by Spencer Ackerman | Oct 24, 2012 | Monitor
Robots aren’t often athletic. But in this new video, a prototype version of a robot sponsored by the Pentagon’s blue-sky researchers climbs over wooden blocks, jumps while maintaining its balance, and climbs up stairs — the kinds of athletic tasks...
by Robert Beckhusen | Oct 18, 2012 | Monitor
A U.S. Marine prepares explosives for a controlled demolition exercise on March 1, 2012 in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Photo: USMC To find hidden bombs, the U.S. military has tried everything from sniffing their chemical scent to shooting lasers into the ground. The...
by Spencer Ackerman | Oct 12, 2012 | Monitor
Firefighters practice extinguishing flames engulfing an Air Force C-130 at Rammstein Air Base in Germany, 2007. Keeping the skies under American control is a top priority for Darpa’s new director. Photo: Flickr/USACE Europe District The U.S. has total dominance...
by Spencer Ackerman | Oct 2, 2012 | Monitor
The Marines’ Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program flamed out after two decades and $13 billion. Darpa thinks you can build a better amphibious infantry vehicle in less time — and will pay you $1 million for a design. Photo: Marines The Pentagon’s...
by Noah Shachtman | Sep 5, 2012 | Monitor
Updated 9/6/12 8:41 am Robots are already stronger than humans, able to lift thousands of pounds at a time. In many ways, they’re smarter than people, too; machines can perform millions of calculations per second, and even beat us at chess. But we could at least...
