Military Transformers: 20 Innovative Defense Technologies
May 15, 2012 11:00 AM Department of Defense technologies under development, from brainy microchips to battlefield transformer vehicles, promise to make the U.S. military more nimble. Here's a visual tour of 20 breakthrough ideas.
Space Lens
Suppose you need an image or video of any place on earth, and you need it right now. That's the challenge that DARPA is addressing through Membrane Optical Imager for Real-Time Exploitation (MOIRE), a geosynchronous orbit-based system that uses a membrane optic etched with a diffractive pattern to focus light on a sensor. Think of MOIRE as a very large (60 feet across) lens in space that could be used to peer into off-limits areas or for missile defense.
Credit: DARPA
RECOMMENDED READING:
Top 10 Open Government Websites
U.S. Military Robots Of The Future: Visual Tour
NASA's Next Mission: Deep Space
NASA's Blue Marble: 40 Years Of Earth Images
DOD Mobile App Eases Transition To Civilian Life
Army Aids Wounded Warriors With Mobile App
Army Eyes Monitoring Tools To Stop Wikileaks Repeat
10 Lessons From Leading Government CIOs









