoiding collisions. It’s easy to imagine how smaller, smarter, and more maneuverable military drones could eventually transition to civilian use.
Gremlins aren’t the only advanced drones DARPA is working on. While most people associate drones with aerial technology, DARPA is pushing the boundaries by developing robotic sea pods under the Upward Falling Payloads program. These underwater nodes would be scattered across the ocean floor and remotely activated when necessary. Once triggered, they would rise to the surface to launch either aquatic or aerial assets. This would create a distributed network of military assets concealed on the seafloor until activated.
Some experts worry that the increasing militarization of the oceans could have serious implications. A report from the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research cautioned that this technology represents a new frontier in warfare, expanding into the previously relatively 'uncluttered' marine environment. This shift will require the development of new military rules and norms, which are currently lacking:
Many of the world’s hotspots for conflict are located in coastal or disputed waters. With rising sea levels, shifting weather patterns, and other impacts of climate change, access to once-inaccessible areas will turn the maritime environment into an increasingly critical battlefield for an expanding number of nations.
The combination of naval robots, competing geopolitical interests, and unclear international laws governing maritime warfare could potentially lead to catastrophic outcomes affecting everyone.
2. Beyond GPS
The GPS system is essential for navigation and timing in both modern military operations and daily civilian life, but it has some drawbacks, including its reliance on satellites, which makes it vulnerable to jamming and spoofing. Many military missions take place in regions where GPS is either unavailable or inaccessible, and some parts of the GPS network depend on the Russian GLONASS system in certain areas. DARPA is actively working on developing various new technologies to reduce our dependence on GPS.
One such initiative is a straightforward enhancement to the current system, called the Quantum-Assisted Sensing and Readout (QuASAR) program. GPS relies on atomic clocks because, due to relativity, time moves slightly faster for satellites in orbit than for stationary clocks on Earth. Atomic clocks are the most accurate method currently available to keep the system synchronized and precise. DARPA aims to improve upon this by exploring advancements in nanoelectromechanical systems resonators and nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamonds to create atomic and pseudo-atomic sensors that work near the standard quantum limit. This would lead to more portable and durable atomic clocks, enhancing communication systems' resilience against jamming and improving GPS accuracy.
DARPA is also aiming to completely replace the GPS system. A 2015 paper outlines their objectives:
The need for effective operation in areas where GPS is unreliable, inaccessible, or intentionally denied by adversaries has created a demand for alternative precision timing and navigation systems. To meet this need, DARPA is investing in groundbreaking technologies that could provide GPS-level position, navigation, and timing data for military applications. This includes innovative inertial measurement devices using cold-atom interferometry, chip-scale self-calibrating gyroscopes, accelerometers, and clocks, as well as pulsed-laser-enabled atomic clocks and microwave sources.
DARPA is investigating alternatives to GPS for precise positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems that could be used in military settings. These include tiny inertial systems the size of a penny, pulsed lasers, and using unconventional reference points such as commercial satellites, radio and television signals, and even timed lightning strikes. While the technology developed for a more resilient global positioning system may initially be aimed at military use, it is highly likely that it will soon be adapted for civilian communications and navigation applications.
1. XS-1
The space shuttle was initially envisioned as a reusable spacecraft that could be launched repeatedly, but the shuttle itself was only partially reusable. In collaboration with aviation company Northrop Grumman, along with Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic, DARPA is working on the XS-1 experimental space plane project, which aims to create a reusable booster with vertical launch and horizontal landing capabilities. The goal is to develop an unmanned space plane that can launch vertically with minimal infrastructure, reach speeds of Mach 10 or higher to enter low Earth orbit, release a 1,400-kilogram (3,000 lb) payload, and then return to Earth, landing on a standard runway.
DARPA envisions this program as a way to 'demonstrate the technology to fabricate and fly a reusable aircraft to the edge of space.' The aim is for the space plane to achieve 10 missions within 10 days, lowering the cost of each mission to $5 million, which is five times cheaper than the current cost. The X-37B space plane, which was initially a project by NASA and Boeing in the 1990s, was later transferred to DARPA in 2004 and partially assumed by the US Air Force in 2006. However, the X-37B still requires an Atlas V rocket to reach orbit.
The XS-1 is designed to be an advanced rocket system that uses hypersonic propulsion to send other spacecraft into orbit from low Earth orbit. The development of the space plane could pave the way for new technologies, making space access easier and more affordable. DARPA has emphasized that the project must explore alternative technical solutions in terms of feasibility, performance, system design, and costs. Additionally, the technology should be adaptable for potential use by military, civil, and commercial sectors in the near future.
