Critical & Emerging Technologies

DARPA has launched a new surveillance program which plans to use genetically engineered plant as battlefield surveillance sensors. DARPA’s new Advanced Plant Technologies (APT) program looks to seemingly simple plants as the next generation of intelligence gatherers. Traditional sensors are not always optimal for  obtaining timely, accurate information as national security …

China is developing a new type of spy satellite using ghost imaging technology which could spot stealth aircraft and see through smokescreens and camouflage.   Ron Meyers, quantum physicist at the Army Research Laboratory. Meyers explained ghost imaging, a technique that allows a high resolution camera to produce an image …

The technology industry is entering a new era of computing that requires IT systems and cloud computing services to process and analyze huge volumes of Big Data in real time. Current Data centers (DC) and high performance computing clusters are dominated by power, thermal, and area constraints.   Data centers …

REEs are a series of chemical elements found in the Earth’s crust that are essential components of many technologies, including electronics, computer and communication systems, transportation, health care, and national defense. Rare Earths Elements (REE) are incorporated into many sophisticated technologies with both commercial and defense applications including smartphones and …

A nanofiber is a fiber with a diameter of 100 nanometers or less. The nanofibers due to some special properties  are being investigated for a myriad of potential applications in the fields of medicine, electronics and other material sciences. Such fibers have a high ratio of surface area to volume. …

By 2020, brain diseases will account for 20 percent of the global burden of disease, according to the World Health Organization. Military service members are particularly susceptible to PTSD as a reaction to the traumas of war. PTSD is a condition in which individuals feel anxiety and panic when reminded …

Countering the growing threat posed by terrorists, smugglers, pirates, and political activists at military air and naval bases, airports, and ports requires sophisticated multisensor surveillance systems to ensure that incursions are rapidly detected and actioned.   Cambridge Pixel , a UK based developer of radar display and tracking subsystems, has …

Access to spectrum is also critical for future swarm of UAVs, In a vision shared by innovators, entrepreneurs, and planners in both defense and civilian contexts, the skies of the future will be busy with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Unseen but central to the realization of this vision is wireless communication …

Recent military conflicts have demonstrated the need for close air support from precision attack platforms (e.g., the AC-130 gunship) to support ground forces. These aircraft typically use IR sensors to engage moving ground targets, such as vehicles and dismounts. Under clear conditions, targets can be easily identified and effectively engaged. …