Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA

Boston Bound! Our Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is hosting Discover DSO Day in Boston, Oct. 3-4. , , are invited to hear from & interact with DARPA DSO program managers & expert panelists on future tech topics: https://ow.ly/cK3B50SOoAq

The goals of the two-day gathering are to:

• Highlight DSO science and technology focus areas for future exploration and potential DARPA investment

• Facilitate conversations between DARPA DSO program managers and members of the broader science and technology ecosystem

• Provide insights and tips on how to work with DARPA DSO

DSO’s mission to is to identify and pursue high-impact research initiatives across a broad spectrum of science and engineering disciplines for the Department of Defense. DSO focuses on nascent and emergent technologies that may result in breakthrough capabilities for U.S. national security applications and seeks to demonstrate the potential of these technologies through targeted development efforts.

Deadline extended to 7/22 - register now to attend the Tactical Technology Office (TTO) Proposer's Day to learn about the technical goals, challenges, and end objectives of current areas of interest in TTO and how you can submit your ideas and engage to advance national security.

Secure teleconference locations in CA, IN, OH, SC, & TX on 7/31; in-person in VA on 8/1.

https://sam.gov/opp/71c9abc823e94371af50885b95e8cb69/view

The Defense Department currently relies on chemical products obtained from petroleum, or petrochemicals, as the source of carbon-containing molecules required for virtually every aspect of DoD operations including food, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and more. Petrochemical manufacturing increasingly depends on vulnerable foreign , and current manufacturing practices cannot readily pivot to make different products, limiting the ability to adapt to market changes or DoD needs.

To address these challenges, DARPA’s Switch program aims to develop reprogrammable systems with unprecedented stability that will provide supply chain resilience and a pathway to continuous . https://ow.ly/yjAr50SyiFC

Our AWARE program seeks to develop a combination drug and device to non-invasively increase alertness following sleep loss in humans, minimizing negative side effects.

We’re looking for interested proposers to join us for an industry day June 17. Registration deadline is June 12 for in-person attendance; June 14 for virtual.

Program details: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-06-05

Hot off the press! Our Information Innovation Office posted the broad agency announcement for the AI Quantified (AIQ) program. AIQ aims to use math to guarantee when you can trust an AI system, and when you can't.

As a reminder, the deadline to register for the AIQ Proposers day is June 5 at noon ET! Details at: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-29

DARPA is hosting a virtual Proposers Day on Friday, June 7 in support of the Switch Program, which aims to bring programmability and long-term stability to the biomanufacturing process to enable timely, switchable product development. Advance registration is required. Register today! https://sam.gov/opp/8bb19d6120f34dbea3f6c22f7f71cb8e/view

Relying on credible, concrete information is essential in high-stakes decision-making. So, how can society be sure generative AI will be safe and effective for such applications?

Our new AI Quantified (AIQ) program will explore whether mathematical foundations, combined with advances in measurement and modeling, will guarantee an AI system's capabilities, when they will or will not manifest, and why.

We will host a hybrid AIQ Proposers Day for interested proposers on June 14. Participants must register by June 5. For more information, visit: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-29

The DARPA Broad-Spectrum Antagonists For Editors, or B-SAFE, program aims to develop platform technologies for highly potent inhibitors for multiple classes, types, and species of gene editors with enhanced activity, utility, and breadth of coverage. By harnessing advanced computational discovery capabilities such as deep learning, the program also seeks to develop a platform for rapid discovery and development of inhibitors of novel, emergent gene editor technologies. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-28

DARPA's ANCILLARY program shows off six concepts for the future of ship-launched, vertical takeoff and land ( ) uncrewed aerial systems ( , , aka ). These low-weight, large-payload, long-endurance X-plane concepts represent innovative configurations and critical technology designs from a wide array of performers, from small start-up to legacy aerospace companies: AeroVironment, Griffon Aerospace, Karem Aircraft, Method Aeronautics, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Sikorsky.

www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-22

In our latest Voices from DARPA , we’re a deeper dive into ELSI – , , and implications of new technologies and capabilities – and specific examples of how DARPA programs have incorporated those considerations into their structure. Learn more in Episode 79: Introducing ELSI, and consider applying to be our 2025 ELSI Visiting Scholar https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-16

Manta Ray prototype completes full-scale, in-water testing off the coast of SoCal. DARPA program exhibits modular, first-of-kind capability for an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle. Built by Northrop Grumman Corporation. www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-05-01

As a global leader in innovation, DARPA programs span a variety of technical disciplines to develop breakthrough technologies for national security, all of which have the potential to raise ethical, legal, and societal implication – or, ELSI – considerations.

In the latest Voices from DARPA , we’ll hear from DARPA Director, Dr. Stefanie Tompkins, to explain the agency's perspective on those implications, as well as Dr. Bart Russell, deputy director of the Defense Sciences Office, on what it would mean to incorporate ELSI across the agency more formally. Finally, Dr. Rebecca Crootof, DARPA’s inaugural ELSI Visiting Scholar, will discuss her journey to the agency and her approach to developing a process to ensure that ELSI can inform — and even improve —DARPA programs.

https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-04-30a

Are you a sleep researcher interested the interaction between the gut and the brain? Submit to our SOMNUS research study by June 17. Details: https://ow.ly/IMAk50Rro7p

It’s 8 a.m. on the AI Cyber Challenge Open Track deadline day; do you know where your registration is?

All teams must sign up for the AIxCC Competitor Dashboard and submit the required docs by April 30, 11:59 p.m. UTC, including the Concept Paper and Entrant Official's proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. Don’t be late! We cannot accept submissions after that deadline.

For full instructions, visit: https://aicyberchallenge.com/opentrack/

Sea level rise and wave-induced flooding during increasingly frequent storm events threaten of the more than 1,700 Defense Department-managed military installations in coastal areas worldwide. The April 24 Coral Special episode of PBS’ Changing Planet explores how researchers at the University of Miami working on our Reefense program are developing hybrid reef structures with a goal to mitigate coastal flooding, erosion and storm damage (📺roughly 43:00-47:30).

Changing Planet | Coral Special | Season 3 | Episode 1 | PBS Dr. M. Sanjayan investigates urgent efforts to help coral reefs survive climate change.

Will you climb this “mountain”? We’ve asked our AI Cyber Challenge developers to create compelling scenarios based on reality, yet tough enough that it encourages competitors to push beyond the current state of the art in software vulnerability discovery and patching to improve the infrastructure we rely on for everyday needs.

By participating in the AIxCC, you won't just be creating the next generation of software security tools. Your participation could be the catalyst for a safer digital future!

Registration for the AIxCC Open Track closes on April 30, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. UTC. All teams must sign up for the AIxCC Competitor Dashboard and submit their required documentation by the deadline, including their Concept Paper and the Entrant Official's proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. Don’t be late! We cannot accept submissions after that deadline.

The AIxCC – A Mountain Worth Climbing We’ve asked our AI Cyber Challenge developers to make the “mountain worth climbing,” i.e., create compelling scenarios based on reality, yet tough enough tha...

RACER (Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency) advances extreme speed off-road ground autonomy -- at any scale and in any terrain. With Phase 2, the program adds a new kind of vehicle, the RACER Heavy Platform, to scale up adaptability and capability to advance the goal of platform-agnostic autonomy in complex, mission-relevant off-road environments.

Watch the first video of the new platform in action, and learn more about the program: www.darpa.mil/news-events/2024-04-23

The AI Cyber Challenge aims to accelerate the development of AI-driven systems to secure critical infrastructure.

How? We’re asking the best and brightest in AI/cybersecurity to use AI to find and fix software vulnerabilities autonomously and at scale. Register by April 30 to compete to win $$$ in prizes.

One of our collaborators at OpenAI offers perspective on the value of this type of competition:

OpenAI – aicyberchallenge.com “We’re partnering with DARPA on the AI Cyber Challenge because its objectives closely align with our mission, which proudly roll-up to ensuring positive impact of advanced AI.”

DARPA's Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program achieves world first for in aerospace. A 7 minute video highlights how in-air combat tests between AI- and human-piloted F-16s at Edwards Air Force Base are transforming progress for human-machine teaming and trusted autonomy.

DARPA ACE & USAF X-62A achieve world first for AI in aerospace DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program has achieved the first-ever in-air tests of AI algorithms autonomously flying a fighter jet against a human-pilote...

⏲️ Only 15 days remaining to register to compete in the AI Cyber Challenge! Qualifying teams receive credits for our collaborator’s large language models and other resources, such as Microsoft’s Azure platform and Open AI models. More:

Microsoft – aicyberchallenge.com “Microsoft is partnering with DARPA’s AI Cyber Challenge because Microsoft has been committed to addressing cybersecurity issues for a long time, constantly receiving and analyzing signals to understand emerging cyber threats. Now we’re bringing it all together – threat intelligence and AI i...