Marco-Alexis Chaira/ASU

Under DARPA's new research program, Professor Daniel Bliss (left) and his team will redesign computing platforms that enable sophisticated applications to operate more effectively under tight power constraints.

An arm of the Department of Defense has awarded several universities, including two in Arizona, a $17 million grant to expand computing technology capabilities.

Both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona were awarded the funds from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Academic and private institutions are collaborating to produce more sophisticated processors and software that use less energy. Applications include self-driving cars, the internet of things, cellphones and computers.

Daniel Bliss is the principal investigator for the project and an ASU engineering professor.

“There are many opportunities where the processing limitations had actually driven us to solutions that were significantly suboptimal and this gives us a chance to actually start making better systems,” said Bliss. 

Bliss said the Department of Defense is interested in moving to systems that consume less energy such as those used in smaller unmanned aerial vehicles.