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aper Wins $26M Pentagon Contract for Distant CBRN Detection Using Autonomous Teaming Drones
Draper announced it has been awarded a $26 million (all options) contract by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to further expand the capabilities of its unmanned autonomous systems (UAS) software to perform chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance missions in collaborative teams and in degraded operating environments. The Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement was awarded through the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND).
Draper will integrate flight software and sensor-driven algorithms that enable teams of unmanned systems to autonomously conduct CBRN missions currently performed by single UASs or in environments where a number of inputs are unavailable or unreliable, resembling areas without GPS and zones where GPS could also be spoofed. Mixing the brand new technology with Draper’s existing capabilities will allow the warfighter to realize a serious tactical advantage—situational awareness—while remaining at a protected distance.
Draper will advance its system under an effort at JPEO-CBRND called CSIRP, which stands for CBRN Sensor Integration on Robotic Platforms. Additional enhancements to the system will include advances in CBRN sensors and further customization of Draper’s All Domain Execution and Planning Technology (ADEPT) autonomy framework.
Earlier this yr, the corporate delivered initial prototypes of its system for a focused assessment. Operators employed the Draper prototype in realistic mission scenarios to speak as a team and sense and rapidly report CBRN hazards. The brand new contract allows Draper to proceed developing the teaming approach, and to deliver mature prototypes for presidency testing in 2026.
The autonomous software on the aerial unmanned platform will likely be designed to operate with the command-and-control user interface for the U.S. Army’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) Stryker platform currently being developed by Teledyne FLIR. Draper will integrate communications with the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) platform, enabling the unmanned systems to send images to a mobile device and overlay the locations of detected objects of interest on an aerial map for human team members—all in real time.
A significant focus for Draper is to increase its proof-of-concept air-ground teaming architecture to link multiple systems right into a mesh network. With mesh, every autonomous vehicle, including aerial (UAV), ground (UGV) and maritime (USV), becomes an access point and relays messages amongst themselves. The mission-requirements are to enable decentralized task allocation and task prioritization, collaborative navigation and mapping, path deconfliction and crash prevention, and team planning, control, monitor and networking.
“Draper’s UAS CBRN system is able to searching even small, cluttered places and detecting CBRN hazards,” said Won Kim, program manager at Draper. “Our novel sensor-driven algorithms will allow the UAVs and robots to perform reconnaissance missions as a team and make real-time decisions about where to go next, increasing their efficiency and effectiveness.”
This award expands on the present state-of-the-art, in accordance with Kim, by introducing robot on robot, swarm, mini-UAV and marsupial autonomous systems. It also advances UAS software within the direction the DOD prefers—to be modular, reusable and open to enhancement by third-party vendors.
The united states will use Draper’s novel algorithm to synthesize the info from onboard sensors— including GPS, LiDAR, accelerometer, magnetometer and onboard cameras—and have the ability to speak with human operators, centralized command centers, and other teamed UASs. Draper’s UAS for CBRN is anticipated to perform with limited operator interaction. A human operator will have the ability to override the autonomous agent decisions and redirect or abort the mission, as needed.
Assisting in the event will likely be Draper’s Human Systems Engineering, a team that may help design the tablet interface to support teaming, and Draper’s Warfighter Systems, which developed the TAK plug-in that allows Draper’s UAS to supply situational awareness at every level—the strategic level, theater level, brigade level and soldier level. “TAK permits you to bridge from the choice maker to tactical execution,” said Brian Alligood, Draper’s program manager for TAK.
Draper’s UAS CBRN system is currently being transitioned to a program of record for the U.S. Army, which suggests it’ll soon be fully operational in the sector.
For the bottom contract, Draper will deliver two collaborative teams each comprising two UAV and one UGV options to support training, documentation, plus the delivery of additional UAS and payloads. The contract period of performance is 36 months, if all options are exercised. Visit us online to learn more about Draper’s platform-agnostic autonomy architecture and software package.
As a nonprofit engineering innovation company, Draper serves the Nation’s interests and security needs; advances technologies on the intersection of presidency, academia, and industry; cultivates the following generation of innovators; and solves essentially the most complex challenges. Multidisciplinary teams drawn from a broad and deep talent pool of 1,300 engineers and scientists collaborate to develop first-of-a-kind solutions. Draper’s unbiased approach enables the corporate to deal with their customers’ needs and to deliver recent capabilities to them. Learn more at draper.com.