US soldiers may soon be able to detect an adversary drone silently after Cohere Technologies secured a contract to transform existing cellular networks into a smart sensing system.
The company is developing a Multi-Waveform Radio Access Network prototype for Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) that leverages commercial 5G and 6G infrastructure for persistent aerial and ground surveillance.
Designed to blend into ordinary cellular traffic, the system aims to detect, classify, and track objects while making its sensing activity difficult for adversaries to identify.
It will use two types of radio waves: standard Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing and Pulsone Technology, which is based on Zak Orthogonal Time Frequency Space.
It will also include a mobile test platform supporting bistatic and multistatic sensing, as well as software capable of generating real-time 3D tracks of detected objects.
The system must meet government security and integration requirements before being validated in realistic outdoor environments
A $28 Million Vote of Confidence
The effort is funded through a $28-million contract awarded by the FutureG Office within the US Department of Defense (DoD).
It expands on a National Science Foundation Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems (VINES) Phase 2 project.
According to Tom Rondeau, principal director for FutureG, ISAC is a priority for the DoD’s efforts to counter drone swarms and requires technology that can be deployed quickly.
“As a proven innovator with a demonstrated ability to build multi-waveform platforms, Cohere Technologies offered a clear path that we could move on immediately,” he said.
“This solution rapidly delivers critical ISAC capabilities while building on our ‘innovate-first’ posture, demonstrating the tremendous opportunity for innovation brought by the FutureG Open Centralized Unit Distributed Unit platform.”
