Small Businesses to Prototype Edge Devices, Radio Tech Under Army SBIR Contracts

Five companies have secured 18-month grants from the U.S. Army to continue developing prototypes of mission critical technologies as part of the second phase of the Small Business Innovation Research Program.

The service branch said Thursday it awarded up to $1.7 million to each SBIR participant to support the transition of artificial intelligence and machine learning, electronic warfare and network technology concepts to prototypes.

The following are the awardees with their respective projects:

• Aptima, “Federated Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Collection Management Using Machine Learning”
• Aspen Consulting Group, “Radio Direction Finding Obfuscation”
• Intelligent Fusion Technology, “Distributed Coded Computing for Content Management at the Tactical Edge”
• Perceptronics Solutions, “C4ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards-based Common Data Link Radio Transceiver”
• MZA Associates, “Environmentally Adaptive Free-Space Optical Communication”

Commenting on the development of edge devices and radio prototypes, William Leonard, acquisition support lead at the Army Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical, welcomed the progression of the two initiatives to the second phase. He said both are needed to modernize the Army’s network and multi-domain operation plans.