Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA

09/11/2021

On this 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, DARPA reiterates its solidarity with all Americans as well as its partners in the DoD and the rest of the U.S. government. For our part, we commit our support in the pursuit of a more stable, secure, and sustainable world.

On this 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, DARPA reiterates its solidarity with all Americans as well as its partners in the DoD and the rest of the U.S. government. For our part, we commit our support in the pursuit of a more stable, secure, and sustainable world.

09/09/2021

Team members from around the world are getting ready for the @DARPA #SubTChallenge Final Event at the Louisville Mega Cavern 21-24 Sept! Here's a map showing where the competitors are coming from. See the state of the art in #robotics at https://www.subtchallenge.com/SubTv.html

Team members from around the world are getting ready for the @DARPA #SubTChallenge Final Event at the Louisville Mega Cavern 21-24 Sept! Here's a map showing where the competitors are coming from. See the state of the art in #robotics at https://www.subtchallenge.com/SubTv.html

09/08/2021

Our SAVaNT program kicked off last week with 8 teams seeking to develop new, room-temperature quantum technology. Current cold-atom technology requires labs full of equipment to cool & trap atoms, limiting its practical use. https://go.usa.gov/xMafj

Our SAVaNT program kicked off last week with 8 teams seeking to develop new, room-temperature quantum technology. Current cold-atom technology requires labs full of equipment to cool & trap atoms, limiting its practical use. https://go.usa.gov/xMafj

09/08/2021

ElectRX performers at Rutgers University are building a nanowell sensor for hormones and cytokines. They, along w/ colleagues at the Universities of Minnesota and Pennsylvania, published a Science Advances cover article demonstrating their ability to measure human serum from #Rheumatoid Arthritis patients (both with and without splenic ultrasound therapy) in minutes. These results demonstrate that nanowell array sensors could be a promising platform for quality, real-time, point-of-care testing.

The Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) program aims to support military operational readiness by reducing the time to treatment, logistical challenges, and potential off-target effects associated with traditional medical interventions for a wide range of physical and mental health conditions commonly faced by our warfighters.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf4401

ElectRX performers at Rutgers University are building a nanowell sensor for hormones and cytokines. They, along w/ colleagues at the Universities of Minnesota and Pennsylvania, published a Science Advances cover article demonstrating their ability to measure human serum from #Rheumatoid Arthritis patients (both with and without splenic ultrasound therapy) in minutes. These results demonstrate that nanowell array sensors could be a promising platform for quality, real-time, point-of-care testing.

The Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) program aims to support military operational readiness by reducing the time to treatment, logistical challenges, and potential off-target effects associated with traditional medical interventions for a wide range of physical and mental health conditions commonly faced by our warfighters.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf4401

09/07/2021

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA updated their phone number.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA updated their phone number.

09/07/2021

DARPA Subterranean Challenge: Why It Matters

Complex underground areas pose significant challenges for military and civilian first responders. The @DARPA #SubTChallenge Finals will feature novel approaches in action for rapidly mapping, navigating, and searching underground environments.
https://youtu.be/4I4J67jxODE?list=PL6wMum5UsYvYpbhQALOcbhzXYTt3qnzqA

Complex underground settings present significant challenges for military and civilian first responders. The hazards vary drastically across domains that can ...

08/31/2021

The subterranean stage is being set for the @DARPA @SubTChallenge Final Event at Louisville’s Mega Cavern. The event is the culmination of a vision to revolutionize search and rescue using #robots in #underground domains. Tune in Sept 21-24 on SubTV: https://www.subtchallenge.com/SubTv.html

08/31/2021

Today we announced that a first-of-its-kind sensor system developed under the Arrays at Commercial Timescales – Integration and Validation (ACT-IV) program has transitioned to the Air Force Research Laboratory, where it will become a DOD-wide asset for testing and experimentation with new modes of radar, communications, sensing, and electronic warfare. Northrop Grumman, the primary research team on the ACT-IV program, facilitated the transition of the advanced digital active electronically scanned array (AESA) to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. This transition is a fitting conclusion for the successful ACT-IV program and will enable continued exploration of digital, multifunctional RF technologies for defense needs. https://ddmdraft.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-31

Today we announced that a first-of-its-kind sensor system developed under the Arrays at Commercial Timescales – Integration and Validation (ACT-IV) program has transitioned to the Air Force Research Laboratory, where it will become a DOD-wide asset for testing and experimentation with new modes of radar, communications, sensing, and electronic warfare. Northrop Grumman, the primary research team on the ACT-IV program, facilitated the transition of the advanced digital active electronically scanned array (AESA) to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. This transition is a fitting conclusion for the successful ACT-IV program and will enable continued exploration of digital, multifunctional RF technologies for defense needs. https://ddmdraft.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-31

08/27/2021

DARPA’s new Assessing Immune Memory (AIM) program seeks to develop a platform capability to predict immune memory informed by a systems-level view of the host response to vaccination and its mechanisms.

“It is a significant challenge in vaccine development to be able to predict how long a vaccine will be protective before it is administered to humans, and more importantly, why protection is conveyed or not,” stated Dr. Tristan McClure-Begley, AIM program manager. “The AIM program will incorporate next-generation analytical and computational approaches to determine the host response mechanisms that lead to long-lasting protection.”

Learn more at https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-27.

DARPA’s new Assessing Immune Memory (AIM) program seeks to develop a platform capability to predict immune memory informed by a systems-level view of the host response to vaccination and its mechanisms.

“It is a significant challenge in vaccine development to be able to predict how long a vaccine will be protective before it is administered to humans, and more importantly, why protection is conveyed or not,” stated Dr. Tristan McClure-Begley, AIM program manager. “The AIM program will incorporate next-generation analytical and computational approaches to determine the host response mechanisms that lead to long-lasting protection.”

Learn more at https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-27.

08/27/2021

From Oct. 19-21, our fourth-annual ERI Summit & MTO Symposium will showcase technical achievements and demonstrations from the Electronic Resurgence Initiative - our a five-year, upwards of $1.5B investment in the advancement of microelectronics. Registration for this virtual event closes Sept. 27, 2021 so act now! https://web.cvent.com/event/e1aa5fab-10aa-496c-9690-5004afd6f546/?RefId=Attendee&rt=BCj4EPUZmUWvq5rLVpcPow

From Oct. 19-21, our fourth-annual ERI Summit & MTO Symposium will showcase technical achievements and demonstrations from the Electronic Resurgence Initiative - our a five-year, upwards of $1.5B investment in the advancement of microelectronics. Registration for this virtual event closes Sept. 27, 2021 so act now! https://web.cvent.com/event/e1aa5fab-10aa-496c-9690-5004afd6f546/?RefId=Attendee&rt=BCj4EPUZmUWvq5rLVpcPow

08/27/2021

How will we service #space infrastructure? Find out at the virtual 2021 Global #Satellite Servicing Forum Sept. 29-30. Registration is open. It’s part of DARPA’s #CONFERS initiative, aimed at routine on-orbit robotic maintenance. satelliteconfers.org/gssf/ #GSSF21

How will we service #space infrastructure? Find out at the virtual 2021 Global #Satellite Servicing Forum Sept. 29-30. Registration is open. It’s part of DARPA’s #CONFERS initiative, aimed at routine on-orbit robotic maintenance. satelliteconfers.org/gssf/ #GSSF21

08/26/2021

DARPA's project to develop an X-Plane with Active Flow Control to remove jointed surfaces is progressing to a new phase. Aurora Flight Sciences, Lockheed Martin, Georgia Tech Research Corp, and BAE Systems will advance tech for demonstrator CRANE aircraft. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-26

DARPA's project to develop an X-Plane with Active Flow Control to remove jointed surfaces is progressing to a new phase. Aurora Flight Sciences, Lockheed Martin, Georgia Tech Research Corp, and BAE Systems will advance tech for demonstrator CRANE aircraft. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-26

08/26/2021

Slow production methods and reliance on a global supply chain currently limit DoD access to critical proteins such as medical countermeasures (MCMs) (i.e. antibodies, vaccines, and clotting factors), diagnostic components, and key enzymes for producing nucleic acids. State-of-the-art protein-based MCM production calls for massive centralized infrastructure and complex pipelines that require lengthy cellular engineering, sufficient growth of cells, and intensive purification and quality control.

Current response times are several months for production, with additional time needed for dispersing MCMs to vulnerable populations. Distributed manufacturing paradigms may transform these timelines into those relevant to DoD response, especially in denied, degraded, or disrupted operational environments. To address these challenges, the Reimagining Protein Manufacturing (RPM) program aims to establish the foundational technologies needed for fully distributed, on-demand manufacturing of biologics-based MCMs and their associated raw materials.

Slow production methods and reliance on a global supply chain currently limit DoD access to critical proteins such as medical countermeasures (MCMs) (i.e. antibodies, vaccines, and clotting factors), diagnostic components, and key enzymes for producing nucleic acids. State-of-the-art protein-based MCM production calls for massive centralized infrastructure and complex pipelines that require lengthy cellular engineering, sufficient growth of cells, and intensive purification and quality control.

Current response times are several months for production, with additional time needed for dispersing MCMs to vulnerable populations. Distributed manufacturing paradigms may transform these timelines into those relevant to DoD response, especially in denied, degraded, or disrupted operational environments. To address these challenges, the Reimagining Protein Manufacturing (RPM) program aims to establish the foundational technologies needed for fully distributed, on-demand manufacturing of biologics-based MCMs and their associated raw materials.

08/24/2021

SubT Virtual Prelim Recap Promo.mp4

12 teams competed in the Virtual Competition Preliminary Round of the #SubTChallenge Final Event using 75 simulated #robots. Tune in to see who wins on Sept 21-24!

08/24/2021

Thanks to our friends at the Guam Daily Post for highlighting DARPA’s recent Engineered Living Materials (ELM) program exercise to develop a prototype helicopter landing zone out of #biocement on Naval Base Guam! Learn more at: https://www.postguam.com/business/local/seabees-construct-prototype-biocement-landing-pad-on-nbg/article_0dd18e10-fd88-11eb-b1cf-5f942cd18793.html. #Seabees #Naval Construction Force

Thanks to our friends at the Guam Daily Post for highlighting DARPA’s recent Engineered Living Materials (ELM) program exercise to develop a prototype helicopter landing zone out of #biocement on Naval Base Guam! Learn more at: https://www.postguam.com/business/local/seabees-construct-prototype-biocement-landing-pad-on-nbg/article_0dd18e10-fd88-11eb-b1cf-5f942cd18793.html. #Seabees #Naval Construction Force

08/20/2021

20210813_MappingSocialMedia_looping_720p.mp4

An accurate map is crucial for search and rescue, especially #underground. GPS-denied #mapping with low drift is a major goal of the #SubTChallenge. Watch robots' mapping put to the test at the Final Event Sept 21-24 SubTChallenge.com

08/19/2021

In this 48th episode of the Voices from DARPA podcast, John-Francis Mergen, a program manager since 2020 in the agency’s Information Innovation Office, recounts how his interest in science took off as a child when he received a gift of a low-power magnifier. From that gift, Mergen says, he learned about the power of observation and of the mindset one brings into that elemental component of the scientific enterprise. For this part, Mergen has spent a lot of time observing the complex ebbs and flows of data packets, which are mobile portions of information that race through through the internet and then get reassembled on your computer into a web page, a picture, or an email message. At DARPA, Mergen manages a research portfolio that are thematically aligned with managing, optimizing, and securing the way information flows in the internet and other data-dependent technologies. Expected payoffs range from the end of jitters and drops when multiple internet tasks are underway at one computer, to systems that have enough self-awareness of their capabilities to adapt to unexpected circumstances, to more secure communications in the internet of things (IoT), whether that thing is a sensor in the electrical grid or in one of Mergen’s bee hives. https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/podcast

In this 48th episode of the Voices from DARPA podcast, John-Francis Mergen, a program manager since 2020 in the agency’s Information Innovation Office, recounts how his interest in science took off as a child when he received a gift of a low-power magnifier. From that gift, Mergen says, he learned about the power of observation and of the mindset one brings into that elemental component of the scientific enterprise. For this part, Mergen has spent a lot of time observing the complex ebbs and flows of data packets, which are mobile portions of information that race through through the internet and then get reassembled on your computer into a web page, a picture, or an email message. At DARPA, Mergen manages a research portfolio that are thematically aligned with managing, optimizing, and securing the way information flows in the internet and other data-dependent technologies. Expected payoffs range from the end of jitters and drops when multiple internet tasks are underway at one computer, to systems that have enough self-awareness of their capabilities to adapt to unexpected circumstances, to more secure communications in the internet of things (IoT), whether that thing is a sensor in the electrical grid or in one of Mergen’s bee hives. https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/podcast

08/13/2021

Our Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2022 Proposers Day will be webcast Aug. 30, 2021. The event will introduce DARPA's YFA 2022 vision and goals to the academic and non-profit research community. For more information and the link to register, please visit: https://go.usa.gov/xFVKr

Our Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2022 Proposers Day will be webcast Aug. 30, 2021. The event will introduce DARPA's YFA 2022 vision and goals to the academic and non-profit research community. For more information and the link to register, please visit: https://go.usa.gov/xFVKr

08/12/2021

All DARPA #SubTChallenge Finals teams are set! A new slate of #virtual #robots join real ones in last minute prep for a September 21-24 showdown, with $5-million in #prizes and a chance to make #underground search and #rescue history on the line.
https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-12

All DARPA #SubTChallenge Finals teams are set! A new slate of #virtual #robots join real ones in last minute prep for a September 21-24 showdown, with $5-million in #prizes and a chance to make #underground search and #rescue history on the line.
https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-08-12

08/09/2021

In an oral history conducted in 1991 by the Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, George Heilmeier, a DARPA director during the mid-1970s, recalled at least part of the origin of a set of vetting questions—known later as the “Heilmeier Catechism”—that Heilmeier deployed to help make funding decisions about proposals. These questions emerged, in part, due to tension Heilmeier experienced with another DARPA titan, J.C.R Licklider, then head of the Information Procession Techniques Office, or IPTO. It was Heilmeier’s view that, at the time, Licklider was not demanding enough clarity and accountability regarding what IPTO-contracted researchers would deliver to DARPA and DOD for the money they were receiving. Heilmeier’s fix? “You would get your money based on articulating what you were trying to do and how it was done today and the limitations of current practice, etc. Those were the questions that became known as ‘Heilmeier's catechism,’” said Heilmeier. Some incarnation of this catechism has been part of DARPA’s decision-making practice ever since.

In an oral history conducted in 1991 by the Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, George Heilmeier, a DARPA director during the mid-1970s, recalled at least part of the origin of a set of vetting questions—known later as the “Heilmeier Catechism”—that Heilmeier deployed to help make funding decisions about proposals. These questions emerged, in part, due to tension Heilmeier experienced with another DARPA titan, J.C.R Licklider, then head of the Information Procession Techniques Office, or IPTO. It was Heilmeier’s view that, at the time, Licklider was not demanding enough clarity and accountability regarding what IPTO-contracted researchers would deliver to DARPA and DOD for the money they were receiving. Heilmeier’s fix? “You would get your money based on articulating what you were trying to do and how it was done today and the limitations of current practice, etc. Those were the questions that became known as ‘Heilmeier's catechism,’” said Heilmeier. Some incarnation of this catechism has been part of DARPA’s decision-making practice ever since.