The wild folks at DARPA have a plan to build some super-duper Star Wars binoculars that true to the original movie, would allow soldiers to see miles off into the distance, day or night, warning them of potential threats almost immediately. They've even dubbed the technology "Luke's Binoculars," though the official name is the more staid "Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System."

But it's so much more than that. You see, the "soldier-portable visual threat warning devices" would also tap directly into the soldier's brain. The binoculars would include a software system "inclusive of operator neural signature detection processing." In other words, like some of DARPA's other cognitive work, the binoculars would use EEG to monitor the brain, quickly alerting soldiers to potential threats (the idea being the brain picks up on patterns faster than the conscious mind realizes).

The official description, included in an announcement released today, outlines an ambitious program:

Recent developments and discoveries in the disparate technology areas of flat-field, wide-angle optics, large pixel-count digital imagers, cognitive visual processing algorithms, neurally-based target detection signatures and ultra-low power analog-digital hybrid signal processing electronics have led DARPA to believe that focused technology development, system design, and system integration efforts may produce revolutionary capabilities for the warfighter. The final objective of the DARPA CT2WS program is the development of prototype soldier-portable digital imaging threat queuing systems capable of effective detection ranges of 1-10 km against dismounts and vehicles while simultaneously surveying a 120-degree or greater field of view (FOV).

Better than the official announcement is the Q&A from the industry day and the presentations [1, 2, 3] which give a better sense how ambitious, and fascinating, this effort really is. The idea behind all this is that Luke's Binoculars would allow soldiers to operate better in the sort of military operations we're seeing today, where enemies may be dispersed, hiding in urban areas, or easily confused with civilians.

Surely this is pie-in-the-sky 20 years out in the future stuff? Well, not really. DARPA's looking to field prototypes in the next couple of years.

ALSO:

* Pentagon's PCs Bend to Your Brain

* Squirrel = Super Soldier?

* Stronger, Tougher, Faster: Building Next-Gen G.I.s

* Supercharging Soldiers' Cells

* Pig Manure Key to Soldier Chow?

* No "Go Pills"

* Darpa Chief Speaks