Solinnov and C4 EDGE demonstrate sovereign mesh radio

Software defined radio technology company Solinnov has successfully demonstrated the mesh capability of its BlueBottle multi-mission software-defined radio, capable of RF signal detection and countermeasure generation.

Solinnov, part of the C4EDGE consortium of 20 Australian SMEs, showed its BlueM infrastructureless network and demonstrated a Blue Force Tracking scenario and the geolocation of emitters at an event held at Para Hills in Adelaide (pictured).

C4EDGE is contracted by the army to develop a sovereign Battlegroup and Below Battlefield Command System prototype.

The demonstration was watched by representatives from Army Headquarters, the Defence Science and Technology Group, electronic warfare company DEWC, and fellow C4 EDGE partners Shoal Group and Acacia Systems.

Traditionally, cellular 4G would be used for networking to demonstrate geolocation capability for the armed force, but that has limitations as the infrastructure is not always readily available.

A BlueM network is a self-forming and self-healing network made up of BlueBottle radios, each one integrated with a transmit-receive module and an antenna, using Solinnov’s Halite orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing waveform.

Solinnov CEO Sanka Piyaratna said: “We built the prototype BlueM network with help from the C4 EDGE program within the space of a year.

“We were able to demonstrate the sovereign capability in building such networks from the first principles and in an agile manner.

“We need to think bigger as a country, we have smart people and a very good education system – if we think big, we can create world-leading Defence technologies for Australia and our allies.”

EOS Defence Systems (Australia) CEO Matt Jones said Solinnov’s ability to design and implement their Halite waveform offering infrastructureless mesh radio communications system dispelled myths around Australian industry.

“We expect this technological innovation, successfully demonstrated by Solinnov in SA, to be just the first of many technology spin-offs of the ground-breaking C4 EDGE program, sponsored by the Australian Army,” Jones said.

Solinnov plans to continue to enhance the network to be immune to electronic warfare, making it harder to detect, geolocate and jam.

There are also plans to extend the capability to become an adaptive radio that optimises to the operating environment.

Solinnov recently secured a $1.4 million contract with the Defence Innovation Hub to develop a portable radio frequency monitoring solution through the development of machine learning technology to identify, classify and locate radio frequency emitters in complex operating environments.

Picture: Solinnov

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