Public:Press Release/Podcast Draft AR-powered Tactical Situational Awareness

AR-powered Tactical Situational Awareness

Intro

Hi. Our guest today is Basil Boluk, CTO at the defense startup Furtherium

Hi, thanks for inviting me.

What do you do, briefly?

ARHUDFM - Augmented Reality Head-Up Display Fullface Mask is a wearable electronic device for the military.

It's very brief. But it's not a military secret, is it?

Not yet.

A little more detail then, what is it?

A mask or even a half helmet for the head that is compatible with a ballistic helmet. It is a device for full situational awareness, multi-channel communications, navigation. Includes ballistic calculation and fire assistant, mission task management, multi-domain tactical operations, RF management, detection and recognition, and control of other electronic devices, including for user health monitoring, emergency medical care under fire, and automatic resuscitation on the move.
I forgot to add - with artificial intelligence. This is not a hype, it is a functional characteristic.

Problems & Solutions

This sounds interesting. I'd like to ask for an explanation of what "situational awareness", "fire assistant" and "multi-domain operations" are.

Yes, of course. Situational awareness in a broad sense is not very clear, I agree. I can list a few of the most common situations, in first person, it's more natural that way.
For example, I want to move in a certain direction or attack. Are there enemy forces or friendly forces or civilians there?
If there is an enemy nearby. What is its size, armament and tactical mission?
If there are friendly forces nearby. Do they know about me? Would it occur to them to open fire in my direction?
I want to have a near 360° view without turning my head.
I want to see around corners or obstacles without putting myself at risk.
I'm already moving and I want to be aware of ambushes, mine barriers, and friendly force positions in advance to prevent friendly fire.
I want to see beyond human vision day and night, inside an unlit room, through fog and smoke, through a concrete wall or earthen shelter.
I want to hear beyond the limits of human hearing, over long distances, distinguishing between sounds of nature and sounds made by humans or technology.
I want to know exactly from what direction and at what range the fire is coming from, including the use of a silencer, and from what caliber. Can I hit the target with return fire?
I want to know exactly from which direction the drone or robot is approaching, at what distance from me.
I want to know in advance the exact true position of an enemy sniper or artillery fire adjuster.
I want to know exactly from what direction the artillery or mortar fire is coming from, am I in the likely kill zone?
I want to know immediately about enemy radar exposure.
I need to move to a shelter immediately. Where exactly and how do I do that?
I want to know what tactics I should take in this particular situation.
I want to know with pinpoint accuracy when and which friendly forces passed a given route of my movement.
I want to know immediately which of several targets I should hit first.
I want to know exactly what point of aim I should align the scope with to hit the target from the first shot, especially on the move and at long distances. Or if it is an aerial target.
I want to know exactly my position on the map even when GPS signals are distorted.
I want to send a message or data and be sure the enemy can't detect me.
I want the enemy to be unable to detect my position by tracking the takeoff and landing trajectory of my drone.
Fire assistant means a ballistic calculator using 20 parameters, selecting target priorities for all team members, preventing crossfire, and assisting with aiming.
Multi-domain operations means synchronizing intelligence, movement, and fire safely with each other, effectively distributing targets and other tactical tasks among infantry, armor, artillery, fleet, attack drones, helicopters and fast air, combat engineers, ground and airborne electronic warfare assets. In addition, synchronizing combat logistics, evacuation, casualty evacuation, and medical care tasks under fire.

That's not fantastic, is it?

It's a reality. These are innovative requests from defense departments in many countries. All of them are based on the current state of the art. Going to the Moon and Mars is also possible, but our technology is much more modest and within the capabilities of a startup like Furtherium.

I actually got a little creeped out. So it's all known in advance, seen and heard from miles away. No element of surprise?

That's the whole point. Such technologies are only available to progressive states. And moreover, they should be available only to states with a democratic system, not to dictators or terrorists. The latter should have no hope of winning. This is our philosophy. We believe that peace is possible if there is a great military and technological superiority of those who are able to guarantee it.

What does artificial intelligence have to do with it?

He helps to do things that are beyond human capability.

For example.

We and other researchers and developers divide AI involvement in our functions into 4 parts: machine perception, machine analysis, machine attention, and machine memory. In total, about 26 functions and services use AI for their tasks.

Idea appearance

Tell us when and why you took up the idea?

Around 2016, when Augmented Reality was not yet mainstream we thought about the idea of a wearable device on the head, so that the user could use augmented reality for online fitness with a remote trainer. This was a few years before Peloton and Microsoft's HoloLens One. As is often the case with an idea, it was raw and the level of tech back then didn't allow for a compact device with good performance and a long lifespan on a single charge. Nevertheless, the concept started to develop in our imagination. A little later, in 2019 even before the Covid, we had already fully immersed ourselves in the project. We took a turn towards a wearable device for firefighters: with stereo camera, thermal imaging camera, lidar, built-in electronic radio headset, voice-to-text transcription, voice assistant for control. A special feature of the device was the hermetically sealed design with breathing mask and integrated drinking system.

So it's a device so firefighters can avoid breathing smoke and hydrate normally while on the job?

That's exactly right. If you know, firefighters have bottled air with a mask, but they use it intermittently, only when they enter an unbreathable environment. It's a 40-minute supply, tops. And when they're standing around or during landscape firebreaks, they're breathing carbon monoxide and inhaling a lot more harmful combustion products. Plus the hot air burns the nasopharynx and bronchi. Hence the very high rate of cancer among firefighters.

What did you suggest?

The ability to use the mask at all times to protect your face and respiratory system at all times. To make it easy to breathe, we have developed integrated two filters with very little resistance to air flow. So little that the person does not notice any discomfort even with very intense exertion and frequent breathing.

So what, this filter can protect against carbon monoxide, other gases and soot?

Positive. The filter has several stages of purification, including an efficient pre-filter, specially treated activated carbon and a ULPA-15 pleated membrane. Everything works very productively together. There are tons of examples of this composition, it's not a know-how. I would like to add that in addition to large and medium-sized particles, the filter traps small and extremely small particles such as bacteria and viruses. This is where the forces of attraction at the atomic level are at work.

Background

Where did you get this knowledge from? Perhaps it's your academic background?

I graduated from a physics and math school. Physics is one of my main hobbies. Electronics and algorithms of embedded systems, robotics. Although I graduated from university with an MBA and then worked in finance and business for many years, in the last 15 years I have received additional education in the field of mechanical, electronics, and optical engineering, and devoted a lot of time to various engineering and software projects.

And now?

I left performance online marketing in 2019 and we created the startup Furtherium in Germany. Since then, my partner and I have been fully immersed in this project. In 2021, we also founded a company in California.

In Germany? Why there?

I was born in Kazakhstan, an industrial city with many mines, metallurgical and chemical industry, heavy engineering. Kazakhstan is a small country from the former USSR, with the population of Ecuador or the Netherlands, is next to China and Russia. In 2017 we moved with my spouse to Germany.

Who's on your team right now?

Me and my cofounder is Tess. She is a software developer and architect. Previously she worked in the field of audio codecs and sound patterns at the Fraunhofer Institute, after that at an automotive group, in the field of unmanned control and driver assistance systems using Artificial Intelligence.

Hypotheses proving

Sounds good, but back to your project. Face and respiratory protection for firefighters is definitely an important idea. How did you test your hypothesis about the problems being addressed and the proposed solution?

I would like to add that firefighters have other problems along with this one. For example, they need effective communication. Nowadays a portable wearable radio is used mainly by 2 people from a team consisting, as a rule, of 4-5 people. On fires work from 2-3 to 10 or more teams at the same time. And communication is necessary for all and in such a way that conversations do not interfere with each other, and the quality of communication was ideal. In addition, we need additional vision capabilities in the dark, in smoke and soot. Then, the problem of navigation, so that firefighters can easily navigate in unfamiliar terrain and indoors where they have never been. Hearing protection, that's important too. Usually when fighting fires there is a lot of machinery working, it's very loud.

How did fire departments take your idea?

Overall positive. We sent out several hundred letters to fire departments mostly in California and here in Germany, as well as many volunteer fire stations. There were questions, we answered them. But there wasn't a strong desire to do it.

Why?

The fire community is a very conservative environment. Innovations penetrate there very slowly. And the procurement system based on tenders mainly involves lots of equipment that has been in use for decades. The firefighters themselves do not make any decisions by and large; this is handled by the supervisory board, which approves budgets. They just use what they are provided and buy. They are often short on traditional tools and equipment. They hardly ever think about innovation. I think starting with this target audience for such an innovation as we are proposing was not the right thing to do. Firefighters in the chain of innovation will be after the military, police and security forces, after medicine.

Is that why you chose to focus on the problems of the military and security forces?

Exactly. While the product and technology is designed for a wide range of dual-use applications, mostly civilian emergency services, the chain of innovation starts with the military.

But the military is conservative too, right?

I disagree. The military, especially in the US, is in search of innovation all the time. Names like DARPA, Defense Innovation Unit, Cyber Innovation Hub der Bundeswehr, SBIR and others probably tell you something. Every department of defense, Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Forces, each has multiple agencies, research projects, test sites. We get innovation requests from different platforms every week. We've had several interviews with DARPA, DIU, Planungsamt der Bundeswehr, CIH der Bundeswehr, as well as Lockheed Martin. There is interest and we are building and expanding collaborations with them.

What are they telling you?

Mostly they ask questions, sometimes they give useful recommendations. We are expanding our collaboration, we have a private online community for discussions, where we invite interested military experts, scientists, angel investors and corporate partners. Very specific substantive questions are asked. For example, how well the device meets approved military standards for dust and moisture protection, shielding from electric and electromagnetic fields, and neutron radiation. What is the mass and torque for extended wear on the head? What is the battery life and how is the power consumption optimized? How is the integration with other systems and platforms realized, such as ATAK-MIL for navigation or future Battlefield Management System platforms like TITAN? How is the user protected from detection by electronic intelligence forces? What is the performance of the CPU and how many other chips are used, for what tasks? And of course, lots of questions about software features and interfaces.

Features

Do you have a prototype or MVP?

At the moment we have the engineering CAD model and housing, computing and projection modules, sensors and multimedia components, as well as the specification of all other components and modules. The graphical and voice interface has been developed, and descriptions of most of the software functions have been made. We are still working on the prototype, all necessary components and materials are available in our lab. Perhaps with the exception of the equipment for vacuum magnetron sputtering.

Are there any technical engineering tasks that you are unable to do on your own?

I would divide all tasks into several parts: mechanical design, optical design, electronic design, software and production organization. We plan to do all the development tasks ourselves. After testing on the test site and pilot implementation, we intend to set up production with robotic assembly processes. We have a wide range of component suppliers from the USA, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. But we intend to create and produce the product ourselves.
The mechanical design has been ready for a long time and adapted for all electronic components and modules according to military standards.

So you can show something you can put on your head?

Yes, but it is not of interest to experts. Although, of course, we have been thinking about usability for a long time, so that a person could wear the device not for 2-4 hours, like Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest 3, HTC Vive Pro 2 or Microsoft HoloLens II (IVAS), but for 24 or even 72 hours. That is, every day for the entire time while awake. This is not an easy task. After all, the pressure on the soft tissues creates discomfort. In addition, the human skin sweats, and the lenses can also fog up when the temperature contrasts. I have already mentioned the breathing resistance, although the lower part of the mask is optional and some users will not need it.

To whom for example?

For example, those who are on a military base or indoors, military logisticians who have no need for respiratory and face protection, and who have no need to be invisible to thermal imaging detection or to isolate speech from others.
Although, I was thinking, if, for example, in an operations room or a command center, several people are talking to their voice assistant at the same time, the noise will disturb everyone else. So, perhaps, speech isolation would be necessary for almost everyone.

Isolation of speech? I wouldn't have thought of that beforehand.

Units that are in contested or enemy territory need it. Fire teams, force reconnaissance, snipers. Also, those who work in high noise environments, which are artillery, mortars, small arms units, air defense, armored vehicle crews, helicopter crews, air and sea landing craft, aircraft carrier flight deck crews, military engineers, and even military medics. I would add drone operators and electronic warfare specialists.

Why would drone operators want to isolate their speech?

First, the world has crossed the line and has already entered the so-called drone and robot era. This means that almost everyone will be using drones and robots in their tactical missions. I want to emphasize - everyone. Drones and robots can now weigh as little as a few ounces and are very useful for situational awareness on the battlefield. And to control them effectively, joysticks and buttons are no longer enough, although we have provided built-in hand controls on the mask body. In our concept, the drone and robot controllers are controlled by artificial intelligence based on machine learning, and they, in turn, are controlled by a human using voice commands in natural language. One user will be able to control up to 4 drones and robots of different types simultaneously. Anyone will be able to do this, no complex training will be required. Voice control should be fast and should not be interfered with the surrounding noise and voices of other team members.

Are we talking about drones that fly?

All types. We are developing a universal controller. There are several possibilities: rotor and dragonfly-type moving wings, fixed-wing drones, wheeled and tracked robots, crawling robots, surface and underwater marine robots, remote-controlled firing turrets on robots, armored vehicles, ships, fixed remote military posts like in Israel, and remote-controlled vehicles, demining vehicles and remote-controlled helicopters.

Okay, what's the purpose of speech isolation for electronic warfare specialists?

The situation here is also similar. If before it was special units within a company, battalion or regiment, today every soldier in the area of combat contact, and even more so when performing tactical tasks behind the front line in enemy territory, should be a specialist in electronic reconnaissance. What I mean by this. First of all, it is the analysis and recognition of carriers of the radio frequency spectrum, which are used by the enemy for communication, control of drones and robots, bearing of the radio signal source, artillery radars of counter-battery warfare. Or passive radar used by the user himself. This process is automated and the user, using software applications, does not have to be an expert. Artificial Intelligence independently analyzes the 3D spectrogram and waterfall to detect and identify patterns indicating likely threats. That is, in the future, any electronic warfare specialist will use AI, which means their prompts or commands will be carried out by voice. Hence the need for speech isolation.

It turns out that the users of your device also use radio frequencies. How exactly do you plan to protect them from being detected by the enemy? They may also be using some kind of technology.

The system has several levels of control over the radiated radio frequency spectrum. In a nutshell, there is a radio silence mode, a mode of controlling the direction and power of the radio signal, and a mode of using the transceiver as an intermediate point for data exchange.
The peculiarity of radio transmission and reception is the use of programmatically formed radio wave beams with the desired modulation at hopping frequencies. Interception is possible if the enemy is only in the area of this beam and has the ability to analyze a wide spectrum at the same time. This is unlikely. After all, the connection points are in motion almost continuously.
Thus, it becomes impossible to detect the user by radio signal.

You said "passive radar" earlier. Is that something new?

Not really. Passive radar technology has been known for a very long time. Many researchers are working in this direction. To summarize, it is a special case of multistatic radar, where the source of a powerful probing radio signal and the receiver, or many receivers of the reflected radio signal, are located at different points in space. The probing source can be picked up by the enemy, the receiver cannot. Users have only a receiver with a software-defined phased array antenna. Powerful ground and airborne pulse antennas as well as powerful civilian broadcasting antennas are used as the sounding source.
What information does this provide? Depending on frequency and other capabilities, signatures of several inches or more can be detected and identified. So, for example, at distances of hundreds or thousands of yards, metal objects can be detected behind a non-metallic obstacle, including a rifle, a machine gun, a vehicle, an artillery gun and artillery shell in flight, a mortar and mortar shell in flight, vehicles, bodies of water or vice versa, objects on the surface of water, and people. After all, people are 70% water.

Let's go back to the other engineering challenges you mentioned.

Optical design. The thing about compact devices is that you can't use fast optics like you can on helicopters and ships. Or even as in cameras and camcorders with interchangeable lenses. The diameter of the lenses is small, like in a smartphone. If you know, smartphone manufacturers are also working on this problem and in general we are not pioneers here, although there are differences.
We use a stereo camera with two sensors without an IR light filter, which also works in the near-infrared spectrum. The military doesn't need colorful color images, it's more important for them to see at night, through fog, smoke and partially through clothing. It is also important for them to clearly distinguish objects on the surface of water and a number of other features of near-infrared vision.
Additionally we use a sensor in the long infrared range, so-called thermal imaging vision, to distinguish objects that emit heat, people, their footprints, machinery, heat traces of missiles, etc.
To zoom in on distant objects, you need a lens with a variable focal length, as digital zoom creates a lot of noise and is limited by the resolution of the sensor. Optical design of micro lenses is one of the directions of our work. Samsung has interesting solutions today, and we are doing something similar.

And how is the camera image seen by a human being?

Yes, these are also optical design tasks. The light streams to the camera sensors, and we have four of them. Three front cameras, as I mentioned earlier, and one rear camera so that the user can see what's going on behind. The digital signal is processed, in some cases, such as for night vision in ultra-faint starlight, Computer Vision is used and a synthetic mesh map with animated objects is formed. We found something similar to our solution recently from Mercedes Benz in their new driver assistance system. The processed video or synthetic video, or even mixed video with a latency of less than 12ms is further projected from inside through a light guide onto the user's visor screen, rather than using holographic optics or AMOLED screens as other AR gadget makers do.

Why is that?

AMOLED screen is not transparent. There are examples of transparent TVs for the price of more than 100 thousand. This technology is very expensive.
Holographic optics with different depth of field that does not match the real sense of distance to the object creates human discomfort and often causes nausea, or seasickness if you like. But the main disadvantage for military use, is the illumination inside the lens that is visible from the outside. This demasculates the user.

Yes, but the projector light in your technology should also be visible?

No, you can't see anything from the outside, not even the reflected light from your face. Because we use a total reflection effect and an additional highly reflective layer of visor coating. I'm not going to talk about all the details right now. The information is on our wiki.

Ok, how will I see the image if I'm looking at the sun or just something brightly lit? I have a projector at home and in my office, I need to darken the room to see normally. What's your experience with this?

We use 58 dielectrically separated screen sections using carbon nanotube composite films with switchable transparency, which, when an electrical potential is applied, will cause full or partial dimming to better reproduce a full color image. We call them Fading Pads.

You mean not like Apple Vision Pro?

Absolutely. The Apple Vision Pro is not an AR device, it's a VR headset. The user doesn't see the real world through the visor, they look at a high-definition screen. This technology is not suitable for the military, you know.
We give the user the choice of how many screens to use simultaneously. A maximum of 10 large screens, each roughly comparable to the size of modern smartphones. Plus narrow additional menus and notifications. Each of the 58 screen areas is independently enabled and has independent dimming settings. This is suitable if the user is inside an armored vehicle, indoors or is not moving and there are no threat sources or moving objects nearby.
I think most users will be comfortable using 4-5 screens at the same time all the time. And it will not reduce the visual view by more than half. All important visual information in the center and on the sides in the peripheral vision zone will be available.

What if I wear glasses or it's very bright outside, in the mountains, in the desert?

The same Fading Pads work as sunglasses. In addition, the visor has several coatings on the outer lens, anti-UV, anti-reflective coating, anti-scratch coating. IR filter coating is also used, which protects against IR laser detector radiation. Such devices are used by the military to detect optical sights, binoculars, night vision goggles, rangefinders, camera lenses, electro-optical and infrared sensors.
Conventional diopter lenses that correct vision. There are no restrictions here. The user can use them as usual, it is provided in the design. I would only recommend using larger glasses, because the field of view of the device is large, especially horizontally.

Interesting. How are the electronics in your device organized?

The electronics design at the prototyping stage is different from the design stage, where we envision using Intel Core i7 14th Gen CPU along with a Neuromorphic Processor Unit with state-of-the-art architecture to enable local and efficient use of Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Computer Audition, neural networks up to 100 layers, small language model and recognition from downloaded datasets directly on the device. For electronic module design, we are currently developing a compact motherboard and separate modules for Software Defined Radio and Software Defined Antenna based on FPGA chips.

So you have one processor? Would that be enough in your opinion?

20 CPU cores and 28 CPU threads, clock speeds up to 5.6 GHz, fast multi-channel RAM, multi-level caching, fast interface, 32 GPU cores, plus up to 128 NPU cores - the likes of which are not found in most powerful computers, much less in wearable devices. In addition, some computing power is taken up by FPGA chips for RF functions to improve overall performance and reduce power consumption.

What about power consumption and battery life?

Tests will be needed to say for sure. Right now we estimate the operating capacity at 320 watt-hours. This is roughly equal to 6 hours of heavy use. The optional powerbank boosts usage to 30 hours of heavy use and up to 72 hours in smart power saving mode.
The Powerbank also powers the optional defibrillator and the air pumps in the ventilator filters.

Did I mishear? Defibrillator and airway ventilation?

The "Vitals Body Sensors & First Aid" function group includes three functions: Users Health Monitoring, Care Under Fire and Resuscitation on the Move
The first is a suite of sensors embedded in optional arm and leg cuffs, mask obturator, drinking system, video cameras that capture pupil position and status, and an elastic vest. These sensors monitor nine parameters including ECG, blood pressure and saturation, respiratory rate and Glasgow test. This data is enough to detect changes in vital signs in a training or combat environment, notify commanders and call for evacuation.
Care Under Fire, directly under the control of the first monitoring system, can immediately stop acute limb bleeding at various levels and start infusion therapy before help arrives. If fibrillation occurs, an automatic defibrillator can be started. In Germany, for example, the latter is available at every subway station.
Resuscitation on the Move provides breathing assistance not only in unconsciousness, but also in shock, in lung contusion and during intense exertion, in parachuting and in the rarefied atmosphere of mountainous terrain. Together with the already mentioned defibrillator and infusion therapy system, this allows for the successful evacuation of a wounded or critically ill soldier, which at the same time with waiting time can be from two to eight hours.

What's the status of the software functionality?

After the next round of funding, we will split the backlog into 4 teams:
One - RF functions, networks, and controllers
Second - sensor management, interfaces, navigation, integrations and DevOps
Third - communications, task management, mission planning, cross-domain collaboration
Fourth - Computer Vision and Audition, Machine Learning and neural networks.

Business Model & Competition

What is the future licensing model for software?

Open Source. There are several reasons for this.
To begin with, since we do not and do not plan to develop all code from start to finish, we use a lot of development from other teams, operating systems, drivers, controllers, Software Defined Radio, and other modules. Accordingly, we do not have the right to restrict the rights of derivative products with commercial licenses.
It's also a requirement of agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense and other countries. So that they, along with the National Security Agency, can have access to the code and test it for vulnerabilities before deployment. They are also interested in access to the add-on development process from other contractors.
But for us, the most important thing is different. We have to continuously improve our product and this gives us a strong motivation to keep going in order to maintain our superiority.

Sounds good. What sets you apart from your competitors? You've already mentioned Apple, Microsoft. Maybe there are others?

Absolutely. Every functional area has someone who solves existing problems. But in a different way. In our view, there are significant differences with some, and with some, there is simply a gulf.
For example, Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Nvidia are not our competitors in principle. So we can breathe out now. That was a joke.
Microsoft has been trying for years to adapt its HoloLens Augmented Reality technology for the military under the name IVAS. But it's not working out. Without going into detail - what they have done was created primarily for the gaming and education industry. It's consumer electronics and it can't meet the requirements of the military. On top of proprietary software and a number of other incompatible reasons.
There are other leaders in the field of communications - L3Harris and Thales, which have been creating different types of communications equipment for decades. But here there is a huge lag behind modern requirements, integration issues, mainly voice communication, and additional devices are needed for data transmission. In our opinion, this equipment no longer meets the current and future needs of the military.
There are some strong companies in the field of passive radar equipment too, Silentium Defense, Patria, Hendsoldt. Their passive radar concepts are not suitable for wearable devices. Northrop Grumman is more focused on powerful active radars. We are interested in integration with them.
In the direction of remote drone detection, Leonardo DRS and Anduril offer their solutions.
RTX Raytheon, QinetiQ, and Metravib Defense have Gunfire Locator developments.
There are strong competitors in the areas of navigation, voice models, RF spectrum analysis and bearing (Radio Direction Finding). We plan to collaborate with some of them. And some of them have worthy alternatives from the Open Source area.
Of the names listed, some are large corporations, some are defense startups. Most of them solve the same problem, but use different technologies and approaches. Most importantly, they are not well integrated and are limited in mobility, i.e. they are not suitable for wearable devices and are expensive to equip everyone.
Overall, we are carefully researching all available information in our area of interest and look to the future with great optimism.

That's impressive. But it must be difficult to compete with the giants of the military-technical industry?

Our advantage, is speed and lack of stereotypes. Large companies with their complex hierarchy slow down over time. Engineers have little freedom to realize their ideas. And managers focus on KPIs instead of searching for and testing new hypotheses.
Here is a typical example. I like to watch videos where enthusiasts disassemble various electronic devices. It's not exactly reverse engineering, but something close. So, I have seen several vlogs where a French engineer-enthusiast disassembles guidance units of unexploded missiles of various types, in another case there were vlogs on disassembling communication equipment and night vision devices. That is, these are products of various large military-technological corporations. And - mostly, which has recently been put into service. What is the peculiarity - outdated component base, insufficiently high characteristics of sensors, outdated principles of electronics design. At first glance, and this is not only my opinion - these are developments of the early 2000s. Probably a lot of time has passed since the development and approval. And I can guess why these solutions cost tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit. Due to years of overhead, plus R&D and promotion.
Startups have a lot of advantages in terms of mobility and speed and solution cost. I think they are 10-15 years ahead of corporations. And only they are capable of offering breakthrough technologies. We often hear about corporations acquiring startups instead of developing their own. Why does this happen? I think it is faster and easier for them. But most importantly, if there is demand, then this proves the superiority of startups in technological development.

Have you considered that penetrating the market for military-technical products is a difficult endeavor?

Not just complicated, but extremely complicated.

Then tell us how you see your strategy.

There are quite a few defense tech startups. There are 307 Military Tech startups in the United States. There are considerably fewer, about 174, in Europe, Canada and Israel. There are 194 Defense Tech startups in India.
We track the dynamics of more than 30 such companies. We learn from their examples. Some of them have long since become unicorns.
However, we are planning to build collaborations with some long-standing leaders in the industry. We are in contact with Lockheed Martin, but we are not ruling out opportunities with several others, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Palantir, Elbit Systems, Anduril, Rheinmetall, RTX, Bell Textron and a few others. So we plan to move forward with strong distribution partners from the time we prepare for the trials. They are often interested in expanding their ecosystem through exclusivity with developers.

Dare I ask how much your product will cost the customer?

I can share some preliminary estimates.
The base product will sell for $3,600 plus an annual software subscription of $1440. Given the median contract term of military personnel and the average amortization period per user, the Pentagon will spend about $12,500 over the entire useful life per user or $2,340 annual charge-offs. That's very attractive.
In addition to the base product, we have several add-ons in the pipeline. The maximum functional product will cost $14,255 plus an annual subscription of $1440. Including contract term and lifetime amortization $21,213 for the Basic kit ($3,978 annual charge-offs). Maximum functionality is not required for those not directly in combat missions.
However, the cost of comparable obsolete products from other manufacturers, which are less advanced and significantly inferior in functionality, is higher by about 80%. In some cases, individual products cost from $20,000 to $55,000 dollars. I doubt that the defense budget can afford to equip at least one third of the armed forces with equipment exceeding $100 thousand. For a 500,000 man force, that's half the cost of an aircraft carrier, which has to be amortized over 5-6 years. Not realistic. A more detailed comparison is in our Wiki.
That is, the Pentagon, Bundeswehr, or other government agency will be able to get more advanced technology for significantly less money than they do now. That sounds like a good deal to me. Especially together with a strong distribution partner.

Where and how is your product expected to be manufactured?

After successful tests, we are planning a pilot implementation in the US Marine Corps. In parallel, we plan to start production near Munich. A couple of years after that, we plan to increase production by opening a production site in the Western United States.

And what is the geography of supply?

We will be discussing this with our partners. I can say with certainty that these are NATO countries, primarily the USA and Germany. There may be deliveries to Israel, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

I'm curious why the US Marine Corps will get the opportunity to be the first to test your technology?

In our opinion, the U.S. Marines and Special Operations Forces have the most demanding requirements for gear and equipment. We have studied this issue and continue to do so. Our mentors are mostly U.S. Marine Corps veterans and this is no coincidence.

What does your roadmap look like?

We have a Wiki page with a detailed roadmap. This year we plan to complete prototyping and build MVP Alpha. By next fall, we expect to complete MVP Beta and begin testing at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, and Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.
In 2026, we expect to finalize MMP Gamma and begin pilot implementation.
In the same year, we expect an upgrade to MMP Delta and contracts for the delivery of a serialized product.

So the run time before deliveries is about 18-20 months?

It goes something like this.

What about the budget?

We are planning 3 rounds of investment during this time.

Who are your investors?

We received a small grant from IHK München und Oberbayern.
In the priority list of the Pre-Seed round we see mainly angel investors from the USA. It is important to us that our partners include experienced people with backgrounds in defense technology and familiar with the components of the technologies we use. As networking and timely recommendations are more important than money.

What is the sum total of the first round?

$1,750,000.

What kind of team do you plan to hire?

In the R&D phase we will have 10 teams, 8 of them are engineering teams. Taking into account the flexible model and hybrid working scheme, we are planning about 15 Full-Time Equivalents. It is impossible to say now how many people will be involved in the end.
Today there are two of us and we share all tasks between us.
We are also grateful to our mentors, who are also experienced engineers and researchers.

Something amazing

This is epic! I'm certainly surprised. Is there anything else you'd like to surprise me with?

We can. But if I may first have a few facts.
The U.S. military wasted approximately 250,000 rounds of ammunition and about 60 more artillery shells for every hostile insurgent destroyed. Our Fire Assistant technology will enable AI to capture and track multiple targets simultaneously, distribute targets within a team, and assist in targeting. With its help, combat units will operate at lightning speed. One shot, one target.
Non-combat losses in modern armed conflicts range from 20% to 40%. These are mostly losses from friendly fire and disease. The Identification Friend-or-Foe feature will make friendly fire incidents a thing of the past. Health monitoring of users will allow to detect abnormalities and seek medical help in time.
Between 50% and 70% of lethal and up to 40% of non-lethal combat casualties are caused by bullet wounds at firing ranges up to 300 yards. Fire Assistant capabilities will allow effective fire at ranges of 600-900 yards or more, and passive radar, Computer Vision and Audition capabilities, including Gunfire Locator, will prevent enemy forces from stealthily approaching within effective engagement range of our forces. A two or three-times superiority in detection and engagement range will render them helpless.
Between 20% and 40% of lethal and up to 50% of non-lethal combat casualties are caused by fragment wounds. Early warning of artillery or mortar fire gives you a few seconds to get on the ground or move to cover. Early warning of an approaching drone and Fire Assistant capabilities will allow you to destroy the threat in the air at a safe distance.
Between 10% and 15% of lethal and up to 20% of non-lethal combat casualties are caused by mine blast injuries. The features of our device will allow you to safely pass mine barriers.
To this I would like to add the capabilities of very fast multichannel communication, including multi-domain communication, which increases the speed of response to threats and ensures precise strikes against the enemy at any distance with a wide arsenal of means of defeat.
And even when injuries occur, the automatic monitoring system, Care Under Fire and Resuscitation on the Move will immediately prevent the risk of adverse consequences and call for help. In general, it will reduce the number of fatalities and serious conditions.

I think you've dived pretty deep into the problems of tactical operations. Who's helping you? How do you know so much about the current issues and specifics?

As I mentioned, we have experienced mentors from the U.S. Marine Corps and the Bundeswehr. In addition, we have reviewed a large volume of military technical and tactical publications for the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. Along with this, many hours of documentary video from combat zone and training programs, recommendations from military instructors, and expert analysis regularly produced by Marine veterans, Rangers, Special Operations Forces operators, Green Berets, and SEALs.

Why now & Perspectives

What makes you think you've created what the military needs right now?

I'd say the military already wanted this over 10 years ago. But the level of technology has only now made it possible.
Geopolitical tensions will increase in the coming years. This is what experts are sure of. The main sources of this tension are China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Each of the listed regimes is in a crisis phase of weakening economic situation without chances for external investments and has a number of fundamental structural distortions in the economy. This causes the risk of internal tensions that lead to the strengthening of dictatorships and the unleashing of military conflicts to control the behavior of their citizens.
China is increasing its defense budget by 6% to 220 billion. According to unofficial reports, more than 300 billion. The number of navy ships is approaching the number of warships in the US fleet. Experts believe that China is preparing for a protracted conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.
Russia is also increasing its defense budget by an all-time record 70% to 160 billion, which exceeds 30% of all expenditures. Against the backdrop of the dynamics of Russia's growing involvement in military conflicts in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, experts estimate high chances of a direct conflict with NATO if the war in Ukraine is frozen.
India, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have large military spending budgets and are growing.
These are 2024 figures without taking into account hidden and classified spending data. Excluding currency parity to the US dollar.
Defense spending by EU countries has barely reached 200 billion. US spending is close to 900 billion.
Iran is increasing funding for its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.
The U.S. and NATO countries, as well as their allies in Pacific Asia and the Middle East, risk being directly drawn into military conflicts in these regions.
The armies of North and South Korea are roughly equal. China's army is 60% larger than Taiwan's army and 40% larger than the U.S. army. The number of the army of Iran is more than the army of Israel by 70%. The number of the army of Russia is more than the army of the USA, China, in total more than all armies of the European Union. Fifteen countries have armies of millions and 9 of them are concentrated in the Indo-Pacific region. More than 40 million people can potentially be used in conflicts in three places on the planet in the near future.
Russia's threat to destroy satellites in Earth orbit with indiscriminate nuclear weapons would put most space programs on pause due to countless space debris. This would deprive the armed forces of all nations of an important channel of communications, intelligence, and navigation. This threat forces the development of ground and airborne, especially stratospheric, smart radio-frequency navigation, communications, surveillance, detection and recognition. Based on independent mesh peer-to-peer networks and with a large number of viewpoints that are mutually complementary. These are the features I have had time to talk about today.
Experts say the current military security situation foreshadows a more dangerous decade.
Experience and expert assessments show that the stockpiles of high-tech weapons will not be sufficient if the conflict drags on for many months. The parties to the conflict will have to switch to the use of throwing and small arms, to save ammunition, as well as to the use of drones and robots. That is, cheaper and more massive means of warfare. And this means a difficult to manage, difficult to predict, exhausting stage of the conflict. And a large number of possible casualties.
The issue of the number of trained combat-ready forces is even more acute. The speed of their training and retraining of reservists depends on the number of experienced instructors. After deployment, recruits need individualized assistance in complex tactical situations. Training in a synthetic environment, AI and remote mentor assistance, and generalized experience based on best practices can play a significant role here.
Therefore, increased technological superiority is needed in the near future, not only in aviation and missile systems, but also in tactical mission control systems, communications, intelligence, situational awareness, drone control, and means to increase enemy detection and firing distances. As part of small mobile teams on land and sea.

Why do you think your technology will be relevant in the future and how long will it remain relevant?

Modern warfare, as it seemed not so long ago, has ceased to be positional and has become 100% maneuverable. But events in Ukraine and Israel show that positional warfare can still be fought in the 21st century. What are its peculiarities: the emphasis on throwing and reactive artillery, mines and engineering barriers. Our technology, if used extensively in addition to other new technologies, can safely pass mine barriers and maneuver through weak enemy defenses. That is, the goal is to transform imposed positional combat back into more effective maneuver tactics.
Trends in combat tactics include not only the increasing role of drones, but also the growing importance of small, highly mobile units. Infantry and light armored. Against such tactics, it is difficult for an enemy with heavy weapons to defend, much less counterattack. And for him to use such tactics himself will require re-equipment with technologically more advanced means. Technological superiority both earlier and in the future determined the result in combat operations. Speed, accuracy, long ranges, distributed tactical teams, and information gathering and sharing are key factors.

What else do you think will be trending in future combat operations?

I'm sure the concept of the "universal soldier" will become mainstream. Statistics show a decline in recruitment of new recruits in the US and NATO armed forces. Maintaining numbers is becoming more difficult. The average contract term is 4 to 8 years. The level of skill requirements after education and training is unfortunately also decreasing. Especially in the most difficult disciplines, such as sniping, force reconnaissance, electronic intelligence, throwing and rocket artillery.
That is, it becomes important to increase knowledge and training within a limited timeframe. This is best accomplished through the use of synthetic learning and training environments, artificial intelligence from training to mission execution, and best practice analysis in a personalized prompting mode.
I think the intellectual level of the military will become much higher, and the investment in their training, mostly in individual training and development will be greater and more effective.
As before, much attention in the development of military technologies will be paid to the tasks of stealth. In the radio frequency spectrum, visually and audibly. Quiet electric vehicles and robots. In the air, unfortunately, there are more limitations. There will be an emphasis on speed, maneuverability and cost reduction.
There will certainly be more and more use of unmanned vehicles with Artificial Intelligence, drone swarms, robot squads. The World War II tactic called "Wolf Pack" is being revived. But unmanned technology will not be able to diminish the role of the humans who operate it for a long time to come.
Drones will take the sky from pilots, the sea from sailors. People will be left with only land.
Whenever a new warfighting technology emerges, the development of countermeasures is always delayed, both physically and because of slanted thinking. That was the case with tanks, and it will be the case with drones. By and large, infantry today are defenseless against the threat from drones in the air, especially if they are AI-controlled and do not emit an RF signal. Detecting and destroying a drone in the air without specialized means is a difficult task. Especially in the dark.

Will physical ability still play an important role?

Sure. I think the development of bioengineering without compromising health will promote endurance, focus, immunity to illness, lower pain threshold, reduce psychological impact, and prevent the development of PTSD.
Added to this is the active introduction of exoskeletons, which will reduce musculoskeletal strain and fatigue.

I want to thank you for the interesting conversation and wish you good luck.

Thank you.