{"id":168871,"date":"2020-09-21T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=168871"},"modified":"2020-09-17T06:57:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T05:57:26","slug":"darpa-the-pentagons-mad-scientists-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/09\/darpa-the-pentagons-mad-scientists-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"DARPA: The Pentagon\u2019s Mad Scientists at Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ten ‘high-risk high-reward’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency projects that stretch the imagination.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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\"\"<\/a>

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has announced the start of a five-year, $26 million effort to develop brain implants that can treat mental disease with deep-brain stimulation. Credit: DARPA.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

8 Sep 2020 – <\/em>You\u2019ve seen the superhero movie scenario before \u2014 a mad scientist\u2019s experiment goes terribly wrong, and he or she is transformed into an evil nemesis for the good guys to battle.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all science-fiction, right? Comic book stuff?<\/p>\n

We all know those wild and crazy military experiments only exist in the movies \u2014 or do they?<\/p>\n

Enter the folks at America\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), who have entertained some of the craziest ideas in military history in the 62 years since its foundation.<\/p>\n

For every one of the DARPA\u2019s successes, there seem to be a plethora of failures \u2014 but what makes DARPA so unique is its ability to go outside the red tape of bureaucracy to innovate.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t subject to the same acquisition rules as other agencies, which means it has fewer restrictions on the scientists and innovators.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the more interesting projects to come out of DARPA\u2019s \u201chigh-risk, high-reward\u201d environment.<\/p>\n

1. Plant-eating robots<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most aptly named project on this list, the Energy Autonomous Tactical Robot program sought to create robots that could feed off plants just as animals do.<\/p>\n

EATR<\/a>\u00a0would have enabled robots to remain in surveillance or defensive positions without resupply much longer than humans or robots with more limited power sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe completely understand the public\u2019s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission,\u201d Cyclone Power Technologies CEO Harry Schoell said in a press release.<\/p>\n

Before the project stopped development in 2015, its engineers estimated that EATR would be able to travel 100 miles for every 150 pounds of biomass consumed.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t even ask about what went on at the other end of things.<\/p>\n

2. Silent Talk<\/h3>\n

The agency\u2019s researchers are currently undertaking a project \u2014 called Silent Talk \u2014 to \u201callow user-to-user communication on the battlefield without the use of vocalized speech through analysis of neural signals.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right: they\u2019re talking about\u00a0telepathy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using an\u00a0EEG<\/a>\u00a0to read brain waves, DARPA is going to attempt to analyze \u201cpre-speech\u201d thoughts, then transmit them to another person.<\/p>\n

They first plan to map people\u2019s EEG patterns to his\/her individual words, then see if those patterns are common to all people.<\/p>\n

If they are, then the team will move on to developing a way to transmitting those patterns to another person.<\/p>\n

3. Switchblade<\/h3>\n

DARPA has already revolutionized aerial warfare by encouraging the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).<\/p>\n

The Switchblade should have gone further by becoming the first supersonic UAV capable of long-range missions.<\/p>\n

The US$10.3-million project involved a bizarre design. The aircraft\u2019s 61-metre wingspan pivots by 60\u00b0 as it gains speed, until one wing points forwards and the other backwards enabling it to reach speeds of Mach 2.<\/p>\n

Following Phase I the aircraft concept was cancelled.<\/p>\n

4. Cyborg insects<\/h3>\n

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles may be all the rage, but they\u2019re clunky and require people to design and assemble every piece. What if there were a way to piggyback sensors on flying creatures for free?<\/p>\n

DARPA\u2019s spy bugs were part of a 2006 project that wanted to implant transmitters in insects to use them for surveillance. The\u00a0Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems program<\/a>\u00a0was run by teams from the University of Michigan and Cornell University.<\/p>\n

Within a few years, researchers had developed interfaces capable of controlling insects\u2019 actions. And if plain old spy bugs weren\u2019t wild enough, the insects eventually received nuclear power as well.<\/p>\n

In 2009, Cornell engineers revealed a prototype of a radioactively-powered transmitter for the cyborg insects.<\/p>\n

Nickle-23 isotopes would provide ample power to the sensors and transmitters the bugs might carry while remaining harmless to humans<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Right \u2026 we\u2019ve heard that one before.<\/p>\n

5. Brain implants for PTSD<\/h3>\n

DARPA doesn\u2019t just focus on cool gadgets for fighting wars. The agency also funds research on solutions for the negative effects war can have on soldiers.<\/p>\n

The Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies program is tasked with creating \u201can implanted, closed-loop diagnostic and therapeutic system for treating, and possibly even curing, neuropsychiatric illness,\u201d according to\u00a0a DARPA press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Basically, the program wants to make a brain implant that will help soldiers struggling with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, anxiety, substance abuse, and more.<\/p>\n

Because of the ramifications of such a device, SUBNETS has special ethics experts to help them create a safe piece of neurotechnology.<\/p>\n

6. Robotic infantry mules<\/h3>\n

Heavy lifting is one of the largest challenges affecting troops\u2019 health and performance.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the affect the weight of soldiers\u2019 loads can have on them, DARPA began working with robotics company Boston Dynamics to create the\u00a0Legged Squad Support System<\/a>.<\/p>\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R7ezXBEBE6U<\/p>\n

Capable of carrying 400 pounds, the LS3 is intended to deploy with an infantry squad. DARPA\u2019s website states the program\u2019s goal as \u201cto develop a robot that will go through the same terrain the squad goes through without hindering the squad\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

7. Frozen soldiers<\/h3>\n

You\u2019ll see this fairly often on mystery and conspiracy websites, \u201cDARPA wants frozen soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those same websites sometimes also claim that the US is going to unleash an army of White Walkers and Olafs over the ice caps to destroy Russia.<\/p>\n

In actuality,\u00a0DARPA just wants to put injured people in biostatis<\/a>\u00a0to give medical personnel more time to evacuate and treat them, potentially turning the \u201cGolden Hour\u201d of medevacs into the \u201cGolden Couple of Days.\u201d<\/p>\n

This could be done by rapidly lowering blood temperatures, something the medical community has looked at for heart attack victims. But DARPA\u2019s program focuses on proteins and cellular processes, hopefully allowing for interventions at room temperature.<\/p>\n

If it works, expect to see the process in use in a war with near peers who can force our medevac birds to stay on the ground, and expect to see it quickly copied to ambulance services around the world.<\/p>\n

8. Mechanical elephants<\/h3>\n

In the 1960s, DARPA began researching vehicles that would enable troops and equipment to move more freely in the dense terrain of Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Following the footsteps of Hannibal before them, DARPA researchers decided that elephants could be the right tool for the job.<\/p>\n

They began one of the most infamous projects in DARPA history: the quest for a mechanical elephant. The end result would be capable of transporting heavy loads with servo-actuated legs.<\/p>\n

When the director of DARPA heard of the \u201cdamn fool\u201d project, he immediately shut it down, hoping that Congress wouldn\u2019t hear of it and cut the agency\u2019s funding.<\/p>\n

9. The flying submarine<\/h3>\n

As any comic book super hero already knows, air planes should be able alternate between flying and going under water.<\/p>\n

Last we heard, DARPA is trying to make a\u00a0flying submarine<\/a>\u00a0(or a submersible plane) a reality.<\/p>\n

Military applications for such a machine are obvious, but perhaps one day we can also look forward to a civilian flight that includes an underwater tour?<\/p>\n

10) Programmable shape-shifting matter<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the movie Terminator 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger (avec thick Austrian accent) explains that a cyborg is made of malleable metal and can form itself into \u201cknives and stabbing objects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, guess what. DARPA is working on the real thing with programmable\u00a0shape shifting matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In its plainest form, such material could be used to change an antenna\u2019s shape for maximum effectiveness depending on location and circumstances.<\/p>\n

Or in the case of the military, you could make something that looks innocent, like a cupcake, that suddenly changes shape and stabs you in the face. Ouch!<\/p>\n

____________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dave Makichuk directed content and design of the Driving section at both the <\/span><\/span><\/em>Calgary Herald and<\/em> Calgary Sun<\/span><\/span> and wrote auto-related features and reviews. Former chief copy editor with <\/span><\/span><\/em>Myanmar Eleven at<\/em> Nation Multimedia<\/span><\/span>, Bangkok, and currently Calgary correspondent with <\/span><\/span><\/em>Asia Times<\/span><\/span>, Hong Kong, specializing in military and aviation news. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original – asiatimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

8 Sep 2020 – You\u2019ve seen the superhero movie scenario before \u2014 a mad scientist\u2019s experiment goes terribly wrong, and he or she is transformed into an evil nemesis for the good guys to battle. Ten ‘high-risk high-reward’ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency projects that stretch the imagination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":168873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[2161,291,1105,769,287,70,118],"class_list":["post-168871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-militarism","tag-militarism-and-science","tag-military","tag-military-industrial-complex","tag-military-supremacy","tag-power","tag-usa","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}