darpa

IBM research honcho: From the Pentagon to the 'toy shop' (Q&A)

Since September 11, 2001, the American security apparatus has been focused largely on stopping terrorists from striking again. But some feel a more pressing danger may be that of cyber attacks, digital hacks that disable critical infrastructure and bring society to a crawl.

As the U.S. government has tried to shape its approach to such attacks, President Obama and the secretary of defense have relied on contributions from a number of people in the Pentagon and elsewhere for ideas on how to stop bad actors, be they from national governments or small terrorist groups. Among them was Assistant Secretary … Read more

DARPA SpaceView enlists amateur astronomers

DARPA today announced a new approach to tracking the increasing population of space debris: crowdsourcing. The SpaceView program will reach out to amateur astronomers in helping to protect satellites from what NASA estimates is more than 500,000 pieces of hazardous space debris orbiting the Earth. It's a low-cost way to both improve the scope of the space coverage and better protect assets in space, some of which are satellites providing mission-critical combat support. Decomissioned satellites, spent rocket stages, aluminum oxide slag, and lost tools make up some of the half million pieces of debris -- and the Space … Read more

Watch this DARPA robot climb, leap, and walk past obstacles

Prepare to witness a tantalizing glimpse at our future robot overlords.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency yesterday released a stunning video showing how an autonomous robot can navigate and jump over obstacles with great ease.

In the clip, the Pet-Proto robot -- a predecessor to DARPA's Atlas robot -- traverses a simulated hallway containing a very tall step and a thin walkway. Pet-Proto easily uses its strong arms to balance itself as it climbs a step, then perfectly leaps down with a thud. The highly agile walker stretches its legs to continue its journey along the thin edges of a gutted hallway floor. … Read more

Wall-E, BigDog, Nao, PackBot break into Robot Hall of Fame

The people have spoken and the machines are immortalized.

More than 17,000 humans voted online for the 2012 inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame, and they chose a mixture of friendly and terrifying bots, depending on your perspective.

Come on down, Wall-E, BigDog, Nao, and PackBot. You've earned a place among the stars.

Although the 12 nominees were selected by robotics experts, it was the first time that popular votes chose the inductees to Carnegie Mellon University's hall of immortal robots. … Read more

Firefighting robot can douse your flames for $96K

In 2011, more than 80 firefighters in the U.S. died while on duty, and more than 60 have lost their lives so far this year. Engineering companies have been trying to reduce the harm they face and Maine-based Howe and Howe Technologies is offering this robot firefighter as a solution.

The firm is known for building high-speed tracked vehicles that can tear through rugged terrain. Thermite, billed as the world's first production firebot, also rolls on treads so it can get over obstacles lying between it and a dangerous fire. … Read more

Run! DARPA's LS3 robot mule follows you around

Let the human-hunting games begin. Boston Dynamics has a new video of its oversized beast pursuing defenseless human meatsacks through a forest.

The Legged Squad Support System (LS3), aka AlphaDog, is designed to carry 400 pounds of payload and travel 20 miles without refueling. It's funded by DARPA and the U.S. Marine Corps and is meant to support troops in rugged terrain.

The latest video shows the cow-size monster clambering over rocks and up steep hillsides with heavy weights on its sides. It charges through bushes without a thought. … Read more

All hope lost as Cheetah robot outruns Usain Bolt

Run, don't walk, if you want to get away from this cheetah robot. If you happen to be non-human, you might stand a chance of surviving.

That's because Boston Dynamics' quadruped has set a new speed record and can now outrun the world's fastest human, Usain Bolt.

The DARPA-funded cyber-cat, already the fastest legged robot around, can sprint 28.3 mph, better than Bolt's best 20-meter split of 27.78 mph, the company said, quoting data from the International Association of Athletics Federations. The robot can now run significantly faster than its former top speed of 18 mph because engineers increased its power and refined the leg control algorithms. … Read more

Elect the best machines for the Robot Hall of Fame

If robots could run for president, which would you vote for?

Nobody doubts that machines would make better leaders than meatsack politicians, but there are so many to choose from. Carnegie Mellon University is helping out by letting us humans elect inductees for its Robot Hall of Fame.

The prestige has been awarded to real robots such as Honda's Asimo, as well as characters like C-3P0 and R2-D2 from "Star Wars." The unprecedented public participation in choosing the members follows years of inactivity at the hall, which was created in 2003 but last added new robots in 2008. … Read more

Crawling bot glows, camouflages itself with dye

In addition to slithering, crawling, and flying just about anywhere, what if robots could camouflage themselves? This tentacled prototype can be made to look like -- or stand out from -- its background with a simple injection of dyes.

Developed by engineers at Harvard University's Whitesides Research Group, the "soft machine" silicone quadruped crawls along on pressurized gases fed through an umbilical cord.

Users can send different dyes through channels in the robot's body, allowing it to blend in or stand out in startling fashion, such as glowing in the dark. Color changes take about 30 seconds, but don't require further power to sustain the disguise. … Read more

DARPA's massive water tank loves tough terrain

When the going gets tough, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency creates a vehicle -- capable of driving on water, land, and even deep mud -- to keep things going.

Officially known as the captive air amphibious transporter (CAAT), this water wagon currently under development looks like the strange lovechild of a tank and a hovercraft. CAAT could one day serve as an invaluable tool for the U.S. military when it delivers supplies to the coasts of disaster-stricken areas. … Read more