SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Advancements and affordability of drones to broadcast high definition (HD) surveillance has become ubiquitous. However, current communication methods for transmitting from the small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) is both limited and vulnerable by using traditional radio frequencies (RF). The progression of HD video cameras has far exceeded the bandwidth in which they transmit regardless of which RF band being used thus requiring extreme compression techniques limiting the quality and range for tactical uses. Additionally, enemy small RF controlled UAS attacks and observations are increasing. Existing UAS detection and localization capabilities are mostly based of the manipulation of the RF for jamming and spoofing of the cellular, WiFi, or GPS signals. These counter techniques are broad based affecting a large area of the sky, including our own UAS devices. Torrey Pines Logic, Inc. (TPL) proposes to develop a drone communication link that is not susceptible to jamming, data limits, and distance constraints. LightSpeed is a free-space optical communication system that can provide secure communications when there is a line of sight between the platforms that are communicating. This solution will work in conditions where RF is congested, denied (jamming), unavailable (over-saturation), or interfered with by other RF systems.
