2. Team Guardian
Affordable and portable drone protection
Number of Consumers Spoken to: 10
Total Number of Consumers Spoken to: 20
Protection against emerging asymmetric threat of commercial off-the-shelve (COTS) UAS.
Solution will be able to counter drones regardless of their type control or specifications. Sponsor
should care because COTS drones pose a threat that is currently not understood and no
countermeasures are in operation.
Alon KipnisFabian Schvartzman Han Ye Markus Diehl
Communication / Computer
Science / Veteran
Product / Veteran /
Chemistry
Embedded systems /
Electrical Engineering
Systems
Engineering /
Mechatronics
Project: Countering Asymmetric Drone Activities
Sponsor: U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG)
Military Liaisons: John Cogbill and Scott Maytan
3. Guardian: Customer Discovery
Hypothesis:
• Existing products sufficiently solve the problem
Experiments:
• Discuss top three scenarios with sponsors and military liaisons (-> customer workflow)
• Discuss existing products with sponsors, mentors and other partners
Results:
• Description of top three scenarios
• Solution can be fixed to a facility or vehicle or can be mobile (carried by a human)
• More applications, therefore bigger market for protection of fixed assets
• No solution concept for swarms of drones of exists
• High level of automation is desired, solution should not require extensive training
• Range < 400m is not sufficient
• Radiofrequency or GNSS jamming only provides limited solution
• Simple device that requires little training is desired
Action:
• Focus on fixed solution (scenario: forward operating base)
• Test hunter drone as solution (MVP)
• Develop requirement for activities (customer workflow)
4. Guardian: Mission Model Canvas
Requirements
Engineering
- Define top three
scenarios of deployment
- Define performance
limitations of current
systems
- Functional structure
System design
- System and
components engineering
- U.S. Army Asymmetric
Warfare Group
- Ground forces
- DIUX
- Depending on solution:
and counter measures
- Commercial drone
manufacturers (e.g. DJI)
- Suppliers of Do-it-
yourself drone kits
-FAA
-FCC
- Other agencies working
on the same problem
- Primary: U.S. Army
Asymmetric Warfare
Group (budget, capability)
- Secondary: Ground
forces operating within
approximately 20 miles of
adversaries (reach of
today’s commercial
drones)
Countering Drone
Threat:
- Understand specific
requirements of AWG
- Effective countering
regardless of specific
drone
- Provide modular
solution to deescalate the
situation proportionally to
the threat (sequential)
- Gain intelligence while
mitigating thread
- Scalability for swarms
- Low training need, easy
to use
- affordable
- portability
- Provide proof of concept
- Pilot project with one
forward operating base
(FOB)
Fixed:
- System design & engineering
Variable
- Purchase drones for testing
- Access to relevant
ground forces to define
relevant scenarios
- U.S. Army Asymmetric
Warfare Group to define
relevant set of capabilities
- Other agencies working
on the same problem
- Hardware to test
- Need buy-in from U.S.
Army Asymmetric Warfare
Group
- Need implementation by
ground forces
Beneficiaries
Mission AchievementMission Budget/Costs
Buy-In/Support
Deployment
Value PropositionKey Activities
Key Resources
Key Partners
5. Guardian: Value Proposition Canvas
Products
& Services
Counter drone
measure for FOB or
vehicle-mounted
- New capability countering
emerging threat
Customer
Jobs
Create capabilities
for Army- Incomplete protection with
existing solutions
- Non-flexible and only partially
portable solutions, so protection
only for camps
- No identification of
payload/threat level
U.S. Asymmetric Warfare Group
Gains
Pains
Gain
Creators
Pain
Relievers
- Adequate solution to emerging
asymmetric threat
- Portable and flexible protection
- Emerging threat is better
understood
- Emerging threat is
mitigated
6. Guardian: Value Proposition Canvas
Products
& Services
Counter drone
measure for FOB or
vehicle-mounted
- Modular and sequential
approach
- Gain intelligence while
countering
Customer
Jobs
Execute mission
- Distraction from mission
- Threat
- Complex, manual solutions
Ground forces
Gains
Pains
Gain
Creators
Pain
Relievers
- Gain intelligence for mission
- Ability to focus on mission goals
- Reduce mission irritation
from drones
- Mitigate threat
- Minimal training, easy to
use
7. Customer workflow
Detection and Identification
Decision to
Engage
Plan engagement
Perform
engagement
Assess
engagement
Success?
Yes
No
According to activity customer workflow (activity diagram)
global requirements can be broken down more granularly
End operation
Scope of
solution
8. Minimum viable product
Drone defender Raptor birds Defense contractors Skywall
• Range < 400m
• Can’t protect
larger facilities
• Trained personnel
required
• Not easy to use
• Still to heavy to be
included in squad
as a mobile
solution
• Species-
appropriate
treatment can’t be
entertained at
military base
• Radiofrequency
jamming as well
as GNSS jamming
and spoofing are
limiting solutions
• Future navigation
concepts like
dynamic
autonomous
navigation using
imagery
information from
camera will not be
affected
• Even lower range
than drone
defender
• Can’t protect
larger facilities
• Trained personnel
required
• Not easy to use
• Still to heavy to be
included in squad
as a mobile
solution
Hypothesis: Problem is sufficiently solved by existing technology
Learnings: Shortcomings of existing technology