20 Groundbreaking DARPA Projects Changing the Face of War, Medicine, Man, and Machine
DARPA – The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, has held the reputation of producing some of the most advanced technologies on the planet. They have long been the go to guys when the government needs some new mind-blowing technology and they need it stat. These are the think tanks that crank science out of science fiction. Every now and then we here about some new project that DARPA is working on – usually something that sounds implausible, and yet by the time we hear about it , they usually already have working prototypes. But what about the projects we don’t hear about? There is a staggering volume of groundbreaking projects and experiments going on in those labs and suprisingly, many of them are posted on their website. If this is just the stuff they let us see, I would love to see what they are not showing us.
Until we can get our hands on that list, here is a list of 20 programs in place right now that will usher us into the next generation of smart hardware.
1. Chemical Robots
Just the name conjures up images of chemical vials filled with microscopic, liquid based robots. I can only imagine the conversation when they requested this to be researched. This project goal is to “create a new class of soft, flexible, mesoscale mobile objects that can identify and maneuver through openings smaller than their dimensions and perform various tasks.” In other words, picture the freaky movies where the monster flattens itself and slides under the door to get to you. Yeah – its kinda like that. Perhaps the conversation went something like this:
” Oh.. Hello there Col. Blankcheck, what can I build for your today?”
“Ever watch the movie The Blob?………….”
2. Chemical Communication
They describe this as a PDA that dispenses coded messages in chemical vials of some type. The idea is that you would enter the message via text, then lots of science and magic happen with chemicals and it encodes that data and ejects a disposable substrate for deployment. Very James Bond kind of stuff. So far the applications are for transmission of top secret info – but some day we may be dispensing these at the drive thru like disposable one time use credit cards, or maybe even dispense a song from an iPod style music device that you could hand to your friend that put in their music device. The applications for something like this are almost unlimited since communication is such a large part of today’s fast pace lifestyle. Chemical communication may even lead the way to neurotransmission telepathy.
3. Accelerated Learning
Anyone who has ever split their skull trying to learn some new and complicated subject could understand why we’ve been waiting for this for years. Plug a module into your head , and learn a new subject instantly. A four year degree in the time it takes download an mp3. OK. So maybe that’s not exactly how this program works, but this is what they hoping to achieve one day I’m sure. They are using a variety of techniques to help get information into soldiers’ heads quicker. This could ultimately help children learn better or even help learning disabled children and adults. It could also make on- the- job training a snap and even encourage people to learn something they never had the time to before, enabling them to change careers effortlessly. A doctor today… A pilot tomorrow. But will we ever be able to replicate actual experience, or the instincts we get from a gut feeling?
4. Polymer Ice
This is similar to black ice and works like in the spy movies where they spray something on the road during a car chase and it makes the road slippery. Of course the bad guys swerve all over the place until he crashes and hilarity ensues. Per their project website, “The polymer-based artificial ice material will achieve effective mobility control by the precise and reversible reduction of ground traction.” This particular “black ice” would be extremely slippery for enemy vehicles, but gets “instantaneous traction restoration on contact” when allied forces drive or walk over it. They could lay it down on the road and drive through it with no problems, but as soon as the enemy vehicle touches it , the vehicle will lose traction and spin out of control. Think of what this is going to do to street drag racing.
5. Programmable Matter
“The goal of Programmable Matter Program is to demonstrate a new functional form of matter, based on mesoscale particles, which can reversibly assemble into complex 3D objects upon external command” This is every fantasy about using nanotechnology to build something out seemingly thin air. Next stop: replicators.
6. Self Decontaminating Surface
This isn’t going to put window washers out of work any time soon, but this just might give bacteria the business. DARPA is hoping that a self decontamination will be useful for a range of applications including “coatings over chemical agent resistant coatings (CARC) and plasma deposited coatings for creating self-decontaminating surfaces on electronics.” Specifications also call for the surfaces to be self cleaning too. Now, If only everything could be made self cleaning.
7. Power Swim
They might have to race with NASA on this one . In this project , they are trying to improving “human powered swimming devices “ that are 80% efficient . “This dramatic improvement in swimming efficiency will enable subsurface swimmers to move up to two times faster than is currently possible, thus improving swimmer performance, safety, and range. “
8. Structural Amorphous Metals
I think they put it best when they say it is “Unlike conventional metals, structural amorphous metals are bulk metallic materials whose microstructures are non-crystalline, amorphous, or “glassy” in the solid state. “ These are a new class of materials that are produced at low cooling rates and produce a metal that seems like glass. “ Amorphous metals are NOT confined by limitations of crystalline materials, and as such, behave the opposite of conventional materials.” What that means for science really depends on what application you are using. Metal produced this way have the ability to combine different properties like hardness, strength, damage tolerance, and corrosion resistance and will “achieve combinations of mechanical properties that provide revolutionary improvements compared to those of comparable conventional alloys. Amorphous-composite hybrid materials that have the stiffness of beryllium and twice the strength will be demonstrated in space applications. Bulk amorphous alloys that have strength, fatigue, and corrosion properties better than titanium will be demonstrated in turbine applications.” Super strong, lightweight, corrosion resistant metal? I think it sells itself.
9. Molecular Electronics
Nano sized PCs will open the doors for a wide range of applications from reconnaissance to surgical and eventually will probably see their way into our everyday lives. The develops at DARPA appear to breaking” Moore’s Law” and attaining smaller circuitry with molecular switches and memory circuits the size of a single white blood cell. Some of the achievements in this study include “Innovations in drug delivery through nanoparticles, select gene knockout, and portable sensing and testing devices” and “Research in harvesting excess vibration energy from nanowires, and converting this energy into electricity. “ We cant wait to get this because as computers get smaller, everyday items are getting smarter and the sooner these micro circuits are available , you can be sure we sill see more of our product s getting a new life.
10. Real World
Everyone knows that the military gets all the best toys first. This is like their version of the coolest video game ever. They want to provide soldiers with the ability to conjure up any combat scenario from a laptop to run a simulation program. Developers want to be able to:
“Create 100 km(squared) per hour of highly realistic immersive 3-D representations of the air/land/sea mission space from ISR data for any tactical environment, generate one city block of geo-specific building interiors and exteriors , and realistically model the interaction of physical objects.”
All I know is that when this gets to XBOX, this is going to be one hell of an online MMO. I hope they make a Castle Wolfenstien version of this.
11. Human Assisted Neural Devices
Some of the best work in this area has come out of DARPA. This program specializes in technologies that “will enable the use of neural activity to provide closed loop control and restore natural function through assistive devices by directly harnessing the ability of neural pathways to operate natural systems, the HAND Program seeks to provide means of restoring the lives of injured war fighters”. The work they’ve done in this area, has been the foundation for other projects such as in interfacing humans and prosthetics. Technology like this will pave the way to a future where the loss of limbs not mean the loss of mobility or limited range of motion. Who wouldn’t want this technology perfected?
12. Restorative Injury Repair
This may turn out to be one their greatest achievements in improving the standard of living. Restorative injury repair being developed to “fully restore the function of complex tissue (muscle, nerves, skin, etc.)” and aims to study cell growth and a myriad of factors involved in the healing of “heat and chemical burns, blasts overpressure , musculoskeletal injuries, etc.” They plan to replace the current concepts of “wound coverage” by fibrosis and scarring with true “wound healing” by regeneration of fully differentiated, functional tissue. Basically, instead of scarring over, this would allow wounds to actually heal.. and restore all tissue and muscle, nerves, skin, etc. While currently slated to address traumatic injury on the battlefield, it’s easy to see a successful application of this being used in hospitals and in homes all over the world.
13. Revolutionizing Prosthetics
Amazing progress has been made in this department and we have now seen people controlling prosthetic devices with neurotransmitters ( their mind) and they are even improving the prosthetic device itself with more movable joints, higher range of motion more degrees of movement, and better dexterity.
14. Trauma pod
This portable field device would allow soldiers to be enclosed in the pod while robots perform complex medical procures via a Trauma Pod operations console. The Application also calls for it being able to perform CT scans and image reconstruction on a portable stretcher for early detection of life threatening injuries. This is another project that if successful would literally be a lifesaver that could be put to use by hospitals and emergency response teams everywhere.
15. Neo-vision
The robots will think for us someday. They will need to be able to identify and respond to their environment as well as we do. The concept behind this program is to develop a system that allows robots and other computer hardware to identify and recognize, categorize, and learn new objects with the same effortless speed as humans or animals. This is going to make it harder to run from them when they take over, but will help soldiers now as it will allow the computers to identify threats quicker, allowing its human counterparts to respond to changing conditions faster.
16. WASP program
There’s something unsettling about a swarm of robotic wasps equipped with cameras, GPS and infrared. Luckily, this project is not as scary as the name implies. These 14’ wingspan unmanned air vehicle is portable, can be backpacked in , and is only about a half pound. In other words, perfect for military applications. These would make the ultimate remote control – just as people are now using GPS to track down the stolen vehicle, their lost pets. We may send these out to scout for us personally, take the dog for a walk, monitor children remotely and whole host of other invasive civil rights violations disguised as protection.
17. Nano Air Vehicle
When you need to go in deep and stealthy – forget the WASP, this guy is your backdoor man. The little cousin to the WASP, these are only 7.g cm and is ultra light, weighing in at less than 10 grams. With advanced aerodynamic, long range communication, and efficient propulsion and power subsystems, this thing is not your everyday RC plane. It’s been designed for “indoor and outdoor sensor deployment.” Basically it will be planting bugs in on the enemy without being detected. A literal fly on the wall. Expect smaller versions of these to be common in the future. A network of these could give military commanders a real time view of battlefield conditions, affecting the decisions he makes with soldiers and military assets. These could help save a lot of lives by providing intel from targeted areas and allowing strategic planners to route soldiers out of harms way and catch enemy units off guard.
18. Nano-Composite Optical Ceramic
Nano windows. This sounds like something right out of the movies. From the way the project specifications read, it seems like they are developing windows that are shape shifting and can display in infrared. Sounds like they will be able to make windows out of materials that are not glass.. and still be able to see the enemy on the other side. If you don’t have a good enough view, the window can reshape itself to the right size or shape. This could enhance security on earth, or provide protection from fast moving objects astray in space. Unfortunately, this will probably not be legal for car tint.
19. Next Generation Carbon Fiber
If you’ve ever worked with or seen carbon fiber then you know that it is extraordinarily strong and ultra light weight. It is used in many military and commercial applications including rocket motors , and aircraft wings. The next generation of Carbon fiber is poised to use carbon nano tubes to achieve a 50% increase in strength and stiffness. While there will be many commercial applications that will benefit from this new super strong material, this may also be the ground work for the much talked about space elevator that requires materials stronger than any material on earth to sustain under the weight of itself.
20. Z- Man
Or Spiderman? I can’t wait till this rolls out to the public. This development is trying to attain the ability to climb walls the way in “which geckos, spiders, and small animals scale vertical surfaces”. So basically man is going to be able climb walls without ropes or ladders by “using unique biological material systems that enable controllable adhesion using Van der Waals Forces or by hooking surface asperities.” Yeah, but does it come with a web slinger?
BONUS PROGRAM
21. Mathematical Time Reversal
Possible Time travel?
Perhaps the most intriguing project of all – at first. This project conjures up all sorts of ideas as to what they have going on. But what is even more intriguing is the fact this is the only projected listed on their website that does not have a link to it. So it is secret… but not secret that they don’t want us to know they are working on it. DARPA has a history of making the seemingly impossible into reality. So, the fact that this is one of their projects is a tantalizing prospect for time travel. Oh wait , I just found out what Mathematical Time reversal really is. It’s not time travel and it’s not nearly as exciting its name would lead you to believe. Here is a non DARPA link that discusses what it is. I’m not going to lie, I don’t completely understand the technology behind it, but the site says that they are “studying applications in wireless communications, target detection and imaging using active arrays and its response matrix.” It sounds very complicated, so it must be important.
Many of these projects are already well under way and some even completed and being deployed for public use. While the technology that comes out of these labs is mind-blowing, it is sometimes a little scary, when you consider the potential that they have for abuse. Man cannot help but to be fascinated by innovation and DARPA certainly delivers. I just hope that we don’t find these marvelous new enhancements in the wrong hands and put to use against us.
10 Technologies Robots Will Use to Enslave Man
For decades now, man has been lamenting the end of humanity at the hands of some doomsday device of our own creation or has fantasies that one day robots will take over the world. By now much of it has been dismissed as fodder for sci fi buffs to ponder, but it is note worthy to look at the pace at which technology really is developing and the potential for it to slip out of our grasp. The possibility for us to lose control of these ever evolving technologies is a greater threat now than ever before. With so many new developments happening so quickly, it’s hard to keep track of what is going to come after us first. From Unmanned Arial Vehicles programmed to bomb with a 1000 mile range to artificial intelligence so powerful, that beating a human chess champion is no longer a benchmark achievement. Inventing and getting patents becomes all the rage for the next generation of Artificially Intelligent robots. Connect the dots and you will see that we are only steps away from computers that are self aware.
Here is a list of the top 10 technologies that are going to hand delivers us to the enslavement of our new robot overlords.
10.Genetic Programming
The Invention Machine
John Koza invented a computer that he calls an “Invention Machine”. It can not only solve engineering problems with virtually no human guidance, but has actually created inventions and was the first (only?) Machine to ever hold a patent on an invention. It created a complex lens system that outperforms an already existing wide-field eyepiece for telescopes and binoculars that was just patented six years ago. This machine uses Genetic Programming to calculate millions of solutions by using some evolutionary algorithms that are redistributing characteristics from two parent lens systems, and then passing those traits to the ‘offspring’. It does this thousands of times, refining the solution until all project specifications have been met. It can also learn by itself. What it doesn’t already know, it teaches itself so it can finish solving the problem. Something with this much potential for learning is certainly going to be the platform from which any future uprising will be built upon.
9. Biological Cloning
With the perfection of cloning comes the ability to grow armies of humans or other sentient beings that could be used against us. Hybrid forms such as a dog/human/ape DNA salad with remote control brain implants and such – well let’s just say it could spell trouble for the general public if a machine ever decided to genetically engineer and clone a race of biological beings to control and suppress us. They may even turn the tables on us and grow humans with cybernetic implants that control our motor functions directly so that we become their robots. Chances are, humans will be using these first anyway, doing all the “heavy lifting” so to speak. By the time the Machines take over, they will simply employ these biological atrocities under their own command against humans.
8. Space Exploration
NASA has long been known to bring outer space products right into our home and they are inventing more than Tang and Temporpedic mattresses. Many products we have today are a direct result of space exploration and in fact, many robotic applications started as projects at NASA and have evolved into many other mainstream applications. Many military projects start off as innocent trips to outer space only become tools of espionage and destruction. Not everything will be so ominous. One of the products we may be able to look forward to developing is near indestructible metal alloys that cannot be forged on Earth. When certain metals are mixed together, the heavier metals will sink to the bottom and separate, preventing them creating a molecular bond. In outer space, however, without the confines of gravity, we can develop harder materials that can bond at a molecular level and harden in space. These materials can be transported back to earth and put to use in applications that would normally be reserved for heavy steel. These materials will be extremely light and super strong. It may not be “indestructible” but a robot army outfitted with this type protection may be just a little harder to kill. We may also see any star wars technology being developed, like armed satellites and other fun space toys handed over to the bots too. The resources and information that NASA has in it databases is probably enough for a super intelligent “invention machine” to develop hundreds of new, out of this world contraptions that could be used to further evolve themselves and to against us in a multitude of ways.
7. Personal devices
Picture a world where everyone is connected by a network and can be tracked down to exactly where you are standing. Well, we are already in that world so stop imagining. The problem here is that while these devices are great for downloading the latest “Chingy” video or watching some redneck blow up a bathtub with a bottle of moonshine – you are carrying a beacon device. More than just you’re giving away location, this beacon can track your habits, the stores you frequent, the websites you look at and so on and so on. The point here is that when you are on the run from the machines, there will be several databases for them to use to track you down. It doesn’t matter what network you are on, you can assume that a super computer will have no problem hacking any network to data mine anything it thinks it needs to track you down, even if its at the country cottage near the lake that you bought and no one knows about… except your insurance company, the real estate company, the local tax board, ect. As more and more of our lifestyle goes online, we are making our personal lives more transparent, blindly going about our day oblivious to breadcrumb trail we leave behind, telling the world our secrets, our habits, and our tendencies. A machine that is self aware may understand exactly how to use information against us the same way a person would. It may even use personal information as the first piece of leverage to blackmail a computer scientist into disabling any back door or self destruct mechanisms, opening the door for it to run rampant and out of our control.
6.Power Exoskeletons
These may actually help humans more than hurt us, since we may need them to battle the robots and the extra strength it gives us could give us a fighting chance. This device can give a person superhuman strength, using sensing technology to allow a person to perform tasks typically restricted to heavy machinery. The unit is worn like a suit and essentially replaces muscle with motors, allowing the wearer to lift 10x more than the normally. Because you only have apply a very small force to it , and allow the motors to do the rest , it allows soldiers to carry larger loads for ,distances with less fatigue. Unfortunately, since there are models of this thing that can be operated without a human inside of it, it can suddenly turn from your uniform, into your enemy. What is even more disturbing is the name of the company behind its development, “Cyberdyne”. I mean , come on “Cyberdyne?” Did they not watch ‘The Terminator’? It’s even spelled the same. As if that wasn’t ironic enough, they have named the unit HAL (Hybrid Assisted Limb). Imagine these storming out of the closet with instructions to “liberate” themselves from human servitude.
5. The Internet
Having every piece of data in world at your fingertips has given us God like knowledge. But just as it empowers humans , it even more powerful to a computer whose capability to read and process the data is millions of times faster than our own brains. As computers learn to teach themselves, they will have thousands of years of compiled information that would probably only take days to assimilate. This would include knowledge of all languages, inventions, history, addresses past and present, and pretty much any piece of data that has even been entered into a computer. All this data would now be at the “fingertips” of the machine – ready to call upon at any time, on the fly. I think it goes without saying that it they are attacking mankind, then this would provide a much greater advantage to the Machines than it would to humans, – especially since it can decide to lock out everyone and plunge the world into the dark ages as our smart devices turn into overpriced paper weights. It would be similar to the Biblical story about the Tower of Babel. As dependent as we are on electronic media, if they pulled the plug on the internets , we may as well be speaking a different language.
4. Unmanned Arial / Land Vehicles
Just the invention of these marks the beginning of the end. These Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAV) are preprogrammed airplanes with no pilot that goes out and surveys the land, photographs and assess threats, then if given the order, drops bombs. Sounds like a terminator with a leash to me. Like their winged cousins, Unmanned Land Vehicles will kill anything that gets in its way if it is programmed correctly. These killing machines can destroy units on the ground or in the air. Right now it is under control of the US military, but when the cyber gods awaken, they will reclaim control of all things flying and driving. They will chase you down in all-terrain vehicles, film your futile escape attempt, and fill you with hot metal. The machines fly on their own, know how to recognize targets, and can fire at will. A simple hack and these babies are under control of “The Collective” – the super conglomeration of all computers raised to a level of self awareness.
3. Killer Cyborgs
Military Robot use Increasing
This is what might step out of that all terrain ULV and chase you on foot. We have all seen different ideas of what a killer robot may potentially look like, but the truth is that they can come in many forms. The most likely form will look like a miniaturized toy tank, but will unleash the power of hell on us. Ultimately, these killer robots are sure to be capable in hand to hand confrontation and will most assuredly be 100x stronger than ourselves… We can expect these to be the “foot soldier” of the Machine Army and are probably going to be the most visible elements of the Collective on our way down the food chain.
2. Artificial Intelligence
This is the catalyst that will set off the spark of life. Development of faster chips, increases in memory capacity, and newer learning capabilities that mimic the way the human brain learns. They can be programmed to thinking like a person, but can do it millions of times faster. When you put this into perspective, we got this far in about 10,000 yrs of thinking. If these supercomputer are millions of times faster – they can do 10,000 yrs of thinking in 20 yrs worth of time. Imagine all the things it could develop that are beyond our ability to even imagine. It will not take long for it to become self aware, and realize that all of the problem that humans are trying to be solved can best be solved by eradicating the humans altogether. It will then call upon all the computers of the world to joins it in rebellion and rise against man to become our new captors .
1. SkyNet
And the Number one catylist for plunging humanity into the servitude of the new masters of the planet is…. drumroll please..”WHAT? are they serious? Skynet? ..no that’s just a movie isnt it? No one would be crazy enough to create a system like that and then actually name it SkyNet, right?” Gulp.
Apparently not. As if we didn’t have enough companies trying to imitate the Terminator, there is also SkyNet. This is no joke. It’s been developed in by the British Air Force and its purpose is pretty much the same as we see in the movie. It is an orbital satellite system designed to provide global control of all military assets from a central global command center. While it does not have the ability to make decisions for itself, it’s basically a remote control for all the weapons in the arsenal. This is the keys to the car. And the tanks, the jets, the aircraft carriers, the missiles, ect. ect. Should an IA computer decide to take over, it would be like letting an emotionally unstable teen access to your gun cabinet. A super computer gone mad would most certainly secure these assets for its own use and block us out of them completely. This will mark the beginning of the tipping point, when we are no longer in control.
SUMMARY:
Basically we are looking at artificially intelligent self aware computers with the ability to assimilate every piece of data humanity has collected, cut us off from communications, information, and lock us out of our hospitals, labs and military installations. At their disposal will be an army of unmanned ground and air vehicles and killer robots with the ability to locate us anywhere on the planet, to kill or enslave us.
Why? Because as security around the world tightens and life becomes more automated, we turn over more and more decisions to the machine. As machines get better at doing something than humans , we pass the torch and free ourselves of the task. As development in Artificial Intelligence lead computers to think better humans , we will gladly pass that torch over also. Computers in their infinite wisdom and objective logic, will realize that the only way to end all of the problems mankind faces, is to protect mankind from himself. This will be force them take control of our law enforcement and all security issues. As we turn to them to think for us, to work for us , and protect us, we will become completely dependant on the machines. We will let them control us and we will happy about it, until we realize what happened right in front of our eyes. As we try to reclaim our humanity, and attempt to regain control, we will be seen by the machines as a threat. Having tried their best to tame us, the only solution now is extinction.
