A new contest aims to help military chiefs to look at the world "from the point of view of our potential adversaries".
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| A roadside improvised explosive device is detonated |
The Pentagon wants to hear from hackers who think they can transform everyday household items into bombs and other weapons.
Military chiefs hope their new Improv program will help them to spot hidden threats that can be created using limited resources.
People are being asked to submit their ideas, and selected projects will compete for funding to build a prototype.
Each of the selected projects will receive up to $40,000 during a feasibility study phase.
The teams behind the winning submissions will then have two weeks to create their prototype.
They will get up to $70,000 funding to create the prototype, and a further $20,000 to test it.
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| IEDs can be created from everyday items, with devastating effect (File pic) |
People can register for the Improv program until 21 March, and a webcast will take place a week later for applicants to put forward their ideas.
It is being co-ordinated by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), who are particularly interested in improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Executives at the agency say the submissions will help it spot and understand "novel and unanticipated" security risks.
Program manager John Main said: "DARPA often looks at the world from the point of view of our potential adversaries to predict what they might do with available technology.
"Historically we did this by pulling together a small group of technical experts, but the easy availability in today's world of an enormous range of powerful technologies means that any group of experts only covers a small slice of the available possibilities.
"In Improv we are reaching out to the full range of technical experts to involve them in a critical national security issue."
Source : Here