Firefox

The DARPA Firefox program seeks non‑invasive brain‑computer interface technologies that can scale optical neural recording to a 100‑channel system with 50 µm spatial and 100 µs temporal resolution. The effort is split into two technical areas: (1) development of dynamic raster/scan optics to cover up to 1 steradian and target 100 independent points, and (2) creation of analog‑domain data‑processing architectures to reduce raw optical data rates before digitization. Awards are expected to be fixed‑price, milestone‑based Other Transaction agreements, lasting three 12‑month phases (total 36 months). Funding per award is anticipated between $4 M and $7 M. • Deliver prototype optical scanning/steering hardware (TA 1) and analog speckle‑processing hardware (TA 2) across three phases. • Meet defined performance metrics (field‑of‑view, scan rate, optical power, speckle alignment speed, and collection efficiency) with site‑visit demonstrations and IV&V hand‑offs. • Provide detailed technical reports, design reviews, and final deliverables to DARPA; comply with data‑rights, patent‑rights, and cybersecurity requirements.