This might seem like something out of Mission Impossible, but DARPA seems to be committed to bringing this concept into life. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded a $3.5 million contract to IBM, just so that it can develop self destructing chips. The idea is that these chips will be able to effectively kill themselves either at a specific time or when they receive a remote signal.
In a statement, DARPA officials said that electronics such as these have been “necessary” for operations is its almost impossible to track every electronic device that troops carry into combat. Troops may carry a wide variety of such devices, including but no limited to phones, GPS transponders and more. The military is obviously worried about the implications of leaving these devices behind, where they can potentially fall into enemy hands. If the chips inside these devices were able to self destruct, all the military would have to do if some devices were unaccounted for is press a button, rendering all of them useless. While its leaning on IBM to come up with such a chip, DARPA is also organizing a Proposers’ Day on February 14 in Arlington, Va., to take a look at similar technoogies that already exist. Deadline to sign up for the event is February 8th.