DEADLINE ALERT: DroneShield and DIN call for RF disruption proposals

Sydney company DroneShield and the NSW Defence Innovation Network (DIN) are partnering to deliver next-generation drone signal disruption.

The DIN has called for expressions of interest (EOIs) from member universities to participate in Stage 1, the initial proof of concept stage, of a portfolio of wireless UAV disruption projects. Closing Date for EoIs is 15 November.

This first stage is worth up to $100,000, fully funded by DroneShield and has a three-month timeframe. DroneShield will provide the successful research organisation with sample data for three wireless protocols as an IQ stream. The research organisation will develop innovative wireless disruption algorithms to disrupt protocol communications successfully.

The intention is for the research organisation to take a ‘Smart Jamming’ approach whereby the algorithm is based on an assault on vulnerabilities, for example, error correction checksums, messages related to acknowledgements, synchronisation channels, time slots. DroneShield can provide insight into existing research into both detection and disruption of provided protocols.

The successful research proposal should clearly address and demonstrate the following features:

• Ability to provide disruption algorithms that maximise radiated power efficiency, i.e. energy-efficient sophisticated jamming rather than barrage jamming (required)
• Flexibility in application towards near-peer protocols, i.e. the possibility that the algorithm might be able to disrupt near-peer protocols, to maximise the chances that it can be a more scalable algorithm that can be easily adapted to different signals of interest (preferred)

No security clearance is required.

This is expected to lead to Stage 2 of the project with up to $500,000-worth of funding from the Australian Research Council or a similar body, running for 6-9 months from approximately mid-2022. This stage will focus on maturity and expansion of the IP developed in Stage 1.

DroneShield aims to acquire the funding support to complete Stage 2, expanding the number of protocol disruption algorithms.

For further information go to the DIN web site.