“Siri grew out of a huge project inside the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), those people who previously gave you the internet and, more recently, a scheme to encourage people to develop driverless cars. Siri’s parent project, called Calo (Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes) had $200m of funding and was the US’s [...]
Archive for the ‘DARPA’ Category
Siri was a DARPA project
Posted by Eric on November 26th, 2011
Posted in AI, available for purchase, DARPA, domestic, pop culture 
Tags: AI, apple, calo, DARPA, iphone, siri 
No Comments »Robots will detect your human heartbeat through walls, doors, floors, concrete
Posted by Eric on November 26th, 2011
DARPA is developing a program called “Biometrics-at-a-distance” which will enable sensors to pick up a heartbeat using electrocardiography. It will be able to track up to 10 humans at once, at a distance of over 10 meters, even through walls, doors, floors, or concrete. This will be an incredibly useful tool for soldiers in urban [...]
Posted in DARPA, defense, featured, future, government, military / law enforcement, research Tags: biometrics, DARPA, heartbeat, sensors No Comments »Land- and ground-based robots communicate to track down targets
Posted by Eric on November 26th, 2011
“Two small planes fly low over a village, methodically scanning the streets below. Within minutes, they spot their target near the edge of town. With no way to navigate through the streets, they radio for help. Soon after, a metallic blue SUV begins moving cautiously but purposefully along the dirt roads leading to town, seeking [...]
Posted in AI, autonomous, DARPA, defense, ethics, featured, flying, military / law enforcement No Comments »Boston Dynamics’ PETMAN
Posted by Eric on November 15th, 2011
Boston Dynamics, creators of BigDog, LittleDog, and AlphaDog, have a new video of their impressive biped PETMAN: There is something familiar about it, I just can’t place my finger on it… PETMAN stayin alive: [BostonDynamics] via [Engadget]
Posted in biomimetic, biped, DARPA, defense, government, military / law enforcement, video Tags: biped, boston dynamics, petman No Comments »Armed and Autonomous
Posted by Eric on September 30th, 2011
PopSci’s Clay Dillow recounts last month’s AUVSI unmanned robotics conference entitled “Armed and Autonomous.” “It all sounds a bit Skynet, but it’s moving forward at a rapid pace…” [more at PopSci]
Posted in AI, autonomous, DARPA, defense, ethics, military / law enforcement, weapon Tags: autonomous, DARPA, drone, predator, reaper, weapon No Comments »BigDog’s big brother- AlphaDog
Posted by Eric on September 30th, 2011
Say hello to AlphaDog Proto, the latest incarnation of Boston Dynamics’ BigDog. “The AlphaDog Proto is a lab prototype for the Legged Squad Support System, a robot being developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. When fully developed the system will carry 400 lbs of payload on 20-mile missions [...]
Posted in DARPA, defense, government, military / law enforcement, video Tags: alphadog, bigdog, boston, dynamics, quadraped No Comments »Project “SyNAPSE” – Chips Mimic Human Brain
Posted by Eric on August 30th, 2011
IBM has unveiled a computer chip which it claims is inspired by the architecture of the human brain in its design, capable of learning through experience, finding patterns, generating ideas, and understanding the outcomes. “The scientists have built two working prototype designs. Both cores contain 256 neurons, one with 262,144 programmable synapses and the other [...]
2-Ton Autonomous Military Bot Deploying This Year (2011)
Posted by Eric on August 30th, 2011
Lockheed Martin has developed the SMSS robot pack mule, for supporting light infantry units. It can carry 1200 lbs, has a range of 125 miles, and can follow troops autonomously using LIDAR, IR and visual optics. If necessary, it can be driven manually. The SMSS is scheduled to be field tested in Afghanistan [...]
Army uses snake robots to form claw
Posted by Eric on July 28th, 2010
No video available at the time of this posting, unfortunately. The Army’s Robotic Tentacle Manipulator will likely be useful for rescue missions, diffusing IED’s and capturing humans working with the Resistance. On a related note, here is a single robotic snake being used as a tentacle, or elephant trunk: [Army.mil] via [Cnet] via [Gizmodo]
Posted in biomimetic, DARPA, defense, military / law enforcement, video Tags: claw, snake, tentacle No Comments »Armed robots to keep us in line
Posted by Eric on July 27th, 2010
“Robotic sentries are presently patrolling Israel’s 70-kilometer Gaza border, and South Korea’s 250-kilometer DMZ. Russia has developed a remarkably lethal beast — the MRK-27-BT — touted as superior to the USA’s SWORDS in Iraq, and Australia shot into the market with its ferociously-named Redback Metal Storm.” Full article at [h+online]
Posted in AI, autonomous, DARPA, defense, ethics, future, military / law enforcement, weapon Tags: armed robots, dystopia No Comments »
