Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, abbreviated DARPA (darpa),
or the Office of Advanced Research Projects of the U.S. Department of Defense,
was established in 1958, almost immediately after the launch of the USSR Sputnik-1. The realization
that the Soviets were about to launch not only satellites but also missiles into space encouraged
the United States government. The result was the creation of a unique agency with a huge budget,
which could be spent at its own discretion. Watch a selection of the most unexpected, strange and
advanced projects in the field of technology and artificial intelligence DARPA in one video!
DARPA mission is to create innovative defense technologies. The agency's projects ranged from
space-based missile shields to cyborg insects. At the same time, the Internet, the first computer
mouse, GPS, robot vacuum cleaner and, for example, Siri were created. The uniqueness of
DARPA is that by investing in the project, it does not seek to take a share in the capital,
but only stimulates the development of technology and looks where it will lead.
The first significant success of the agency was ARPANET, which laid the foundation of the modern
Internet. In 1969, with the help of this computer network was transferred the first message
between the computers of California and Stanford University, although then only two of the five
letters of the message managed to transfer. But on January 1, 1983, the network became the first in
the world to switch to data packet routing. As a routed protocol was used developed by
order of DARPA the IP protocol, which is still basic for data transmission on the Internet.
In 1964, Charles Rosen, Head of the Stanford Research Institute's Artificial Intelligence
Center, proposed the creation of an "Intelligent Automatic Machine" for the Advanced Research
Department. The grant was approved, and it was assumed that the developed robot would be able to
work as a scout or a patrol officer. This is how the SHAKEY robot came into being. According to the
description, it could perceive its environment, derive implicit facts from explicit ones, create
plans, recover from mistakes in plan execution and understand orders written in plain English.
The robot was equipped with video cameras, collision sensors and a rangefinder;
communication with the control computer was carried out via radio.
SHAKEY software architecture, computer vision and navigation and planning techniques proved
to be fundamental to robotics and web server development, video game creation and Mars rovers.
Autonomous robots, like self-driving vehicles, were one of the first and main goals of DARPA.
To stimulate their development, the agency launched the Strategic Computing Initiative
in the 1980s and allocated a billion dollars to it.
The goal was to develop artificial intelligence technologies in various fields. Among the results
there are first autonomous cars and the first quadruple-legged walking robot Boston Dynamics.
Modern unmanned vehicles date back to a series of robot races, which DARPA sponsored in the 2000s
to stimulate the development of technology. And if in 2004, out of all applicants for the
prize of a million dollars, only one managed to pass a modest 12 km of the planned 240 km,
but in 2005 the whole distance was covered by 5 cars at once. In 2007, DARPA held another race,
now with a prize of $2 million. The self-driving cars had to drive through the
city, observing the rules and interacting with each other at the intersections.
It was DARPA that sponsored the development of the first four Boston Dynamics BigDog robots,
presented in 2005. The robot, measuring 91 by 76 cm and weighing
110 kg, was able to move at a speed of six and a half kilometers per hour
and carry a load of 150 kg even, as well as climbing a mountain with a slope of 35 º.
The project cost DARPA 42 million dollars, but was closed because the robot was incredibly noisy.
Nevertheless, BigDog became the basis for the creation of both the robot Spot and Atlas robot.
By the way, the robot was not the last development of Boston Dynamics for DARPA.
About all the robots of the company, including those created for military purposes,
we presented in the issue, the link to which you see now in the hint.
Very unusual developments were and are among the Agency's projects.
For example, the Energy Autonomous Tactical Robot program was aimed at creating robots
that could feed on plants to independently replenish energy right where they would work.
Or the Engineering Living Materials program, aimed at creating self-healing building materials.
With the development of 3D printing of organs and tissues, DARPA hopes to use similar technologies
to create hybrid materials that can form and support the growth of artificially created cells.
Such materials will be able to be grown locally using available resources.
The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems spy beetle project in 2006 also looked crazy.
In 2009, the engineers even presented a prototype transmitter for cyborg insects.
But judging by the fact that in 2018, the agency announced the beginning of
the development of miniature robots, to manage insects in the right quantities did not work.
The new program SHRIMP (SHort-Range Independent Microrobotic Platforms) and
the robots developed within it will relate to the smallest type of such mechanisms,
just the size of insects. The robots will be fast and maneuverable enough to jump, fly,
lift objects and perform terrain analysis. And these will not be the only bio-inspired
robots DARPA. Recently, the agency announced that next year it will present a completely
finished robot-worm, which will be able to tunnel at a speed of 10 cm per second.
For the Project Underminer project 2.5 million dollars have already been allocated. The tunnels
will be needed to quickly create tactical paths when fighting in cities and megacities.
One of the important projects of DARPA was The Systems-Based Neurotechnology
for Emerging Therapies program, designed to create "implantation, diagnostic and therapeutic
closed cycle system for the treatment of psychoneurological diseases. Essentially,
the program wants to create a brain implant that will help soldiers fight post-traumatic stress
disorder and other problems. Interestingly, when DARPA began working on neuro-interfaces,
it said it would create a chip that would allow the military to control combat robots
and drones with the power of thought. One way or another, the work on the brain chip continues.
Another key area of DARPA's projects is the creation of robotic pilots
and artificial intelligence capable of controlling aircraft and helicopters, including combat ones.
Thus, at the end of this year the final tests of ALIAS technology on Sikorsky UH-60M Black
Hawk helicopters (black hockey is read) are to be held. The test program is remote and autonomous
missions. ALIAS system consists of a robotic pilot, voice interface and software. In order
to install ALIAS on any Black Hawk from the U.S. Army park, only LIDAR and cameras are needed.
The Artificial Intelligence training system, which in the future will be
able to take control of a combat aircraft and conduct maneuverable close air combat,
developed by DARPA, is called Air Combat Evolution. It was for its development that
the recent neural network algorithms were tested with the virtual air combat AlphaDogfight Trials.
Recall that in the course of these artificial intelligence managed to defeat a professional
pilot of the U.S. Air Force with a crushing score of 5:0. The new neural network system will have to
control the fighter and fight faster and more efficiently than man. It will be tested on a
real plane in 2024 - the preparation of the fighter for this event has already begun.
AUtonomous vehicle technology is of interest to DARPA not only in the air,
but also on water. Just the other day the agency announced that it was ready to conclude contracts
for supply of long-range uncrewed ships with three private companies within the framework
of Sea Train program. The project envisages deployment of a distributed fleet of unmanned
tactical surface ships at long distances. The goal is to overcome the range limit for sea
drones by reducing wave resistance. DARPA sees one solution to this problem in sea trains,
which will be formed from ships directly at sea. After overcoming the necessary distance,
the drones will separate to perform their tasks, and on the way back to form a train again.
Also at the expense of drones, the U.S. intends to soon increase the number of its fleet to 355
ships. This was recently announced by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, he also reported on the
demonstration of a prototype underwater drone Echo Voyager from Boeing and Sea Hunter surface
vehicle, developed by DARPA. Apparently, they will join the ranks of the Navy.
Another global goal of DARPA is the creation of swarm intelligence, that is, the use of groups
of robots to perform complex tasks. As part of this project, researchers from Buffalo University
recently received more than 300 thousand dollars to study the brain impulses and eye movements of
gamers. The goal is to improve the organization and strategy of autonomous air and ground robots
through a new training method. The robots will be trained by an algorithm that should process the
information collected by scientists and understand how gamers operate in some unexpected situation,
what they pay attention to, how they operate and what these actions lead to.
The research of robots' robots' robots is conducted by DARPA in two other directions.
The first is the OFFSET project, the development of software that will combine various ground
robots and unmanned aircraft into one group. The robots in the group must be able to solve
one or more tasks together using one of more than one hundred tactical options.
The second direction is Squad X project. It involves the introduction of drones,
robots and sensors on the battlefield to maximize soldiers' awareness of the current situation
and other tasks. DARPA has already tested the program through a week-long exercise, during which
U.S. Marines used drones and robots to coordinate their movements and detect potential threats in
the field. The information from the sensors was processed by the Artificial Intelligence System
and only then passed on to the military. This is probably how battle scenarios of the future look.
It is impossible not to mention that thanks to DARPA the whole world was
able to enjoy the spectacle of human-like robots race at DARPA Robotics Challenge.
Frames of epic robot fails of various designs quickly became a hit on YouTube.
And although it was really very funny, we shouldn't forget that thanks to such events
robotics are developing and today we can look at such smart robots as Atlas!
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