Wartime necessity drives technology

Throughout history, warfare has presented unique challenges that have prompted the development of new technologies. As far back as the Roman Empire, military necessity drove the rise of technology and innovations that have transcended their original applications, such as the Roman road system, which was originally built to facilitate the transport of troops, but civilians were the ultimate beneficiaries.

Five similar innovations:

1. The Internet: The earliest form of the Internet first saw the light of day in 1962, when the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency laid the groundwork of ARPANET, a revolutionary "packet-switching" (data communications) system and created a network of geographically separate computers that were able to exchange information.