DARPA Wants Better Speech Detection, Secure Wireless Networks

• The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is to award a sole source contract to Raytheon/BBN, SRI, and Leidos for Phases 4 and 5 of its Robust Automatic Transcription of Speech (RATS) program, whose purpose is to detect speech in very noisy environments. Does it involve filming potato chip bags?

• DARPA is also working on the self-explanatory Wireless Network Defense (WND) program. Here’s the briefing [PDF] delivered at an industry day last month. Proposals for their Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) are due by September 3.