Pentagon Funds 'Silent Talk' Brain-Wave Research

Budgets go beyond boring numbers when you do a little digging, like Wired's Danger Room did with the Pentagon's DARPA division. DARPA typically backs offbeat or high-risk research that sounds ripped straight out of science fiction, and the latest example is no exception – $4 million for a program called Silent Talk that would allow soldiers to communicate via brain waves.

The idea involves mapping the human brain's electric signals, and then creating technology to analyze and translate those signals into words for the intended recipient. Faster and quieter could prove a boon for, say, Special Forces operating under stealth.

Neuroscience isn't just the only science that DARPA has shown excitement about lately. The agency has previously funded robots of all types, ranging from vehicles capable of self-navigating urban environments to squishy chembots that can squeeze through tight spaces. The agency has also backed an "Inner Armor" project to create super soldiers, which managed to top LiveScience's list of wild military experiments. Think U.S. Navy SEALs who can dive like Steller sea lions and you begin to get the picture.