Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Startup Cyber adAPT takes on threat detection

  Cyber adAPT, a startup springing from DARPA funded research, is shipping its first products that detect network compromises and gather data that can be used later for forensic analysis of breaches.

• WPI's team gears up for final battle of the bots

  WORCESTER, Mass. -- In about a month, the robotics team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute will have to put their robot up against 24 other teams from around the world in the DARPA Robotics Challenge finals.

• Goodbye GPS? DARPA preparing alternative position-tracking technology

  Finding GPS unreliable in certain situations, the U.S. government is placing a high priority on developing a more reliable real-time position tracking technology whose signals won't disappear in blind spots and can't be jammed.

• Military-funded robots can learn by watching YouTube

  Those fearing the rise of an all-powerful artificial intelligence like Skynet, take note: Robots are now learning by watching YouTube.

• Upgraded Atlas robot still no disaster superman

  The U.S. military has upgraded its humanoid rescue robot, but the improvements highlight how far the machine has to go in order be useful in disaster zones.

• Tesla recruits hackers to boost vehicle security

  Electric carmaker Tesla Motors wants security researchers to hack its vehicles. In coming months, the Silicon Valley based high-tech carmaker will hire up to 30 full-time hackers whose job will be to find and close vulnerabilities in the sophisticated firmware that controls its cars.

• Seven ways DARPA is trying to kill the password

  A seemingly constant stream of data breaches and this week's news that Russian hackers have amassed a database of 1.2 billion Internet credentials has many people asking: Isn't it time we dumped the user name and password?

• The Internet of Things brings far-reaching security threats

  Security pros routinely cite poor cyber hygiene as one of their top concerns. But if they're lying awake at night worried about lazy passwords and software updates going ignored, just think of the headaches that will come once thermostats, pacemakers and just about everything else comes online.

• The agency that brought you the Internet has created a self-guided bullet

  The government's military research agency, DARPA, says it has demonstrated a bullet capable of locking onto a moving target from up to a mile away.

• Ready the robots! DARPA sets finals for robotics challenge

  Scientists from at least 11 robotics teams have less than a year to prepare to compete in the DARPA robotics challenge finals.

• DARPA unveils hack-proof drone tech

  In a claim reminiscent of Oracle Corp.'s 'unbreakable' marketing campaign of several years ago, the U.S. military has built what it calls a hack proof drone.

• US funding for key IT research programs could be slashed

  While the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency may get more money in 2015 to study sensors and robots for use in warfare, the hot area of cognitive computing research could lose out.

• Tip of the Hat: Google's Project Ara unmasked

  Since disclosing last fall that an internal research team is developing an open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones, Google has offered few details of the effort, dubbed Project Ara.

• This smartphone will self-destruct in 5 seconds

  IBM is working on electronics for the US. military that will self-destruct on command to ensure that powerful devices holding critical data stay out of the hands of the enemy.

• DARPA shows off clearinghouse site for open-source code and information

  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency debuted a new website dedicated to sharing open-source data and publications today, calling it the DARPA Open Catalog.