Future Program: Firefox

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office issued a Special Notice on September 4, 2026 announcing research areas of interest for the contemplated Firefox program, with responses due by September 11, 2026.

Firefox is a 36-month research program organized into three 12-month phases across two parallel technical areas. TA1 focuses on beam control development, specifically dynamic rastering and scanning components to steer and expand optical signals to multiple regions of interest. TA2 encompasses optical signal processing architectures in the analog domain to handle high data rates and computational burdens. The program aims to advance a non-invasive coherent optical system achieving a 100-channel non-invasive brain-computer interface with 50-micron spatial and 100-microsecond temporal resolution, eliminating the need for invasive, surgically implanted electrodes.

Performer teams should possess expertise in laser physics, optical and photonic signal processing, analog circuit design, wavefront engineering, and adaptive optics. This notice does not constitute a formal solicitation, and DARPA will not accept submissions in response. Interested parties should email firefox@darpa.mil to be added to the blast list for future program updates, including announcements for the Proposers Day and formal solicitation publication. When released, the formal solicitation will be available at SAM.gov. No classified information should be included in communications regarding this notice.