Alert WARfighter Enablement (AWARE) Phase 0

• The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative approaches to address challenges with maintaining warfighter alertness following sleep deprivation. The AWARE program aims to develop a combination drug and device to non-invasively increase alertness following sleep loss in humans, without negative side effects such as anxiety, irritability, or euphoria, and with reduced addictive potential.

The AWARE program goals include developing 1) candidate photoswitchable dextroamphetamine (“PhotoDex”) molecules that are biologically inert in dark conditions but are reversibly activated in the presence of near infrared (NIR) light (750-900 nm), and 2) wearable device elements that emit NIR light at 850 nm to a depth of 1.5 cm, adaptable to any wavelength between 750 and 900 nm to accommodate the final optimal PhotoDex wavelength.