Darpa

DARPA builds the Imperial Probe Droid from Star Wars, basically

DARPA’s next big terrifying project? A hovering V-bat drone with one massive claw, perfect for ripping the skin of villainous rebels. Watch as the new creation does it’s best Imperial Probe Droid impression from Empire Strikes Back. The V-bat can hook up with GPS and deliver one-pound payloads to stranded subjects just about anywhere (thanks…

io9 Meredith Woerner Dec 12

Darpa Wants To Pump Wounded Soldiers Full of Foam For Safe Transport

Quickly stabilizing a wounded soldier and getting them off the battlefield is vital to their survival. But with internal injuries prepping a patient for safe transport is extremely complicated. So Darpa’s Wound Stasis System program has funded the development of an injectable foam that stops internal bleeding and stabilizes organs so a soldier can be…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Dec 10

Watch This Phallic UAV Get All Grabby With Its Scary Six-Foot Arm

When it comes to handy features for UAVs, your mind probably doesn’t jump to towering, phallic protuberances and grabby arms for gingerly setting things down before darting away. Well DARPA’s does, which is why they funded and demonstrated this monstrosity. The drone you see here is the MLB Company’s V-Bat and it’s designed specifically to…

Tech News Eric Limer Dec 9

These Super-Light Polymer Lenses May Eventually Replace Human Corneas

A new artificial lens that mimics the one found in human eyes is set to dramatically lower the weight of night-vision goggles, laser rangefinders and cameras aboard micro unmanned aerial vehicles that soldiers and marines must carry in the field. Optics and materials engineers have been working for a decade on a process that places…

Tech News Michael Keller - Txchnologist Nov 29

DARPA’s Falcon HTV-2 Can Deliver Its Payload Faster Than Domino’s

ICBMs are great and all, but since they are used almost exclusively for nuclear strikes, launching one would practically guarantee WWIII. So, to get non-nuclear ordnance anywhere in the world in under an hour, DARPA is developing the reusable, hypersonic Falcon delivery system. The Falcon (Force Application and Launch from CONtinental United States) Project is…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Nov 19

Pentagon offers $2 million to the creator of the best autonomous rescue robot

DARPA, the Pentagon’s techno-happy think tank, has announced a contest to spur the development of robots that could lend a helping hand during an emergency. The competition involves several tracks — including one to program the software for a pre-existing humanoid bot, and one to create a robot that can take on any form. The…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 25

Boston Dynamics’ Latest Humanoid Robot Is Better Coordinated Than You

Say hello to Pet-Proto. Manufactured by Boston Dynamics, which makes robot versions of everything from fleas to horses, it’s a humanoid robot that can run, jump and climb over objects—probably a damn site better than you’re able. https://gizmodo.com/boston-dynamics-latest-robot-can-jump-over-thirty-feet-5897055 Pet-Proto has the skill set required to take part in DARPA’s upcoming Robotics Challenge, which will see…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Oct 25

How a Remote-Controlled Cyborg Cockroach Could Save Your Life

Proving once again that this is Luc Besson’s world, and we’re just living in it, the world has moved one step closer to the Fifth Element. That’s right, remote-controlled cockroaches. The iBionicS Lab at North Carolina State recently presented a paper at the IEEE describing a robotics system for controlling a cockroach. They implanted a…

io9 Tim Barribeau Sep 14

Watch the military’s creepy robotic mule follow a human leader

Remember AlphaDog, the mechanical pack mule built by the roboticists at Boston Dynamics in conjunction with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)? https://gizmodo.com/meet-alphadog-the-terrifying-robot-horse-the-militarys-5845709 Well, the brains behind the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) have released new footage of this upgraded robotic quadruped autonomously trailing its human masters through the wilderness. Explains DARPA of the…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Sep 10

DARPA just obliterated the landspeed record for the fastest mechanical mammal on Earth

You remember Cheetah, don’t you? Back in March, DARPA released video of the robotic quadruped galloping at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. At the time, 18 mph was a new record, outstripping the previous one by just shy of five miles per hour. https://gizmodo.com/the-pentagons-robotic-cheetah-is-the-fastest-mechanical-5890576 Now, DARPA has released footage of the latest…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Sep 7

DARPA’s Next Sub Hunter Won’t Need Us Puny Humans

The US Navy has a bit of a sub problem. While the American fleet has contracted over the past two decades, numerous nations that aren’t exactly our BFFs have expanded, with new, ultra-quiet diesel-electric subs. This proliferation has grown into a national security threat, but DARPA may soon have a solution—robotic submarine trackers. Sure, nuclear…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Aug 23

iRobot’s Inflatable Arm Could Be the Future of Grappling

If you remember our Bots of War series from last year, than you are familiar with iRobot’s hardcore military robot fleet. But just because they’re awesome doesn’t mean they’re done evolving. The comping generations may have lightweight, inflatable arms. The prototype arm you see in the video above doesn’t have an inner skeleton to give…

Tech News Brent Rose Aug 22

This Tool-Wielding Robot Hand Can Be Mass Produced For Cheap

Darpa researchers at Sandia National Laboratory have developed a dextrous robotic hand made of modular components that can be produced cheaply. You see, the military wants to use these bots to defuse IEDs all over the world, but until now, comparable robotic abilities have cost about $250,000. Robotic hands need to be a lot be…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Aug 16

Pontoon Treads Let This Tank Tear Across Land and Water

Many wonderful things have come out of the US Military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—or DARPA—incuding the internet. But none are as insanely awesome as its new CAAT (Captive Air Amphibious Transporter) which is essentially a tank that floats on water thanks to its oversized inflatable treads. Created as part of DARPA’s Tactically Expandable Maritime…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Aug 10

To Test A Satellite Dock, the NRL Built a 37-Ton Air Hockey Table

How do you test the functionality of a wholly new type of satellite docking system in the weightlessness of space, without shooting round after round of prototype into orbit? If you’re DARPA, you float the satellites—air hockey-style—on top of a 37.5-ton slab of granite. Conventional satellites to this point have generally employed specially-designed, one-off docking…

Space & Spaceflight Andrew Tarantola Aug 7

DARPA Moving Ahead with Building Zombie Frankensatellites

It’s like Alien meets Bride of Frankenstein, mixed with Night of the Living Dead: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to harvest components from dead, non-working “zombie” satellites to build new ones in space, all done remotely via a grasping, mechanical arm. The agency would like to have the first keystone mission of…

io9 Nancy Atkinson - Universe Today Jul 27

Watch how the US military fights fire with electricity and sound

Traditional fire fighting techniques have relied on dousing flames with water or chemicals. But in an effort to fight fires in combat environments, DARPA has developed a groundbreaking technique where flames can be extinguished by using electricity and sound. But while the proof of concept has been established, the real challenge will be in bringing…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 13

Watch a Machine Put Out a Fire WITH SOUND

You can put out a fire with nothing more than sound—and it doesn’t even have to be eardrum-deadening, Marty McFly-flattening loud sound. This is Darpa’s sonic fire extinguisher, and it sounds kinda like a foghorn. The extinguisher was developer to fight fires in small spaces, like plane cockpits or ship holds. It uses speakers on…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Jul 13

US Military Wants Space Zombies to Feed on Dead Satellites

The DARPA Tactical Technology Office wants swarms of small spacecraft that would go to space, attach to dead satellites, and use their components to create new working satellites. The idea is fascinating—although it seems too wild to become real anytime soon. These space zombies are part of DARPA’s Phoenix project, a program that would “harvest…

Space & Spaceflight Jesus Diaz Jul 12

Is the Pentagon ready for an alien invasion?

Foreign Policy has published an extremely cool overview of highly advanced military technologies currently under development — technologies that will soon be at the disposal of the U.S. military. It’s written with tongue firmly in cheek, but there’s still a hint of seriousness to the article as the FP reviewers reveal just how bleeding-edge U.S.…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 4

DARPA builds the Imperial Probe Droid from Star Wars, basically

Darpa Wants To Pump Wounded Soldiers Full of Foam For Safe Transport

Watch This Phallic UAV Get All Grabby With Its Scary Six-Foot Arm

These Super-Light Polymer Lenses May Eventually Replace Human Corneas

DARPA’s Falcon HTV-2 Can Deliver Its Payload Faster Than Domino’s

Pentagon offers $2 million to the creator of the best autonomous rescue robot

Boston Dynamics’ Latest Humanoid Robot Is Better Coordinated Than You

How a Remote-Controlled Cyborg Cockroach Could Save Your Life

Watch the military’s creepy robotic mule follow a human leader

DARPA just obliterated the landspeed record for the fastest mechanical mammal on Earth

DARPA’s Next Sub Hunter Won’t Need Us Puny Humans

iRobot’s Inflatable Arm Could Be the Future of Grappling

This Tool-Wielding Robot Hand Can Be Mass Produced For Cheap

Pontoon Treads Let This Tank Tear Across Land and Water

To Test A Satellite Dock, the NRL Built a 37-Ton Air Hockey Table

DARPA Moving Ahead with Building Zombie Frankensatellites

Watch how the US military fights fire with electricity and sound

Watch a Machine Put Out a Fire WITH SOUND

US Military Wants Space Zombies to Feed on Dead Satellites

Is the Pentagon ready for an alien invasion?

Ozempic Shreds Bones? How a Small Study Turned Into a Big Health Myth

Anker’s Soundcore Translation Earbuds Are Now Nearly 7x Cheaper Than AirPods Pro 3 After a Sudden Price Drop on Amazon

Volkswagen Shuts Down Tennessee Plant’s EV Production at the Worst Possible Time

Using Emojis at Work? You’re Not Going to Like This Study 😮

A Terrifying Invasion Feels Eerily Familiar in This Short Horror Story

Shark AI Ultra Robot Vacuum at 51% Off Quietly Undercuts Dyson’s Stick Cleaner Prices

Tubi Manages to Turn People Against Recommendations With Bad AI Branding

Gizmodo’s Favorite Photos From NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission

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