Tag: DARPA

DARPA is Developing a Real-Time Positioning Technology That Will Replace GPS

The Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has been in use from many years now. Different sections of the society like military, civil, and commercial sector make use of GPS to track down accurate location and time information. However, the satellite navigation system has its own limitations and gets obstructed by weak signals. To rise above the vicious circle, DARPA, the agency of U.S. Department of Defense, is working on an alternative of GPS.

The advanced research wing of US Military is building up a cutting edge location technology that will offer real-time navigation-tracking inspite of blind spots and jammers. This will lend a hand for the U.S. Defense department to get instant information about the location of their soldiers and tanks and also the rivals. The research wing of U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement :

The need to be able to operate effectively in areas where GPS is inaccessible, unreliable or potentially denied by adversaries has created a demand for alternative precision timing and navigation capabilities.

This technology won’t just benefit the military; a range of new self-contained instruments are under development that will give real-time details about time, location, and motion to civil and commercial users. The organization is working on self-calibrating gyroscopes, accelerometers, high-precision clocks and navigation instruments that work without wireless signals or other external sources.

The agency is reportedly eyeing on new technological sensors that could pick up “signals of opportunity” such as television, radio, cell towers, satellites, and even lightning, and assist the receiver in navigation and real-time positioning. Termed as ASPN (All Source Positioning and Navigation), the innovation will help soldiers in harsh conditions such as in dense jungle, underwater or underground, deep foliage, etc. In short, it will reach all the places where GPS access gets obstructed.

Also it is learnt that the upcoming device will be compact in a way that it can be carried by the soldiers or can be installed on tanks to know about their positioning. The sensors will be cut down in size to reduce power consumption.

All this sounds good, but don’t expect it to come to your hands anytime soon. This GPS alternative is presently under development and it will take a few years to come to the market.

March 27, 2015
Self-Guided Bullets, Now a Reality!

Remember the movie Wanted starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy? Remember how they used to bend bullets and make them change its path? In 2008, when the movie released, it was pure fiction, but today its reality! The United States Department of Defence has successfully tested a bullet that can change its path in mid-air after being fired.

The weapon developing company released the testing video of the bullet. The recording shows the bullet being fired twice, deliberately away from the direction of the target. The second time it changes its route and moves ahead towards the goal, penetrating it.

Titled Exacto (Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance), the weapon is developed by Teledyne Technologies. The firm is now making bullets for the agency of the United States Department of Defense, DARPA.

However, the company is tight-lipped about how the weapon works, but it is likely to have fins that help redirect its path. When a sniper flashes a laser at the goal, the bullet follows the mark in the air.

Meanwhile, this innovation has diminished the dependability of the defence section on snipers as these bullets do not need professionals. It would be interesting to see their range once they are fully developed.

December 19, 2014
DARPA’s Z-Man Makes Spiderman a Reality

YAHOOOOO!!

Sorry, the kid inside me just wanted to get his emotions out. If you were close to me when I heard the news, you would have lost your hearing for a while, like my fellow mates did. Now this is what me and my kind have been waiting for. Z-man is in the house!

With Z-man everyone can get the Spideman experience.

The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a pair of paddles that lets anybody climb glass walls. You can’t shoot webs though, so maybe this may be closer to what Tom Cruise used to scale the massive Burj Al-Kalifah in Dubai in Mission Impossible 4.

With the Z-man, a 99 KG climber was able to climb and descend a 7.6 meter vertical glass wall. In one trial the climber carried 22.6 KG’s of extra weight too.

The inspiration for the design comes from the Gecko. Geckos are cute little lizards who come in all kinds of colors and have an annoying voice which gives them their name. Come to think of it, they are pretty self-obsessed calling out their own names all day long. Listen to this and tell me it’s not annoying to hear:

Coming back to the how they inspired DARPA, is their expertise in climbing almost any surface in the world. They have tiny bristles on their feets called Satae which give them the ability to stick on anything they desire from living room walls to even the walls of International Space Station. This adhesive property doesn’t need any kind of liquid and is also self-cleaning. It can literally balance its entire body on one toe. This ability is present in almost 60% of Gecko species.

Geckos incredible ability to climb any surface was the inspiration of Z-Man

The military had one major issue with climbing technology. It’s old, really old. Ropes have been used by combatants for thousands of years and are still being used today. A bit of investment in these would have made life easier for thousands of warriors, instead of making useless and extremely expensive Nuclear weapons.

Z-man takes inspiration from the natural forces and with the help of nanotechnology and bio mechanics to give Gecko-like ability to humans. There will also be everyday uses of the technology. This can be used by Glass cleaners in offices around the world. DARPA is working for more consumer intergration of the technology too.

Z-man currently is a work in progress and it will take a while to fully induct the technology in the armed forces. This might be a boon during urban combat.

If we get technologies like this right, we can handle situations like a Chitauri Invasion without the Avengers. But yes can we please have real life Avengers already? Come on DARPA, why don’t we have a real-life Captain America or Spiderman already?

June 10, 2014