W5170124C0055

Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Phase I

Resilient Communications for Autonomous and Remotely Operated Systems

The future fight will be defined by multi-domain operations (MDO) and the ability to effectively leverage remotely operated and autonomous systems. Near-peer adversaries will fiercely compete for radio frequency (RF) spectrum dominance, as has been evidenced in the recent conflict in Ukraine. The ability to manage and control contested, congested, and constrained (i.e., complex) electromagnetic operating environments (EMOE) will determine kill chain effectiveness and mission outcomes. Next-generation durable and attritable platforms from robotic combat vehicles (RCV) to small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) rely heavily on the reliability and predictability of their communications links. Whether remotely operated vehicles under human control or autonomous systems with machine-to-machine links, connectivity in complex EMOE are the backbone of MDO. ??????? Current communications solutions often provide basic parameters like received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), but these do not inform the operator with a recommended course of action (COA) and are impacted by range/distance, physical obstacles, terrain, environmental variables, congested channel/s, intentional jamming, etc. Other solutions provide more detailed information on the RF environment, however without significant training and/or increasing operator cognitive load, this information is largely useless at the point of need. An opportunity exists to combine RF technology, sensor fusion, AI, and low-size/weight/power (SWaP) edge computing to deliver a better experience to the warfighter. The key is taking complex data and delivering simple, actionable outputs and COAs to operators (and machines) to reduce, remediate, and eliminate link loss across the Army s and DoD s robotic systems. The solution needs to be scalable, reliable, easily adopted, and platform/vendor/ domain agnostic. Delivering this solution will increase the lethality, safety, and mission effectiveness of today s warfighter result in a United States that is better prepared for the future fight.

The goal of phase I is to establish the technical merit, feasibility, and commercial potential of proposed R&D efforts and determine the quality of performance of the small business awardee organization.

A234-P017

A234-P017-1395

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Mostafix Chowdhury