WASHINGTON. DARPA selected three companies for the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) contract to test out phase one capabilities. ALIAS looks to have a tailored, drop-in, and removable kit that will enable high levels of automation, resulting in reduced pilot workload, increased mission performance, and improved aircraft safety.

WASHINGTON. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and U.S. Navy officials agreed to locate a fabrication laboratory, also called Fab Lab, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC, pronounced “mar-mack”) in Norfolk, Va., under DARPA’s Manufacturing Experimentation and Outreach Two (MENTOR2) program.

WASHINGTON. DARPA officials announced that the agency's Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment (CODE) program is offering the opportunity to participate in discussions to enable development of "groundbreaking" software that will allow unmanned aircraft to work together with minimal supervision.

WASHINGTON. Researchers funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have developed a computer chip with an architecture inspired by the neuronal structure of the brain that requires only a fraction of the electrical power of conventional chips. Defense applications where electrical power is limited such as mobile robots and remote sensors would benefit from the energy savings of the chip, which uses 100 times less power for complex processing than current devices.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has begun a program for the development of electronics that are capable of dissolving into the environment after use. The Vanishing Programmable Resources Program (VAPR) is aimed at developing transient electronics that are comparable in ruggedness in functionality to Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) systems currently used, but that can be triggered to self-destruct in a controlled manner.

ARLINGTON, VA. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced a plan to repurpose older satellites still in geosynchronous orbit. The plan, called the “Phoenix Program,” involves mining older, decommissioned satellites still in orbit with a permanently orbiting ground-controlled robotic mechanic named the Phoenix Service/Tender. After harvesting usable parts, such as transmitters, solar panels, and the antennas of retired spacecraft, the Phoenix Service/Tender would attach mini satellites or “satlets” to the antenna to create a new working satellite.