SBIR-STTR Award

The West Virginia University (WVU) Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources has created an innovative localization software technology for unmanned aerial and ground systems when operating in challenged environments, such as degraded or denied GPS. This distributed system with agents onboard and on the ground uses an Air Data Vehicle Network and requires resilient data management not only for the command and control systems but also for all data collected by sensors onboard the device to secure the data and guarantee their integrity and privacy. Kinnami Software Corporation has developed a distributed resilient data platform, AmiShare, that has the ability to secure sensitive data and assure its integrity wherever that data is collected, stored, or shared. AmiShare can work in degraded environments. This Phase I STTR project proposes a feasibility study to investigate integrating WVU’s localization software technology with Kinnami’s distributed resilient data platform, AmiShare, and propose a technical architecture of enhanced software that is able to operate in a wider range of degraded environments, including in hostile airspace which is critical for ORB/eVTOL/UAM operations especially in disaster relief, humanitarian aid and logistics supply missions. Integration of WVU’s robotic localization technology with Kinnami’s AmiShare technology will address key focus areas for Agility Prime especially in degraded environments. During the course of this project, we will also identify a partner in the Air Force to sponsor a Phase II project to develop and test a proof of concept and we are already in discussions with a number of potential partners. WVU’s research specializes in robot localization technology for challenging environments. Its innovate research focuses on the use of multi-sensor fusion, adaptive estimation algorithms for learning sensor uncertainties without prior knowledge, the use of cooperative active perception to reduce localization errors through the motion planning ground robots and aerial robots, and the use learning algorithms to assess environmental conditions. Kinnami is a data security company that provides tools for securing confidential information using client-side encryption. AmiShare’s distributed secure storage platform manages data security, protection & availability by defining policies for who may access data and where data are stored, providing access & protection everywhere on unreliable networks. This includes data centers, cloud, laptops, mobiles, removable drives & IoT. Data access & storage are audited and managed by administrators who define these policies, transparently to end-users. WVU and Kinnami propose to integrate their technology so AmiShare can resolve WVU’s reliable Air Data Vehicle Network requirement. The goal of this project is to propose a combined technical architecture for adoption by ORB/eVTOL/UAM systems that the Air Force can pilot & test in a subsequent Phase II project.

The West Virginia University (WVU) Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources has created innovative Position/Navigation (PN) software for unmanned aerial and ground systems when operating in challenged environments, such as degraded or denied GPS. This distributed system with agents onboard and on the ground uses an Air Data Vehicle Network (ADVN) that requires Resilient Data Management (RDM) to secure and guarantee data integrity and privacy for onboard command and control and sensor data. Kinnami Software Corporation has developed a distributed RDM software platform, AmiShare, that secures data and assures their integrity wherever those data are stored or shared by mounting a secure data fabric on a mesh network, ideal for degraded environments. Our Phase I project proposed a technical architecture in which Kinnami’s RDM technology provides the reliable ADVN, required for trustworthy operation of WVU’s PN software across multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). 563d RQG wants to augment Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) capability by using UAVs in forward, hostile positions to locate isolated personnel and obtain their biometric data, despite degraded or denied GPS and radio spectrum. Currently, 563d RQG can only locate isolated personnel visually, and cannot communicate when the radio spectrum, and GPS, are degraded or denied. These are severe problems that are the top 3 strategic objectives for Personnel Recovery, Air Force-wide. This solution would address key focus areas for Agility Prime, for ORB/eVTOL/UAM operations in disaster relief, humanitarian aid and logistics supply missions, especially in degraded environments. WVU’s research specializes in robot localization technology for challenging environments, focusing on multi-sensor fusion, adaptive estimation algorithms for learning sensor uncertainties without prior knowledge, cooperative active perception to reduce localization errors through the motion planning ground robots and aerial robots, and the use learning algorithms to assess environmental conditions. Kinnami is a data security company, providing tools for securing data using client-side encryption. AmiShare’s distributed secure storage platform manages data security, protection & availability by defining policies for who may access data and where data are stored, providing access & protection everywhere on unreliable networks. This includes data centers, cloud, laptops, mobiles, removable drives & IoT. Data access & storage are audited and managed by administrators who define these policies, transparently to end-users. This Phase II STTR project proposes to adapt WVU’s and Kinnami’s software, to create a proof of concept of integrated software that allows UAVs to operate in a wider range of degraded environments, including in hostile airspace.