Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

[/default.aspx] Follow us: Our Work TTO STO MTO I2O DSO BTO AEO Opportunities SMALL BUSINESS Universities Military Services Contract Management Solicitations News Usage Policy Budget DARPA Framework Testimony Public Release Center News About Contact History Initiatives Organization Leadership Programs People CHIKV Challenge Asks Teams to Forecast the Spread of Infectious Disease The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is on the move. Spread among humans by mosquitoes, and spread across geographic boundaries by humans who travel, the virus—which causes a debilitating illness—is now expanding through the Western Hemisphere. Governments and health organizations could take proactive steps to limit its spread if they had accurate forecasts of where and when it would appear. DARPA’s CHIKV Challenge asks teams to create models to deliver such forecasts for all of the countries and territories in the Americas and the Caribbean over a six-month period starting in September 2014. The winning team will take home $150,000, with additional cash prizes for runners-up. Full details, rules, and registration instructions for the Challenge are available at: http://www.innocentive.com/DARPAChikvChallenge. Article News Throughout history technical challenges have inspired generations... SyNAPSE Program Develops Advanced Brain-Inspired Chip DARPA-funded researchers have developed one of the world’s largest and most complex computer chips ever produced—one whose architecture is inspired by the neuronal structure of the brain and requires only a fraction of the electrical power of conventional chips. Article Building the Foundation for Future Synthetic Biology Applications with BRICS DARPA’s Biological Robustness in Complex Settings (BRICS) program seeks to develop the fundamental understanding and component technologies needed to increase the biological robustness and stability of engineered organisms while maintaining or enhancing the safe use of those organisms in complex biological environments. The goal is to create the technical foundation for future engineered biological systems to achieve greater biomedical, industrial and strategic potential. Article Beyond GPS: 5 Next-Generation Technologies for Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT) It is difficult to imagine the modern world without the Global Positioning System (GPS), which provides real-time positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) data for countless military and civilian uses. Thanks in part to early investments that DARPA made to miniaturize GPS technology, GPS today is ubiquitous. It’s in cars, boats, planes, trains, smartphones and wristwatches, and has enabled advances as wide-ranging as driverless cars, precision munitions, and automated supply chain management. Article Work Commences on Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) Designs In an era of declining budgets and adversaries’ evolving capabilities, quick, affordable and routine access to space is increasingly critical for both national and economic security. Current satellite launch systems, however, require scheduling years in advance for a handful of available slots. Launches often cost hundreds of millions of dollars each, in large part to the massive amounts of dedicated infrastructure and personnel required. Article EXACTO Demonstrates First-Ever Guided .50-Caliber Bullets DARPA’s Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program recently conducted the first successful live-fire tests demonstrating in-flight guidance of .50-caliber bullets. This video shows EXACTO rounds maneuvering in flight to hit targets that are offset from where the sniper rifle is aimed. EXACTO’s specially designed ammunition and real-time optical guidance system help track and direct projectiles to their targets by compensating for weather, wind, target movement and other factors that could impede successful hits. Article Program Page Sitemap FOIA Plug-ins Privacy and Security Related Sites Contact No Fear Act Accessibility/Section 508 Share this page: Twitter Facebook Print