Time is ticking!
Have you registered yet to participate in our AI for Critical Mineral Assessment Competition? Join us as we work to accelerate the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) critical mineral assessments using #artificialintelligence and #machinelearning. No mineral experience is required.
Registration for the first challenge, Map Georeferencing, closes on Aug. 26.
Be sure to look out for our next challenge Map Feature Extraction, registration for which opens September 5.
Learn more at CriticalMinerals.DARPA.mil.
Editor’s Note: Map Feature Challenge #2 was originally set for August 29. It has since moved to the September date above.
It’s competition time!
DARPA’s AI for Critical Mineral Assessment Competition will explore the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools and techniques to accelerate data- and model-based critical mineral assessments.
We’ve partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to accelerate critical mineral assessments using artificial intelligence. Critical minerals are an essential part the U.S. supply chain. Without them, we’d lose the ability to manufacture a multitude of defense, high-tech, and other important products. Some examples include rare earth minerals in our electric motors and generators, and carbon fiber used for airplanes.
The Energy Act of 2020 called for the USGS to assess all critical mineral resources in the United States. Using traditional techniques, assessing all 50 critical minerals would proceed too slowly to address present-day supply chain needs.
The competition will include two, independent challenges. Winners will receive cash prizes for first, second and third place, respectively.
Registration for part 1 is NOW open through Aug. 26.
Registration for part 2 opens August 29 and ends September 9.
Learn more and register at CriticalMinerals.darpa.mil.
In the new Voices from DARPA episode, program manager Dr. Joshua Baron discusses the latest privacy-preserving research from his portfolio that’s aimed at helping the Department of Defense and more broadly, our society. Listen at https://blubrry.com/voices_from_darpa/87814067
What do robots and babies have in common? Both learn from experience and their surroundings.
That’s why our Machine Common Sense program applies lessons from children’s cognitive development to make robotic systems more robust so they can function better in the real world. This includes walking in new/tough terrain as shown.
Learn more about the work being done by university researchers on this program: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-22-06 (Video credit: University of California, Berkeley)
The internet makes it easier/faster for adversaries to manipulate the information environment. How can we spot such attempts and understand their impacts?
In our latest Voices from DARPA podcast, we explore a new DARPA program aimed at detecting influence campaigns and analyzing their impacts with experts from Protagonist and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Listen at: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-06-16
Did you know that there's more energy in the packaging of an MRE than what's in the food? In the latest episode of the Voices from DARPA #podcast (https://blubrry.com/voices_from_darpa/86059922/episode-56-the-future-of-food-meals-from-microbes), we're discussing "The Future of Food: Meals from Microbes." Listen in to hear from Dr. Molly Jahn, DSO program manager for the Cornucopia program, which seeks to enable food production on-demand and on-site. Additionally, ReSource program manager Dr. Blake Bextine and Michigan Technological University's Dr. Stephen Techtmann discuss their unique approaches to this daunting problem: turning military waste - including plastics -- into oils,lubricants, and food.
DARPA’s Manta Ray program enters a new phase where full-scale #unmanned vehicles will demo innovative underwater techniques for long-duration #autonomous #ocean missions. Northrop Grumman Corporation and Martin Defense Group are prime contractors. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-12-20
D-21-14353_Gremlins-Capture_BothLogos_andBug_720p_1.mp4
DARPA’s Gremlins project successfully flew an unmanned air vehicle (#UAV) and then retrieved it into C-130 aircraft while in flight. The complex maneuver is another step toward expanding the use and range of #drones in distributed air operations. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2021-11-05
There's one week left to register for the Forecasting Floats in Turbulence (FFT) challenge, a prize competition designed to spur development of algorithms to predict where 90 free-drifting floats in the Atlantic will travel over time. Team registration must be completed by November 10, 2021 at 4pm ET. For all challenge details and requirements, visit: https://cvent.me/n9WmeY.
The FFT challenge is a single competition in which competitors are delivered 20 days of drifter data and must forecast the exact position of each drifter every 2 days for the next 10 days. Competitors must account for the effects of real-world winds and currents at the ocean-air interface to project the trajectories of approximately 90 individual drifters. 20 days of real-time data will be released daily as the competition is underway such that competitors can incorporate the most up-to-date drifter locations prior to the submission deadline.
Today, we released the first 24-hour data set showing the float movement and location of all 90 floats on Nov. 2, 2021: https://oceanofthings.darpa.mil/data#tab-fft-challenge. Daily float data will be released for the next 20 days (till Nov. 22, 2021). Teams will have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 22, 2021, to submit their predictions of float locations 10 days into the future. Winners will be announce on Dec. 3, 2021.
In case you missed the DARPA #SubTChallenge Finals broadcast, here’s a short wrap-up video summarizing the high-stakes international competition to create autonomous #robot technologies for searching complex #underground environments during time-sensitive missions.
All #SubTChallenge teams have been to the course staging area and taken a peek into the entrance. Their #robots also got a feel for the starting gate, and a look over by onsite handlers. Today is go time! Preview the Final Event on SubTv at 2:00PM ET. subtchallenge.com/SubTv.html
Unpacking never looked like so much fun! Teams from around the world are moving into Louisville's @MegaCaverns and getting ready to compete in the #SubTChallenge Final Event. #Robots that walk, fly, roll, and more. See it all this week on SubTv.
Don't forget to register for the 2021 ERI Summit & MTO Symposium by September 27! This annual event for the microelectronics community - now in its 4th year - will be held virtually from October 19-21. Register today: https://eri-summit.darpa.mil/
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
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!
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
Cave_Intro15s_MASTER_v013_11.9.20_720p.mp4