Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Internet Junk - The DARPA Networking Challenge

For those who don't know, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is the R&D office for the U.S. Department of Defense. DARPA was created in the 1950's in response to the Russian launch of Sputnik. The whole idea of DARPA is to keep the United States on the forefront of military technology to prevent technological surprise (the sudden, unexpected appearance of new technology that threatens national security) for the US and causing technological surprise for our enemies. This means that DARPA is constantly pushing the limits on technology. DARPA is responsible for several technology innovations that have had a huge impact on modern life as well as in weapons and military technology. For example, DARPA is responsable for the Internet and the stealth bomber. One way that DARPA works is by encouraging technological development in the private sector by providing cash incentives and prizes to organizations that accomplish certain tasks.

On October 29th, DARPA announced a new challenge competition to mark the 40th anniversary of the ARPANET, the precursor to the modern Internet. On December 1st, 10 large red weather balloons will be placed throughout the contenental United States. The balloons will be viewable for only 1 day. The first person to report the correct location of all 10 balloons will be awarded $40,000. The idea is that it is impossible to find all ten on your own, and those participating in the challenge will have to use the internet to find out where each balloon is located.