In 1957, the Soviet Union caught the US completely off-guard. Its military launched Sputnik 鈥� the world鈥檚 first artificial satellite 鈥� heralding the dawn of the space age.
President Eisenhower鈥檚 response was to create the Advance Research Projects Agency (ARPA) with a clear mission: 鈥減revent technological surprise鈥�. Eisenhower hoped that the agency would produce revolutionary technologies and thus guarantee that never again would the US military be caught with its technological trousers down.
Now in its 50th year, the has an impressive list of accomplishments behind it.
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After playing an integral role in the fledgling US space programme, DARPA gave us the satellite-based global positioning system (GPS), stealth aircraft and the precursor to the internet. So it is hard to argue that the agency hasn鈥檛 lived up to Eisenhower鈥檚 early dream.
Freedom to fail
But DARPA has produced its fair share of clangers too. Over the years it has been widely criticised for investing millions of dollars in some pretty harebrained research schemes from futures markets aimed at predicting assassination attempts, to mechanical elephants that could barge through jungle terrain unsuitable for wheeled vehicles.
Read about some of DARPA鈥檚 most spectacular successes and failures
Those supportive of the agency鈥檚 unique approach argue that such failures are important to the culture that has made DARPA so successful.
, DARPA鈥檚 director, says it is a 鈥渇reedom to fail鈥� that lets his staff discover truly revolutionary new technologies.
鈥淎nd fail we do,鈥� he told an audience of 3000 potential recruits at the DARPATech Symposium last year.
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 OK 鈥� failure sometimes happens when you are bringing new capabilities into reality,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou only really fail if you don鈥檛 learn what happened and stop trying to succeed 鈥� you have to try again, and again, and again.鈥�
This attitude undoubtedly sets DARPA apart from other research agencies. Indeed DARPA has no laboratories or scientists of its own. Nor does it use any kind of peer review for assessing the viability of a project or programme.
Flexible approach
Instead, the agency employs 鈥減rogramme managers鈥� who fund universities and businesses to carry out research that might otherwise be too risky for research agencies to back. Currently 140 programme managers disseminate some $2.9 billion of funding each year.
Programme managers act as judge, jury, and, if the research doesn鈥檛 go well, executioner. This simple set-up lets DARPA enter new areas quickly, and pull out just as fast if the research turns out to be going nowhere.
, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, has worked on DARPA-funded research, and also served as a programme manager for DARPA between 1998 and 2002.
During his time at the agency, Garcia ran five programmes on research such as morphing aircraft and exoskeletons, managing a budget of $20 to 30 million a year.
Garcia says the limit to what gets funding is the imagination of each programme manager and their ability to convince the director that an idea could improve US military capabilities.
Creating surprise
But, with the director鈥檚 calendar always full, just getting an appointment to discuss a new programme can be tough. 鈥淵ou definitely had to have your elevator speech ready, so you could pitch it to him in 25 seconds or less,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 sometimes wished we had a taller building.鈥�
The agency took just 3 months to set up back in 1958 and has not changed its way of doing business since. The only major change was the addition of the word 鈥淒efense鈥� to its name in 1972, its removal in 1993, then its reinstatement in 1996.
Another more subtle change in DARPA鈥檚 mission is to not only prevent technological surprises but, as Tether puts it, 鈥渃reate them鈥�.
Most of what sets the agency apart remains, however. In the years to come it seems destined to carry on inventing, innovating and surprising. In the process it will doubtless continue to come up with some notable howlers. But this is all part of the process, says Garcia 鈥淚f one out of 10 hits, and hits big, then it鈥檚 worth it,鈥� he says.
Read about DARPA鈥檚 greatest hits, misses and ones to watch.
