America's greatest idea factory isn't Bell Labs, Silicon Valley, or MIT's Media Lab. It's the secretive, Pentagon-led agency known as DARPA. Founded by Eisenhower in response to Sputnik and the Soviet space program, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) mixes military officers with sneaker-wearing scientists, seeking paradigm-shifting ideas in varied fields--from energy, robotics, and rockets to doctorless operating rooms, driverless cars, and planes that can fly halfway around the world in just a few hours.

Michael Belfiore was given unpre-cedented access to write this first-ever popular account of DARPA. "The Department of Mad Scientists" contains material that has barely been reported in the general media--in fact, only 2 percent of Americans know much of anything about the agency. But as this fascinating read demonstrates, DARPA isn't so much frightening as it is inspiring--it is our future.

Blockchain was first conceptualized as a method of building trust in machines and has grown into a vital aspect of many different sectors of the economy. Recently, attention has shifted to the field of autonomous vehicles, and the added value blockchain can provide for the future of this sector by building next generation secure decentralized, distributed, and trusted automated environments and enhancing the productivity of several autonomous applications. Opportunities and Challenges for Blockchain Technology in Autonomous Vehicles is a critical reference source that explores the applications of blockchain in automated industries. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics including privacy, risk assessment, and performance optimization, this book is ideally designed for design engineers, industry professionals, cryptographers, service designers, entrepreneurs, government officials, consultants, researchers, academicians, and students.