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The Pentagon’s research arm unveiled a new drone built with secure software that prevents the control and navigation of the aircraft from being hacked. The program, called High Assurance Cyber Military Systems, or HACMS, uses software designed to thwart cyber attacks. It has been underway with the Defense Advance Research Project Agency for several years after originating at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Washington, said Kathleen Fischer, HACMS program manager for DARPA. “The software is designed to make sure a hacker cannot take over control of a UAS. The software is mathematically proven to be invulnerable to large classes of attack,” Fisher said. The mini drone is engineered with mathematically assured software making it invulnerable to cyber attack. Citing the success of mock-enemy or “red-team” exercises wherein cyber experts tried to hack into the quadcopter and failed, Fisher indicated that DARPA experts have referred to the prototype quadcopter as the most secure UAS in the world. “We started out with the observation that many vehicles are easy for malicious hackers to tamper with the software and take control remotely. We’ve replaced all the software with our high assurance software that was developed using the tools and techniques that were invented in the program,” Fisher said. The drone prototype was among more than 100 projects and 29 advanced research programs on display in the Pentagon’s courtyard Wednesday in what was billed as DARPA Demo Day. The HACMS program develops system architecture models, software components and operating system software, DARPA officials said. Vulnerabilities or security issues can arise when drones or other military aircraft are “networked” to one another such that they can share information in real time. Security risks can emerge through network protocols, software bugs or unintended interactions between otherwise correct components, DARPA officials explained. “Many things have computers inside and those computers are networked to talk to other things. Whenever you have that situation, you have the possibility for remote vulnerabilities where somebody can use the network connection to take over and get the device to do what the attacker wants instead of what the owner wants,” Fisher explained. The software tools used for the HACMS program can be adjusted to larger platforms. In fact, DARPA plans to transition the secure software to Boeing’s Unmanned Little Bird helicopter, DARPA officials said. “The software is foundational so it could be used for a large number of systems,” Fisher added.
Robohand: DARPA's bionic arm can be controlled by your brain
A tragic cost of war is that many service members are missing limbs when they come home from combat. The U.S. military is working harder than ever to replace them with prosthetics that work just like the real thing. The high-tech whizzes at DARPA, the military research arm of the Defense Department, displayed some breakthrough technology for space, ocean, robotics and ground war at a Congressional Tech Showcase in Washington earlier this month. But the most inspiring tech was an innovation underway for America’s veterans who return home with upper limb loss. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Modular Prosthetic artificial limb, part of DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program, is among the most sophisticated arms ever made. The artificial limb moves like the real thing, and it can do just about everything. Built over the course of five years, it makes it possible to play the piano, toss a ball, pick up a cup and sip some coffee from it. The ultimate goal is to give back natural hand movement. The prosthetic weighs about as much as a human arm and looks pretty close to the real thing – except this arm is made of metal. And just like a human arm, it’s directed by the brain. How does it work? Prosthetics currently in use can be disappointing to their wearers. Existing motorized arms offer some range of motion, but they can be hard to control, and sometimes they malfunction. In 2006, DARPA launched the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program to accelerate advances in arms with two state-of-the-art programs: the Gen-3 Arm System and the Modular Prosthetic Limb. The goal is to give users much greater control over the hand and arm than currently available devices provide. Thanks to sensors that send signals to the brain, wearers will be able to activate individual fingers, work through a full range of motion and feel whatever they grasp or move. Simple movements like opening a hand or picking up a baseball involve complex work in the brain. The DARPA / Johns Hopkins approach takes the complicated work behind these movements and reduces it to simple thoughts. Approaches to control artificial limbs can vary. Some patients use a surgical process called re-innervation that uses sensors implanted in their shoulders, pectoral muscles and residual limbs to direct their arms. Others use non-surgical methods, and they can still pick up something the size of a button. To achieve the goal of a “natural” arm and hand, this hand has five dexterous fingers that will be capable of many tasks. It will also have a bendable and twistable wrist, an elbow that can both bend and lift weight, and a flexible shoulder that can reach behind the back. Ultimately, its designers hope it will have a “skin” covering that looks like skin – it will even wrinkle -- and will be weather- and tear-resistant. And it will “feel.” The other big challenge is to harness the patient’s central nervous system to control the arm – and this work is proving that it’s possible to give patients back the sense of touch.
What is Darani doing?
All eyes are on director Darani now. The ace film-maker of Tamil cinema, who rendered several hits including 'Dhil', 'Dhool', 'Gilli' and 'Kuruvi', is keeping his lips tight about his forthcoming venture. When queried what is up his sleeve, he chooses to remain silent. 'It will be grand and big', comes the reply. Known for his brand of films - racy entertainers, the director admits that the genre has gained him an identity. 'I am just doing what I am best at. It has gone down well with the audience and I am happy about it,' he says. On his dream assignments, the director says, "I would love to direct Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan films".