DARPA
Defense research agency
DARPA is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a U.S.
Department of Defense agency that funds high-risk, high-reward research.
It created foundational technologies including the internet (originally ARPANET), GPS, and stealth aircraft.
DARPA projects often sound like science fiction—autonomous vehicles, brain-computer interfaces, hypersonic weapons: DARPA is funding research into AI-powered battlefield medicine.
Defense Department's pioneering network
U.S. military headquarters
- militaryArmed forces collectively
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
- cybersecurityProtection of digital systems
- counterterrorismCombating organized political violence
deterrence · intelligence · reconnaissance · drones · surveillance
Automaton design field
- biotechnologyEngineering using living systems
- nanotechnologyAtomic-scale manipulation science
- cyberneticsCommunication and control science
- exoskeletonsExternal supportive body coverings
augmented-reality · biosensors · wearable-tech · hypersonics · GPS · metamaterials
Sudden important advance
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
- revolutionarySeeking fundamental systemic change
- experimentalTesting new methods
high-risk · moonshot · disruptive · transformational · game-changing · blue-sky · speculative · unorthodox
Supplying monetary resources
- grantsAwarded funds for purposes
- projectsOrganized efforts toward goals
- experimentsTests of a hypothesis
- laboratoriesFacilities for scientific investigation
academia · collaboration · breakthroughs · prototypes · proof-of-concept · testbeds · contractors · universities
ARPANET
Defense Department's pioneering network
Pentagon
U.S. military headquarters
- militaryArmed forces collectively
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
- cybersecurityProtection of digital systems
counterterrorism · deterrence · intelligence · reconnaissance · drones · surveillance
robotics
Automaton design field
- biotechnologyEngineering using living systems
- nanotechnologyAtomic-scale manipulation science
- cyberneticsCommunication and control science
exoskeletons · augmented-reality · biosensors · wearable-tech · hypersonics · GPS · metamaterials
breakthrough
Sudden important advance
- pioneeringFirst to explore territory
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
- revolutionarySeeking fundamental systemic change
experimental · high-risk · moonshot · disruptive · transformational · game-changing · blue-sky · speculative · unorthodox · ambitious
funding
Supplying monetary resources
- grantsAwarded funds for purposes
- projectsOrganized efforts toward goals
- experimentsTests of a hypothesis
laboratories · academia · collaboration · breakthroughs · prototypes · proof-of-concept · testbeds · contractors · universities · RAND
agency
Power to act
- defense industrydefense contractors, defense spending, defense production, defense budget, defense technology
- defense researchdefense research, weapons labs, military research, weapons testing, defense technology
- Eisenhower EraDwight Eisenhower, Ike, Richard Nixon, Nixon, farewell address
- federal agenciesFBI, CIA, EPA, IRS, CDC
- military bureausPentagon, NSA, CIA, DOD, defense department
- Pentagon ProgramsF-22, F-22 Raptor, F-35, B-2 bomber, B-2 Spirit
DARPAprivate sector
Economy outside government control
venture capital · Bell Labs · Silicon Valley · private equity · Wall Street
DARPANIH
Federal medical research agency
NSF · humanitarian aid · NASA · medical research · USAID