DARPA Innovative Systems for Military Missions - Tactical Technology Office (TTO)

DARPA Innovative Systems for Military Missions – Tactical Technology Office (TTO)”.

Opportunities in autonomous systems:

The TTO strategy seeks the development and demonstration of system level technologies and prototypes which outpace adversary capabilities and force structures.
TTO is interested in advanced capabilities in all physical domains: Ground, Maritime/Undersea, Air and Space. As part of this, TTO is focused on autonomous systems and advanced autonomy in all physical domains.
TTO is interested in individual systems and groups of autonomous systems that collaborate (collaborative autonomy/swimming systems).
TTO is also interested in collaborative operations of manned and unmanned teams in all physical domains.
TTO is interested in the development and application of robotic system/automation technologies to enhance warfighter capabilities, improve platform efficiency, and reduce resources and operations required to perform critical mission tasks. TTO seeks innovations in the interaction of autonomous robotics system behaviors with sparse supervisory human control in applied to warfighter operations.
Finally, TTO has significant interest in model-based approaches to autonomy, swarming, counter-swarming, multi-platform coordination, and multi-modal human interaction optimized for various warfighter needs.

TTO is greatly interested in approaches that stress reduced systems cost and lifecycle affordability.

TTO seeks to develop/employ a cost imposing strategy on our adversaries: develop and employ novel systems which cost much less to satisfy current and future missions against adversaries, or force adversaries to expand great resources to mitigate our new capabilities (“invert the cost equation”). As part of new system demonstrations,
TTO is interested in “Agile” time to market driven approaches for systems development, which explicitly use “design to cost” paradigm.
TTO is interested in addressing global transport and logistical challenges, also called “strategic lift.” Strategic lift can be comprised of new platforms, systems of system architectures, and theater/intra-theater considerations. Platforms of interest include high speed naval vessels, surface effect ships, advanced naval propulsion, airships, intra-theater heavy lift, and novel naval architectures. Intermodal transport and staging concepts are also of interest.
Advanced robotics and automation as applied to logistics challenges are of interest with the strategic lift challenges.