Expendable Unattended Ground Sensors (E-UGS) – Pathfinder

Description

Expendable Unattended Ground Sensors (E-UGS) – Pathfinder

Why using UGS?

They are expendable, affordable, actionable, and undetectable early warning capability that identifies threat movement patterns, routes, key locations, and intent before the threat can cause damage or inflict harm.

Features

• Low Cost, Expendable Sensors
• Long-Range Detection Reporting
• Extended Battery Life (~8 & 24 months)
• Smart Device Notification
• Intelligent, Machine Learning Algorithms
• Open Architecture

KEY FEATURES

• Human Footstep Detection
• Off-road vehicle detection
• Military grade, combat proven
• Easy to install; covert

Benefits

• Proven world-class capability at an affordable price
• Awareness of the threat before he can cause damage or harm
• Reduced risk during battery replacement/sensor recovery efforts
• Rapid reporting in static, mounted, & dismounted operations
• Improved probability of detection and reduced false alarms
• Slew-to-Cue & Fly-to-Cue capable

Specifications

• Size: Small; easily buried/concealable; covert
• Power: Replaceable batteries
• Weight: Lightweight, Static/Mounted/Dismounted Ready
• Operating Temperature: Suitable for arctic and desert environments
• Environmental: Waterproof and dustproof
• Electromagnetic Interference: Meets emission and susceptibility standards

Why these UGS are different to the competition?

• Focuses on ‘the right space…not the whole space’. Builds area of coverage progressively, in depth, over time.
• Uses proprietary, patented RF communication capability that permits long-range signal exfiltration, even in NLOS/BLOS urban, rural, and deadspace conditions, without the use of gateways or relays.
• Provides clients a single sensor ‘quick to emplace’ advantage, incorporating focused detection radii/point detection capability that minimizes overall emplacement time, reduces likelihood of compromise and/or casualties, and guarantees rapid, effective response to the threat
• Merges low cost, expendability with extended battery life to eliminate the need to replace batteries and/or recover sensors in hostile environments and conditions.

Multiple Receiver Configurations

• User Wearable…Optimized for Dismounted Operations
  • Receive detection reports directly on Android/iOS devices
  • SATCOM/GSM/CDMA ready
  • Wireless/Bluetooth connection to cell phone/ATAK/iTAK
• Ruggedized Housing… Optimized for Static Base Defense/
• Vehicle-Mounted Operations
  • Easily integrated into existing security footprint/architecture
  • Detection reporting information sent to client-specified device

Pathfinder Network Architecture Overview

Overview

The Pathfinder advanced intrusion detection system is the next generation of Expendable Unattended Ground Sensor (E-UGS) system. Pathfinder incorporates lessons learned by the US Military and is specifically optimized for Defense, Border Security, Critical Infrastructure, and Consumer applications. The Pathfinder system provides an early warning detection system alerting operators to potential threats. The Pathfinder system is s seismic detection system which integrates state of the art machine learning algorithms to detect human footsteps and off-road vehicles. The algorithm has been trained to detect on human footsteps, ignoring animal footsteps, and other seismic background noises.

Figure 1: Pathfinder System

There are two variants of the Pathfinder sensors, the mini and the XL. The Pathfinder mini sensor, weighing 226 grams, with a 6.6 cm diameter and 13 cm height, including the antenna, provides up to 6 months of detection before the battery has to be replaced. The Pathfinder XL sensor, weighing 453 grams, with a 6.6 cm diameter and 19.56 cm height, including the antenna, provides up to 24 months of detection.

Upon detection, the sensors send an RF signal to the Pathfinder receiver that can be deployed several kilometers away. The receiver processes the RF signal, and provides an alert to the Pathfinder server application software that then processes the alert and distributes that alert to clients, stationary or mobile, that have registered with the server.

System Network Architecture

There are several different approaches to configuring the Pathfinder system as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Pathfinder Configuration Options

Stand-Alone

The Stand-Alone configuration is optimal for remote locations which don’t have an existing network infrastructure. In this configuration, the Pathfinder system needs only power to the server, receiver and tablet. There are no external connections or networks, ensuring a secure network. A depiction of a sample deployment for the Pathfinder stand-alone configuration is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Pathfinder Stand-Alone Configuration

Distributed

The Distributed configuration allows multiple clients to connect to the Pathfinder Server application across cellular networks. This capability allows remote operator to get real-time notifications from the system about probable intrusions. Upon alert, the operators can choose to respond to the location, while continuously getting new alerts triggered by the deployed sensors. A depiction of a sample deployment for the Pathfinder distributed configuration is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Pathfinder Distributed Configuration

Integrated

The Integrated configuration keeps all of the capabilities and functionality of the distributed configuration, but adds the ability to integrate the Pathfinder alerts into an already established Common Operating Picture (COP). The Pathfinder server provides two protocols for interfacing with external applications. For management of the sensors (adding/removing sensors to/from the system) the Representational State Transfer (REST) API is implemented. For the real-time notifications (alerts and status updates), this information is shared via socket.io (https://socket.io/) and Google Cloud Messaging. Interfacing with the Pathfinder application requires the customer defined application to register with the Pathfinder server application via the REST/socket.io. A depiction of a sample deployment for the Pathfinder integrated configuration is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Pathfinder Integrated Configuration

Security Features

There are several layers of security features which exist within the system. Each interface is defined in the subsections that follow.

Sensor to Receiver Interface

The radios deployed to the Pathfinder sensors are transmit only. The radio technology is a patented technology called the Extended Range Radio Frequency (ERRF). The detection and status messages transmitted are very low power with a very low bandwidth. The messages include a sensor id and associated alert or sensor status information. The data between the Receiver and the Sensor is not currently encrypted. When observing the signal on a spectrum analyzer, the signal is virtually impossible to detect since it operates below the noise floor and is deliberately blended in with and masked by the background noise. If a potential intruder was able to detect the message on a spectrum analyzer, they wouldn’t be able to decipher what the different bits indicated. They would have to also have the receiver firmware to decipher the message. Lastly, there is no location information included in any messages between the sensor and the receiver. The location data only exists within the server software, therefore a potential intruder wouldn’t be able to determine the sensor location from the RF message.

Receiver and Server Interface

The interface between the Receiver and the Server is an IP based Ethernet connection.

Server and Client Interface

The interface between the Server and the Client contains two layers of security. The first is a SSL/TLS transport between the client and the server software. The Server software is included as part of the Pathfinder purchase and is provided to the customer either on a DVD or as part of the purchased laptop. During the installation process, the customer will download the Pathfinder Client application onto their Android device via the Google Play store. Upon successful download and install, the customer would enter the configuration menu on the client device, define the IP address, or Domain name, for the Server they wish to connect to. To ensure that unauthorized personnel don’t connect their client to the server, there is a Security Token associated with the customers Server application. The customer also enters this Security Token in the Client application during configuration.

Figure 6: Pathfinder Client to Server Authorization Token

Server and Customer COP Interface

As part of the integrated configuration defined above, the Pathfinder server provides an API which allows Customer COPs the ability to manage Pathfinder sensors and register for and receive status messages and real-time alerts. Both the REST and socket IO interfaces are secure interfaces which use registration tokens as part of the interface authentication.