AreoVironment just got their Nano Air Vehicle project approved by DARPA, which will be the world’s smallest UAV. Instead of an engine or propeller, this new prototype will have moving wings. The company obtained $636,000 and a six months deadline to complete their project, which will be only 3 inches long and will weigh under 10 grams.

This year DARPA funded some very interesting and expensive projects, maybe because this year they are celebrating their jubilee. Now, their money are pointed towards Sun Microsystems which are trying to replace the wiring between chips with laser beams. Too hard? Yeah, but with $44 million in their pockets they should be able to complete the research.
Sun’s technology which is based on silicon photonics, should make the next generation computer much faster and energy efficient. This is a five-year project but DARPA and Sun Microsystems are aware that there is …

DARPA does it again. Now, their researchers are trying to build a mechanical nanocomputer and some reports say that they are very, very close. This mechanical nanocomputer will be heat-resistant and energy-efficient and it seems like they will be useful for cars, toys and for guns among others.
The secret of mechanical computers consist of the fact they don’t have solid-state transistors or conventional silicon chips, so they can operate at its best even at high temperatures. Also they don’t need so much power to perform and so they don’t require …

I think everybody remembers DARPA, that “company” with very ambitious projects. Well, now they are working on a space system called System F6 which consists of a new space technology and architecture. System F6 will provide wireless power systems, electromagnetic formation flying systems and ultra-secure wireless data communications.
After the Vulture Program and the System F6, we certainly don’t know what to expect of DARPA, but we are sure that soon we will hear more from them.

DARPA continues with its ambitious projects and now is working on its Vulture program, which will be an unmanned aircraft. As they say, it will be capable of flying without stopping for five years and will also carry up to 1,000 pounds and will have an onboard power of 5kW.
The Vulture will be able to keep its speed even at powerful winds that will encounter at altitudes of 60,000 to 90,000 feet. It should improve communication capabilities working as a pseudo-satellite flying in the stratosphere and not low Earth orbit, …

A new small-factor propulsion system is being developed by the Oklahoma State researchers for the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The propulsion system is going to be used in unmanned aircraft by infantrymen to inspect hostile areas and for surveillance, if successful.
The aircraft powered by the revolutionary propulsion system will be even smaller than 6-inches, providing a useful upgrade to the UAV equipment currently soldiers use.
An associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Jamey Jacob, stated “We are still too early in the development process to determine to …