Cyborg moths, veggie-eating robots and other Pentagon projects

Today wraps up the three-day convention known as DARPATECH. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects) is a research arm of the Pentagon, charged with the most far-out research ideas for improving military technology. DARPA helped create the earliest version of the Internet, thirty-five years ago.

Some of DARPA’s projects are patently utilitarian, such as a net that catches rocket-propelled grenades, brain-controlled prosthetics, and a device that can translate spoken languages.

But then there are the weird projects. Like lizard robots. Or cyborg moths. Oh, and don’t forget pig feces.

More on:
DARPA here.
DARPATECH official website here.
Live blogging of DARPATECH here.
Slate Magazine review of DARPATECH here.
Brain-operated prosthetics here.
Pig feces research here.
Luke’s Binoculars here.

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