{"id":103278,"date":"2024-07-08T10:43:50","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T14:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronelife.com\/?p=103278"},"modified":"2024-07-08T19:00:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T23:00:46","slug":"anti-jamming-drones-enhancing-battlefield-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronelife.com\/2024\/07\/08\/anti-jamming-drones-enhancing-battlefield-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Jamming Drones: Enhancing Battlefield Resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doodle Labs technology helps drones in combat evade jamming<\/h3>\n

By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill<\/strong><\/p>\n

The war in Ukraine, which has often been referred to as the world\u2019s first drone war, has led to both sides in the conflict relying on fleets of small unmanned aerial vehicles to surveil enemy positions and drop bombs on enemy targets.<\/p>\n

These small, inexpensive drones, frequently equipped with first-person viewpoint (FPV) technology, are increasingly being deployed effectively on the battlefield in lieu of manned aircraft or missiles, which are more expensive by several orders of magnitude. However, one problem with these unmanned aircraft is the ease with which the enemy can jam their radio signals, causing them to miss their targets or crash.<\/p>\n

A Los Angeles-based start-up electronics company is working to develop solutions to this problem, offering anti-jamming technology for use by Ukraine and allied nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was initially unexpected, but there\u2019s been just an incredible amount of innovation and creative uses of drones in the war,\u201d Amol Parikh, co-CEO of Doodle Labs<\/a>, said in an interview with DroneLife.<\/p>\n

Parikh said that in recent months the company has been focused on supporting many drone manufacturers \u2013 including those based in Ukraine, as well as those of allied nations such as PDW<\/a>, an American company, and UK-based Evolve Dynamics<\/a> — by supplying them with anti-jamming technology for their various categories and sizes of drones used in combat.<\/p>\n

\"anti-jamming
Evolve Dynamics’ SKY MANTIS 2 platform, one of the (non-FPV) drones already using Doodle Labs\u2019 anti-jamming radio technology in Ukraine. (Image credit: ENDSTATE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He cited the company\u2019s recent introduction of Sense, a new feature for Doodle Lab\u2019s multi-band Mesh Rider Radios \u201cthat addresses the challenges of interference for long-range, mission-critical robotics and connected teams\u2019 applications for a more resilient datalink,\u201d according to a company statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis anti-jamming capability of Sense has been something that’s really been useful and effective in those environments,\u201d Parikh said. \u201cCommercially available drones that don’t use any special type of data links like ours operate in Standard Wi-Fi frequency bands, which are known and very easily jammed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"anti-jamming
Doodle Labs\u2019 11n Transceiver that \u2013 when paired with Doodle Labs\u2019 anti-jamming capability, \u201cSense\u201d \u2013 makes up the “Nimble” solution that the company is developing specifically to support FPV drones for Ukraine. (Image credit: Doodle Labs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Doodle Labs\u2019 mini Mesh Rider Radio, which is already being used by drone makers such as UKRSPECSYSTEMS and Evolve Dynamics in (non-FPV) drones for Ukraine. (Image credit: Doodle Labs)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The same is true of FPV drones, some of which are built from scratch. Although they have proven to be surprising effective weapons on the battlefield and can be produced at a very low cost \u2013 making them expendable compared with much more expensive weapons \u2013 they contain a major flaw. They are typically flown using RC controllers, which transmit signals on a well-known bandwidth and are therefore very easy to jam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey represent an opportunity because instead of tens of thousands of dollars per drone, you’re now talking in terms of hundreds of dollars, and so they significantly represent a different type or class of drone,\u201d Parikh said.<\/p>\n

For these UAVs, Doodle Labs has developed a Sense solution that provides the drones with frequency agility, the ability of a radio system to quickly shift its operating frequency. This technology\u00a0makes the FPV drones\u2019 RC controllers more robust and capable of overcoming jamming attempts, while still remaining at a low price point.<\/p>\n

DIU approved equipment<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

With headquarters in the U.S. and manufacturing facilities in Singapore, Doodle Labs has developed its radio technology under the sponsorship the U.S. Army\u2019s Defense Innovation Unit, which focuses on accelerating the adoption of commercial technology for use by the U.S. Armed Forces at speed and scale. The company has worked in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and NASA to develop secure radio communication technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are part of the Blue UAS system, and you’ll see that our radios are listed on the component list. We have several platforms that we’ve supported join the cleared list,\u201d Parikh said.<\/p>\n

Doodle Labs was launched in 2008 as a spin-off of smartBridges, a Wi-Fi technology company. The company\u2019s early focus was on developing integrated wireless solutions for the emerging robotics industry. It built its core technology on top of smartBridges\u2019 long-range wireless intellectual property with its proprietary frequency-shifting capabilities.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s history of development in the commercial space allowed it to nimbly shift its focus into the defense sector, which puts a high priority on compliance with existing regulations, Parikh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our unlicensed radios are FCC-certified. We follow those rules very strictly,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we have really great, high-performing, low-cost options on the defense side in the federal frequency bands, while adding in that robustness.\u201d<\/p>\n

A key to Doodle Labs commercial success has been relaying on proven existing technology as the basis for developing its products rather than building everything from scratch. Parikh said this philosophy is a result of a strategic decision the company\u2019s technical team made in its early days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe build off of Qualcomm chipsets. And so actually the way that we achieve our various frequency configurations is we start with a Wi Fi chipset at 2.4 GHz usually, and then we frequency shift it over to our other frequency bands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Doodle Labs continues to work closely with Qualcomm, and shares feedback about its chips with the giant semiconductor and software company. This relationship helps Doodle Labs to make improvements to its product by building off of established commercial standards. A further benefit is that small-sized Doodle Labs is able to produce lower priced products by leveraging existing technology, while its competitors, including corporations, whose value can run into the billions-of-dollars level, invest millions on research and development to come up with new technology.<\/p>\n

Dual-use company<\/strong><\/p>\n

Parikh said despite Doodle Labs\u2019 recent focus on the defense sector, the company also maintains a robust commercial business side, developing drone communication technologies for surveying, mapping and warehouse operation, as well as for robotics companies, including for use in quadrupeds such as Boston Dynamics\u2019 dog-like robot Spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say we truly operate in the dual-use category,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are advancements and unique use cases and high potential to scale on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, he again cited the company\u2019s Sense feature, which offers frequency agility to add anti-jamming capability on the battlefield.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the commercial side, it works just as well, but the interference is coming through passively from a lot of Wi-Fi devices or things like that in an urban environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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