The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking for an artificial intelligence lead that will provide technical expertise to support the agency’s implementation of AI into its daily operations, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

The AI lead will report to USPTO Chief Information Officer Henry Holcombe and help execute projects such as USPTO’s efforts to use AI for patent classification and trademark image searching to prevent fraud and duplication. In addition, the AI expert will handle issues surrounding biases and how to prevent them.

“We need to figure out how we can use those algorithms to the best of our abilities,” he said. “We’ve seen an explosion in AI submissions and so AI is now maturing to a point to where it actually can be used—we don’t want it to be a buzzword.”

Holcombe noted that USPTO is halfway through recruitment procedures and is open to telework-based operations, which he said may help attract qualified professionals across the country.

Interested parties may submit their applications through Oct. 25.

Lt. Gen. James Dickinson, commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said that the command is making changes in an effort to accommodate the new U.S. Space Command, Space News reported Tuesday.

Dickinson, who has been confirmed to be Spacecom’s deputy commander after being nominated for the post in August, told attendees at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting that SMDC’s space division will now operate as the Army’s component under the new unified combatant command.

He noted that Army personnel under SMDC currently handle satellite communications support and operation centers across the U.S. and overseas. Dickinson also led the reorganization of the 53rd Signal Battalion of the Army’s 1st Space Brigade to improve satcom support operations.

“We have combat veterans that are space officers that provide very valuable operational perspective,” he said. “It’s key to bring capability to soldiers in a timely manner. That is what we have to get to.”

Other new SMDC efforts include the establishment of a Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence. According to Dickinson, the command also seeks commercial technologies spanning communications, surveillance and position, navigation and timing.

The U.S. Army requires Congress approval to move forward with a potential five-year, $1 billion investment in data, artificial intelligence and cloud, FCW reported Tuesday. The investment plan also depends on whether the Department of Defense can award the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure or JEDI cloud contract on schedule.

Ryan McCarthy, secretary of the Army, said the service branch intends to pursue digital transformation with data as a strategic tool and the use of industry-based technology. The Army and the other branches still require a new bill to secure new funds for projects.

“We will manage big data, employ AI-enabled tools in earnest without sacrificing cyber security or resilience,” McCarthy said Monday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. “Without a budget, it’s a new start program, so we’ll sit and we’ll wait,” the secretary said.

Raytheon announced on Wednesday that the company has signed a teaming agreement with WEY Technology (WEYTEC) to co-develop the next-generation air traffic controller workstation called Multi-platform ATC Re-hosting Solution, or MARS.

“As the skies grow more crowded, controllers need the best technology to efficiently manage the airspace,” said Matt Gilligan, vice president, Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. “Not only will MARS workstations make their jobs easier, they will make the world’s airspace system safer.”

The Raytheon-WEYTEC team aims to replace the current systems, and similar ones abroad, with advanced, modern workstations that seamlessly integrate flight-critical applications, such as surveillance, weather, flight and airport data, onto touchscreens for enhanced airspace management.

Today in the U.S., air traffic controllers use Raytheon’s Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) to provide safe and efficient aircraft spacing and sequencing guidance for over 40,000 departing and arriving aircraft daily at civilian and military airports.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries.

CenturyLink announced on Wednesday that the company has provided a new option for connecting business premises and public data centers to cloud environments with the expansion of its Cloud Connect Dynamic Connections service to Google Cloud Platform. 

“CenturyLink is supporting the digital business with direct, on-demand and scalable cloud networking solutions that customers can easily control,” said Paul Savill, CenturyLink senior vice president, core network and technology solutions. 

The expansion enables self-serve, real-time, dedicated network connectivity across thousands of endpoints in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe through CenturyLink’s secure, global fiber network.

 “With this expansion, Google Cloud customers now have a new, easy way to connect and control their cloud networking environments and adjust bandwidth in response to their evolving business needs,” Savill added. 

CenturyLink Cloud Connect Dynamic Connections includes a self-service portal and API that give customers real-time control over their hybrid cloud networking using private Ethernet services. To further enhance the customer experience, CenturyLink also offers a simple pay-as-you-go billing model that provides the flexibility to add and remove services as needed, without term liability.

About CenturyLink

CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is a technology leader delivering hybrid networking, cloud connectivity, and security solutions to customers around the world. Through its extensive global fiber network, CenturyLink provides secure and reliable services to meet the growing digital demands of businesses and consumers. CenturyLink strives to be the trusted connection to the networked world and is focused on delivering technology that enhances the customer experience.

The Veterans Health Administration is scheduled to hold interactive exhibits at its two-day Innovation Experience and one of those exhibits will focus on technological advancements in 3D printing, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

Twenty-five medical centers under VHA adopt 3D printing and Ryan Vega, executive director of the VHA Innovation Ecosystem, said the agency will scale the technology at centers equipped with equipment, training and infrastructure.

The iEx event, which is set to kick off on Oct. 22, will include exhibits on virtual reality, augmented reality and proteomics to provide personnel at VHA facilities an opportunity to witness such technologies and determine how they can adopt such platforms.

“We can do the necessary [research and development] to get these technologies to the point where we can operationalize them,” Vega said.

The Defense Advanced Projects Agency has launched an effort to address issues in patching legacy software for mission-critical systems.

DARPA said Monday its new Assured Micropatching program seeks to develop technologies that accelerate and aid in the analysis, modification and correction of legacy software binaries.

The AMP effort will leverage micropatches that augment binaries in small scales to maintain precision and reduce the possibilty of side effects.

“Assured Micropatching aims to create and apply fixes in an automated and assured way, giving us a means to expedite the time to test and deploy the patched system from months and years to just days,” said Bratus, said Sergey Bratus, a program manager at DARPA’s Information Innovation Office.

DARPA will host a series of challenges across the AMP program to examine the effectiveness of micropatching technology across legacy systems and various mission applications.

The agency also posted a FedBizOpps notice to solicit for proposals under AMP. Interested parties may submit responses through Nov. 20.