They made the Internet. Now they want to make money

Robert Weisman - The Boston Globe: "BBN Technologies invented the Arpanet, precursor to the Internet, in 1969 under a grant from the Pentagon's research agency. Here are some military research programs BBN is working on today:

GALE

An advanced speech-to-text translation system known as global autonomous language exploitation. It uses multiple technologies simultaneously, listening to spoken words in Arabic, breaking down phrases, understanding the relationships between speakers, and translating spoken Arabic into searchable English text in real time.

Boomerang

An antisniper system mounted on the rear or side of Humvees or other armored vehicles. It uses sensors and microphones to gauge the shock waves from supersonic bullets to quickly plot the angle, elevation, and range of a mobile shooter.

Ambush

A personal computer-based training system that simulates a military convoy traveling through a hostile desert setting. It presents soldiers with a range of scenarios they might encounter, such as a crowd blocking the path or a sniper on a roof.

MicroThunder

A portable sensor network, designed to fit into a backpack, that detects suspicious behavior day and night in dense woods. It uses ultrawide band radios working as radar."