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Photos - The future of war: Far-out battle tech
Submitted by gaf on December 18, 2011 - 19:47
DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, funds some of the world's most far out, forward-thinking research into new military technology.
Something like Q Branch in the James Bond movies, DARPA is constantly working on what it describes as "radical innovations." But where James Bond has the character Q to build his exploding pens, DARPA often funds private companies and external organizations to develop its high-tech hardware.
It is currently funding research into, among other things, a robot ostrich, a flying car and a plane that could stay airborne for five years at a time.
While some of the technologies it is supporting might seem more suitable for science fiction than the battlefield, the fact that DARPA is willing to fund them is a sign they are at least possible -- if not always plausible. Don't forget, DARPA's Arpanet program is widely credited as being the precursor to today's internet.
So here are some of DARPA's most incredible research programs, which could change the future of warfare, and might one day have applications that extend far beyond the military.
Reference:
Mark Tutton - CNN
Disc-Rotor Compound Helicopter
The Disc-Rotor program aims to develop a new type of aircraft capable of transitioning from hovering like a helicopter to flying like a plane (artist's impression).
Vulture
The Vulture program is developing the technology to enable an "airborne payload" to remain in the sky for more than five years at a time, performing intelligence, surveillance and communication missions (artist's impression).
iRobot Chembot
Tech company iRobot worked with DARPA for its "ChemBots" program. The aim was to build soft, flexible robots that could deform their bodies to move through openings smaller than themselves.
LANdroid - iRobot
DARPA also funded iRobot's research for its LANdroids program. The aim was to give soldiers reliable communications in urban areas by creating pocket-sized robots they could scatter as they moved through an area. The robots would each act as a "node" in a wireless communications network.
Falcon HTV-2
The ultimate goal of the Falcon program is to create a vehicle that can fly anywhere in the world in less than an hour. DARPA has already produced and flown the HTV-2 -- an unmanned, rocket-launched aircraft that travels at Mach 20 -- about 13,000 miles per hour (artist's impression).
FastRunner
The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is working on the FastRunner project. It aims to build a two-legged robot that can cover a moderately rough terrain "as fast as the best human sprinters" (CAD model of concept prototype).
Phoenix
The Phoenix program aims to find a way to remove and re-use valuable components from broken or "retired" satellites (artist's impression).
Shrike
DARPA has funded aerospace company AeroVironment's development of the Shrike -- a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aircraft "small enough to be carried in a backpack" (artist's impression).
Transformer
The Transformer program aims to build a flying car for the battlefield. The aim is to create a vertical take-off and landing vehicle that can carry four people more than 250 miles on one tank of fuel (artist's impression).
Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System
The Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System program is developing binoculars that can identify threats from a long distance and then inform a soldier of the danger.
Nano Air Vehicle
The Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program has developed a tiny, ultra-light air vehicle for indoor and outdoor military missions (artist's impression).
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