5 projects that advanced the Army’s future networking capabilities in 2020

Andrew Eversden

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Research Lab made important progress in 2020 on projects that will have major implications for war fighter communications and networking in the future.

The projects tackled a wide range of futuristic technologies, from “unhackable” quantum networking developments to an X-ray vision-like project that could enhance surveillance capabilities. The lab also made advances mesh networking, a capability that the Army views as core to the future of its battlefield communications.

Here’s a look at five of the Army’s scientific advancements this year:

A step toward an ‘unhackable’ quantum network

A quantum device developed by Army scientists this year allows large amounts of information to be stored as holographic patterns, an important step toward building a quantum network.

The scientists were able to trap millions of rubidium atoms in laser beams and cool them near absolute zero, allowing for the quantum bits to be stored as patterns or images.

As the research lab put it earlier this year: “To imagine this technology better, picture a canvas or sea in which quantum images or waves can be written. ... Those images or wave patterns, called spin-waves, can then be stored as information. Spin-waves are like the paint for [the] .... metaphorical canvas.”

Kevin Cox, a scientist at the Army Research Lab who worked on the project, told C4ISRNET that the device created could have significant ramifications for secure communications.