Team Dedrone Selected to Compete at ThunderDrone ‘Game of Drones’ Competition

Dedrone, the market and technology leader in airspace security, announced today that its team of Echodyne Corporation, Squarehead Technologies, and Battelle, has been selected by SOFWERX for the ThunderDrone outdoor demonstration to take place at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and AFWERX Enclave on June 18-20, 2018. Team Dedrone will demonstrate the capabilities of a layered detection, tracking, and classification solution that defends protected airspace against all drone threats.

The Dedrone platform is a fully automatic counterdrone solution, designed to detect, classify, and mitigate drone-based threats. Dedrone’s software, DroneTracker, gathers intelligence from Dedrone’s RF sensors RF-100 and RF-300, Echodyne’s MESA™ radar and Squarehead acoustic sensor. Once DroneTracker makes a positive identification of a drone, Battelle’s non-kinetic defense system, DroneDefender™, is automatically triggered to defeat the drone and eliminate the threat.

Team Dedrone is comprised of the following technology providers:

• Dedrone: The Dedrone platform is a fully automatic counterdrone solution, and uniquely designed to detect, classify, and mitigate drone-based threats. Dedrone’s drone detection platform utilizes multiple sensors, including RF, radar, video and acoustic, to detect drones, the flightpath and location of the pilot, and automatically deploy a passive security measure or defeat technology.
• Battelle DroneDefender™: DroneDefender is the first man-portable, accurate, and easy-to-use system to provide critical security protection. It uses radio control frequency disruption to safely stop drones in the air before they can pose a threat to military or civilian safety. It is an inexpensive, lightweight point-and-shoot system with a demonstrated range of 400 meters. When the DroneDefender takes aim at the drone, most drones revert to one of three pre-programmed protocols: Hover in place, slowly descend and land, or return to its flight origin point.
• Echodyne MESA Radar: Echodyne’s radar platform offers revolutionary sensor imaging technology made possible by its patented Metamaterial Electronically Scanning Array (MESA™). MESA radars operate the same as phased array radar systems, providing high-resolution ground-truth data at any time and in any weather. Unlike expensive and bulky phased arrays, however, Echodyne’s MESA can be produced in high volumes, at commercial price points, and with excellent size, weight, and power.
• Squarehead Technologies: The Discovair system is a fully automated passive, acoustic drone detection system for close proximity air marshalling. The system utilizes our acoustic array sensors, allowing for both detection and tracking of drones. The system detects audio anomalies within field of view and runs a discrimination algorithm on the anomaly. Discrimination is immediate, and tracking is provided in real time.

SOFWERX is leading collaboration between SOF Warfighters, Interagency Partners, and select contributors from Industry and Academia on technology and innovation efforts to bring drones (sea, land, and air), tactical swarms, payloads (kinetic/non-kinetic/sensors), and their associated data science applications to the Special Operations Community. The ThunderDrone project is a series of Rapid Prototyping Events (RPE) that focus on different aspects of current drone technology. Team Dedrone will participate in the final ThunderDrone event, ThunderDrone RPE III. During this event, select companies will compete for cash awards up to $600,000 in the area of C-UAS capabilities.

Team Dedrone Quotes:

• Dedrone: “Modern security requires a layered approach that keeps up with the evolution of drone technology,” shares Joerg Lamprecht, CEO and co-founder of Dedrone. “At ThunderDrone, Team Dedrone will demonstrate how our technologies converge and create an instant diagnosis and mitigation of drone threats.”
• Battelle: “Our DroneDefender never fails to please when people see it in action. And, combined with the team’s technology, we’re very pleased with performance and are looking forward to competing in this event,” said Alex Morrow, Battelle technical director of counter UAS programs.
• Echodyne: “We are excited to have progressed to this next stage of testing, and to be working with such a great group of companies,” said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne. “Our participation underscores the importance of high performance radars as the primary long-range detection and tracking sensor for securing against airborne threats.”
• Squarehead Technologies: “We are very pleased to work with a Team that has successfully proven technology.  In a short period of time, we have integrated and are providing a near operational solution,” says Stig Nyvold, CEO of Squarehead Technology. “The Discovair’s ability to monitor acoustics and provide a C2 system with a high level of accuracy of detection to continue the chain has proven to be effective.”  

About Dedrone

Dedrone is the market and technology leader in airspace security. The Dedrone platform combines hardware sensors and machine-learning software, providing early warning, classification of, and mitigation against all drone threats. Based in San Francisco, Dedrone was founded in 2014 and is backed by investors including Felicis Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and John Chambers, Chairman Emeritus of Cisco Systems.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.

About Echodyne

Echodyne’s innovative high-performance radar sensors are built on patented MESA technology that provide high-resolution 3-D situational awareness data for autonomous vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems, critical infrastructure security, and public safety. A unique blend of agile hardware and intelligent software provides unprecedented perception, safety, and reliability for the autonomous age. Privately held, the company is based in Bellevue Washington, and is backed by Bill Gates, NEA, Madrona Venture Group, Vulcan Capital, and Lux Capital among others.

About Squarehead

Since its founding in 2004, Squarehead Technology has been designing and manufacturing electronically steerable microphone arrays for both commercial and government use.  Our capability supports a variety of form factors from fixed installations, to modular expandable units and small, highly portable arrays for close proximity. Utilizing commercial off the shelf communication paths, we are able to establish a command and control environment based on the customer’s requirements allowing for a closed or open network capability. Based in Oslo, Norway Squarehead Technology continues to push the envelope on acoustic monitoring. For more information, visit www.sqhead.com.  

The view & conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the Doolittle Institute doing business as SOFWERX or the United States Special Operations Command.