Artificial Intelligence
Engineering with intelligence
Designing, building, and applying new technologies—especially those that include artificial intelligence—can be a double-edged sword: powerful and enabling on the one hand, but potentially biased and vulnerable to infiltration on the other.
From national security to planetary defense and health care, Johns Hopkins APL continues to make advances in AI to ensure the technology’s capabilities while identifying, minimizing, or eliminating its weaknesses.
A Laboratory-wide collaborative community of AI researchers and applied scientists works in domains from beneath the sea to outer space to innovatively incorporate autonomy, computer vision, machine learning, agentic AI, and other techniques across the breadth of our programs and projects. Internally funded AI exploration and research help us take bold steps in this realm to continue advancing AI for the good of the nation and the world.
Featured Facility
Intelligent Systems Center →
The Intelligent Systems Center (ISC) leverages APL’s broad expertise across national security, space exploration, and health to fundamentally advance the employment of intelligent systems for our nation’s critical challenges. The ISC acts as a focal point for research and development in artificial intelligence, robotics, and neuroscience at APL.
Related Work
Tactical Behaviors for Autonomous Maneuver
Enabling scalable, real-time solutions for autonomous teams
ConceptGraphs
Transforming robots into capable teammates using generative AI and advanced scene mapping
Full Scene Extraction
Training robots to gather information about their surroundings to create a contextual understanding of their environment
Accelerating Materials Innovation for Defense
Developing a novel materials science paradigm—and strategically applying artificial intelligence and robotics—to dramatically accelerate the process of designing, testing, and optimizing metal components for the defense industrial base
AI/AR-Guided Electronic Repair
Combining artificial intelligence and augmented reality to troubleshoot and maintain complex systems
GenWar Sim
Integrating large language models with AFSIM—making high-fidelity simulations accessible to users through natural language interaction
ACAS X: Airborne Collision Avoidance for the 21st Century
APL researchers played a leading role in the development of ACAS X—a collision avoidance system onboard all international commercial aircraft that will replace existing systems as they are retired.
SMART Stack: Enabling Error-Resilient Quantum Computing
Understanding and mitigating quantum noise and errors across the full stack of hardware and software
Mission-Focused Generative AI
Inventing the future of artificial intelligence for the nation by advancing frontier models that enable creativity, subject-matter expertise, and personification
Accelerating Air Quality Forecasts
Severe wildfires have released millions of smoke-borne contaminants into the air, setting off air quality alerts across the country. APL is using artificial intelligence to accelerate air quality forecasts and ultimately deliver a better understanding of how and where these pollutants will travel.
AI for Tipping Point Discovery
Artificial intelligence experts and oceanographers are integrating AI with traditional Earth systems modeling methods to enable scientific researchers to better understand tipping points, critical thresholds that, once crossed, could “tip” a natural Earth system into an entirely different state.
Revolutionizing Materials Discovery for National Security
APL is reimagining and accelerating the targeted discovery of materials tailored to withstand and perform in the most demanding conditions, ensuring enhanced capabilities in extreme environments.
Robust and Resilient Artificial Intelligence
Developing the next generation of intelligent systems for missions characterized by uncertain, dynamic, and adversarial environments
Neural Interfaces
Directly interfacing with the nervous system to restore lost functions and enhance human capability
Neuroscience-Inspired Artificial Intelligence
Developing next-generation algorithms and computing substrates that leverage neurobiology to revolutionize intelligent systems
Related News
News
Mar 9, 2026
‘ATLAS’ System Lifts Johns Hopkins APL Leadership in Automated Experimentation
An interdisciplinary APL team created ATLAS, an artificial intelligence co-investigator that automates testing, learning, and synthesis for microcapsules, which has decreased human labor required per experiment by more than 80% and advances APL progress in microcapsule development and automated experimentation.
News
Feb 10, 2026
Johns Hopkins APL Research Helps Shape Landmark Federal Expansion of Unmanned Aircraft Operations
An APL research team help set new standards that could help drones more safely share America’s skies.
Press Release
Dec 2, 2025
Johns Hopkins APL and Microsoft’s AI Agent Orchestrates Robotic Teams
APL and Microsoft recently demonstrated an AI agent that can coordinate heterogeneous robot teams using large language models. The September demo highlighted how APL’s expertise in autonomy software and Microsoft’s scalable cloud tools are advancing the future of collaborative robotics. The effort reflects steady progress in a partnership focused on applying artificial intelligence to real-world challenges.
Press Release
Nov 12, 2025
New Robotic Arm Opens Doors to Explore Future of Maritime Repair
Johns Hopkins APL has installed a state-of-the-art robotic arm to advance repair and manufacturing for the maritime industrial base. Using wire arc additive manufacturing and advanced sensing technologies, the system makes faster, more precise repairs of oversized components possible—strengthening fleet readiness and reducing costs. This innovation builds on APL’s commitment to supporting Navy sustainment and industrial agility.
News
Oct 30, 2025
Johns Hopkins APL Establishes AI Wargaming Lab to Boost Strategic National Security Analysis and Planning
APL is fusing its analytic and cutting-edge AI capabilities into a forward-leaning incubator, known as GenWar Lab, that leverages advanced AI and large language model capabilities to support the wargames and tabletop exercises that enable military decision-makers to explore dynamic and wide-ranging mission scenarios.