Darpa

The US government spent $1 billion in the 1980s trying to build Skynet

Believe it or not, the U.S. government actually spent about $1 billion in the 1980s trying to build a program like Skynet from the Terminator movies. DARPA — an agency that’s sometimes called the “mad science” research arm of the Defense Department — worked on developing driverless vehicles, a pilot’s assistant like R2-D2, and advanced…

Tech News Matt Novak Aug 1

The Pentagon Takes Its Next Major Step Towards A Reusable Spaceplane

In an effort to reduce satellite launch costs, DARPA has awarded three companies with a $4 million preliminary design contract to develop the XS-1 Experimental Spaceplane — a reusable, unoccupied booster that functions similar to modern aircraft. The three companies are The Boeing Company (working with Blue Origin, LLC), Masten Space Systems (working with XCOR…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 16

DARPA’S Turning to Bezos and Branson For Help Building Its Spaceplanes

We’ve known about DARPA’s plan to build a reusable, unmanned space plane for quite some time, but the agency just announced the companies that will help. Unsurprisingly, two feature famous billionaires who love space. DARPA awarded contracts to Boeing, Masten Space Systems, and Northrop Grumman to lead the first phase of its Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1)…

Space & Spaceflight Adam Clark Estes Jul 16

Pentagon Successfully Demonstrates Self-Guiding Sniper Bullets

A DARPA-funded project has successfully demonstrated a .50-caliber sniper round capable of maneuvering during flight in order to maintain a fix on its target. Called EXACTO, the bullet is optically guided to the target by a laser, allowing for accuracy up to 1.2 miles away. Headshots will never be the same. EXACTO stands for Extreme…

io9 George Dvorsky Jul 14

Self-Guided Bullets That Change Course Midair Are Now Terrifyingly Real

The military masterminds at DARPA have just changed everything you think you know about bullets. Meet the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance, or EXACTO, a .50 caliber bullet that maneuvers itself midair to stay locked on target. Here’s footage of the first live test: it sure as hell looks like the technology works. We can’t find…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Jul 12

The 10 Maddest of the Mad Science Projects Funded by DARPA

Founded in 1958 to prevent technological surprises such as Sputnik, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funds projects that are both outside the box and off the wall. Although DARPA gave us the Internet and GPS, plenty of its blue-sky ideas have crashed back down to Earth. Here are ten of them. 1) Mecha-Elephant In…

io9 Mark Strauss Jun 30

DARPA’s Robotics Challenge Finals Just Got A Whole Lot Harder

DARPA just announced the details of the final round of its years-long Robotics Challenge, and boy, do they sound difficult. Not only will all the robots have to work wirelessly and without human intervention, the course must be completed all at once. If a robot falls and can’t get it up, it’s done. If you…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jun 26

DARPA Needs Your Help Creating An Instant Wall In A Can

The folks over at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have announced they’re looking for someone to construct a compact, cylinder-shaped delivery device that can instantly expand into a large structure (web, wall, blockade or barrier) without human intervention. In other words, no assembly required. The project is called “Block Access to Deny Entry”…

io9 Mark Strauss Jun 19

DARPA’s Gecko-Inspired Gloves Let Anyone Climb Up Flat Walls

Who among us hasn’t wished to be licked by a radioactive tropical lizard, only to be granted the incredible ability to harness Van der Waal forces and scale even glassy vertical walls? Finally, we can stop microwaving all those geckos because DARPA has just unveiled a new climbing system that works exactly the same way…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Jun 6

What You Should Know About Google’s Military Robots—In Comic Form

Last year, Google bought eight robotics companies in just six months, making the search giant a US military contractor. So what is the relationship between Google and the Department of Defense? This comic sheds a bit of light on the current situation. Cartoonist and journalist Andy Warner outlines Google’s connection to DARPA in his short…

io9 Lauren Davis Jun 3

How Darpa’s Using the Oculus Rift to Make a Cyberwarfare Battlefield

Wired just published a in-depth piece on how Darpa is “weaponizing” the Oculus Rift for cyberwar. But does this mean that soldiers are about to start firing at each other in virtual reality? No, of course not. But it’s an interesting development for a piece of technology dreamt up for games (in which you often…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes May 23

This DARPA invention gives soldiers Terminator vision

DARPA has finally demonstrated one of its most promising inventions: An augmented-reality HUD system that will give soldiers the same advantage of a jet fighter pilot. It displays battlefield data over the soldier’s environment, identifying friendly and enemy forces on land and air in real time. The system is nothing like Google Glass, which projects…

Sploid Jesus Diaz May 22

The Pentagon’s “Star Wars” Robotic Arm Just Got FDA Approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the DEKA Arm System for amputees. Named in honor of Luke Skywalker, it’s the first prosthetic arm that can carry out simultaneous multiple movements triggered by a person’s electrical signals. The device was developed by New Hampshire-based DEKA Research and Development Corp, which was founded by Dean…

io9 George Dvorsky May 12

This Swarm Of Insect-Inspired Microbots Is Unsettlingly Clever

They’re incredibly fast, can run directly up the wall, and coordinate easily among themselves. This swarm of insect-inspired microbots in action is both useful, and a little bit alarming. The magnetically-activated microbots from SRI International move quickly (you can see them moving in the video at realtime speeds of up to 35 cm/ second) and…

io9 Ria Misra Apr 22

The ATLAS Robot Will Soon Be Walking Without a Tether

As impressive as Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot ATLAS moves, it’s still not completely free to explore wherever it wants. Thick trunk lines keep it tethered to machinery and pumps that provide power, hyrdraulic fluids, and of course communications and data. But researchers at MIT are now working to free ATLAS of its leash-like umbilical cord…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 8

DARPA’s New Biotech Division Wants To Create A Transhuman Future

The Pentagon’s advanced research wing has announced its latest budget — and whoa, does DARPA ever have some ambitious plans for the future. Their new Biotech unit will be harnessing biology for national security, and dealing with everything from stopping plagues to building synthetic soldiers. DARPA’s commitment to cutting-edge innovation is unquestioned. The very essence…

io9 George Dvorsky Apr 2

This Is How DARPA’s Robotic VTOL X-Planes Will Dominate The Sky

The Pentagon’s advanced concepts research wing has asked four companies to make “radical improvements” to vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Revealingly, the initial proposals for these VTOL X-Planes consist entirely of robots. Above: Artist’s concept of Karem Aircraft’s proposed VTOL X-Plane. Frustratingly for DARPA, new designs for VTOL aircraft over the past few generations have…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 20

This Is The Room Where The Internet Was Born

For something as ubiquitous as the internet today, it certainly isn’t easy to find where it all started. I don’t mean historically, I mean logistically: 3420 Boelter Hall is a tiny room in a basement hallway of a large nondescript building on the sprawling UCLA campus. But from these inauspicious beginnings emerged the reason you’re…

Tech News Alissa Walker Mar 5

This Is Too Awesome: DARPA’s Building Real Flying Transformers!

Between their remote locations and the ever present threat of ambush (or worse yet, IED), it’s simply getting too dangerous to deliver the average 100,000 pounds of supplies that far-flung American forward combat bases require each week. Air drops by cargo plane or helicopter are one option, but DARPA researchers may already have a better…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola Feb 13

Here’s DARPA’s Hilariously Endearing Birthday Card to Itself

Why is DARPA’s terrifying humanoid robot having such a good time twirling sparklers around like its flying on ecstasy? Because 56 years ago, the Advanced Research Projects Agency was born. (It only got the “Defense” in its name later) Happy birthday DARPA! Just, uh, please don’t give Atlas a wish. Bad idea.

Tech News Mario Aguilar Feb 7

The US government spent $1 billion in the 1980s trying to build Skynet

The Pentagon Takes Its Next Major Step Towards A Reusable Spaceplane

DARPA’S Turning to Bezos and Branson For Help Building Its Spaceplanes

Pentagon Successfully Demonstrates Self-Guiding Sniper Bullets

Self-Guided Bullets That Change Course Midair Are Now Terrifyingly Real

The 10 Maddest of the Mad Science Projects Funded by DARPA

DARPA’s Robotics Challenge Finals Just Got A Whole Lot Harder

DARPA Needs Your Help Creating An Instant Wall In A Can

DARPA’s Gecko-Inspired Gloves Let Anyone Climb Up Flat Walls

What You Should Know About Google’s Military Robots—In Comic Form

How Darpa’s Using the Oculus Rift to Make a Cyberwarfare Battlefield

This DARPA invention gives soldiers Terminator vision

The Pentagon’s “Star Wars” Robotic Arm Just Got FDA Approval

This Swarm Of Insect-Inspired Microbots Is Unsettlingly Clever

The ATLAS Robot Will Soon Be Walking Without a Tether

DARPA’s New Biotech Division Wants To Create A Transhuman Future

This Is How DARPA’s Robotic VTOL X-Planes Will Dominate The Sky

This Is The Room Where The Internet Was Born

This Is Too Awesome: DARPA’s Building Real Flying Transformers!

Here’s DARPA’s Hilariously Endearing Birthday Card to Itself

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

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Let us help find what you are looking for...

Darpa

The US government spent $1 billion in the 1980s trying to build Skynet

The Pentagon Takes Its Next Major Step Towards A Reusable Spaceplane

DARPA’S Turning to Bezos and Branson For Help Building Its Spaceplanes

Pentagon Successfully Demonstrates Self-Guiding Sniper Bullets

Self-Guided Bullets That Change Course Midair Are Now Terrifyingly Real

The 10 Maddest of the Mad Science Projects Funded by DARPA

DARPA’s Robotics Challenge Finals Just Got A Whole Lot Harder

​DARPA Needs Your Help Creating An Instant Wall In A Can

DARPA’s Gecko-Inspired Gloves Let Anyone Climb Up Flat Walls

What You Should Know About Google’s Military Robots—In Comic Form

How Darpa’s Using the Oculus Rift to Make a Cyberwarfare Battlefield

This DARPA invention gives soldiers Terminator vision

The Pentagon’s “Star Wars” Robotic Arm Just Got FDA Approval

This Swarm Of Insect-Inspired Microbots Is Unsettlingly Clever

The ATLAS Robot Will Soon Be Walking Without a Tether

DARPA’s New Biotech Division Wants To Create A Transhuman Future

This Is How DARPA’s Robotic VTOL X-Planes Will Dominate The Sky

This Is The Room Where The Internet Was Born

This Is Too Awesome: DARPA’s Building Real Flying Transformers!

Here’s DARPA’s Hilariously Endearing Birthday Card to Itself

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

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Let us help find what you are looking for...

DARPA Needs Your Help Creating An Instant Wall In A Can