ARENA is a visual-simulation test and demonstration facility, made to showcase the interactive virtual environments that APL develops for military training. For example, the Virtual Instructor project, which can train sailors to launch weapons for submarines, can be displayed across the multitude of screens in the room or used with virtual reality technology to provide an immersive demonstration of the application.

The Laboratory has developed a significant brain–computer interface (BCI) research program as a continuation of its groundbreaking work leading the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. Building on research undertaken in creating the world’s first neurally controlled prosthetic limb, APL has brought together experts in multiple fields to envision and create world-class, noninvasive, optical imaging BCI technologies. In February 2017, APL and Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers used brain–computer interfacing to show they can directly observe concepts in the human brain.

Central Spark is a 24/7 innovation space, giving staff the freedom to pursue direct, indirect, and personal endeavors with minimal rules, promoting creativity and experimentation. The brand-new Central Spark facility provides 9,000 square feet of collaboration space, with over 3,000 staff visits per week. Central Spark combines the capabilities of virtual, augmented, and extended reality development, electronic circuitry capabilities, rapid physical fabrication, and human-centered design, and also offers gathering space for breaks and conversation.

The Combat Systems Evaluation Laboratory supports developers who prototype, test, and field solutions for combat identification, area air defense, time-sensitive targeting, and surface surveillance. The Minotaur Laboratory adds to this capability by enabling engineers to participate in fleet exercises and operations, and to perform remote diagnostics of shipboard systems.

The Communications Central facilities provide a platform to test and develop the decision-making and central management needed for and enabled by communication systems for missions of critical national importance. From the Command Center, our sponsors can see a mission’s information flows and can understand and control the communications environment.

CYPRESS (Cyber-Physical Resilient Systems Solutions) Laboratory is a premier facility where our nation’s most critical industrial control systems are evaluated, tested, and reimagined to survive any type of attack or failure. CYPRESS features a collection of reconfigurable, high-fidelity testbeds spanning a diverse set of critical infrastructure sectors including wastewater treatment, transportation, and power systems.

In the Dragonfly Flight Lab, engineers are developing the flight control system and navigation algorithms for NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander mission to Saturn’s exotic moon Titan. The indoor facility has a 900-square-foot flight area for testing, integration, and maintenance of two half-scale Dragonfly flight vehicles, and a thrust test stand made for experimenting with algorithms and informing simulation models with actual data. Scheduled to launch in 2027, Dragonfly is a revolutionary mission concept that marks the first time NASA will fly a rotorcraft for science on another planet.

The Hydrodynamics Research Laboratory was established decades ago to help the Navy and other government sponsors understand the phenomenology behind hydrodynamics challenges—a critical mission that continues today.

The Hydrostatic Testing Facility contains two main assets — a large, high-pressure tank and two small, high-pressure vessels. For material sample testing or individual component verification requiring salt water, the two vessels, otherwise known as the Little Dipper and Big Dipper, can be pressurized up to 2,000 pounds per square inch.

The ISC radically enhances our ability to develop algorithms and machine teammates for human operators. The center leverages APL’s broad expertise across defense, intelligence, homeland protection, space exploration, and health care to fundamentally advance the employment of intelligent systems in real-world settings—and in ways that benefit the nation.

LIVE Lab allows researchers to visualize data on information networks and use automated pattern recognition to discover anomalies that indicate cyberattacks. This lab features a suite of tools to help cyber operators detect, understand, and respond to cyberattacks across many platforms and applications.

The NAMI facility is a first-of-its-kind laboratory that unlocks the power of biology for national and environmental security. With aquariums sized from 10 to 1,000 gallons, and the capability to make up to 10,000 gallons of its own seawater per day, the space is home to a wide variety of organisms—from barnacles and mussels to crabs, coral, and algae species. While much of their work in NAMI (short for tsunami) focuses on national security challenges, researchers are also tackling issues related to climate change, studying the environmental impact of technologies such as antifouling coatings, and performing basic research of organisms in controlled settings.

The Quantum Devices Laboratory is a key resource for addressing critical challenges in quantum information science. State-of-the-art microwave, cryogenic, and quantum control technologies enable researchers to test new theories and devices critical to harnessing the power of quantum for computing and sensors.

The RAPTR laboratory facilitates technological innovation aimed at combating physical threats to public spaces—so-called “soft targets”—through activities ranging from applied research to prototype integration to system testing and evaluation.

This 10,000-gallon tank enables critical subsea system testing prior to deployment and rapid prototyping of subsea systems. The test tank is located within APL’s high bay — a 4,000-square-foot, climate-controlled space used for active project support tasks, such as fabrication, assembly/disassembly, equipment testing, maintenance, and field test preparations.

The Space Simulation Laboratory replicates the operating conditions of space, and engineers use the Vibration Test Laboratory to perform structural qualification testing to ensure space systems can withstand the rigors of launch and operation. Our testing philosophy—test as you fly, fly as you test—has enabled the remarkable longevity of APL’s spacecraft and instruments.