FAQ
Overwatch 6 Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can the system deal with jamming?
MANET INTERFERENCE AVOIDANCE (MAN-IA)
Continuous operation in the presence of dynamic electromagnetic interference.
MAN-IA continually monitors multiple frequencies/channels at all radios within the network and uses that information to assess the network quality of each channel. If it detects the onset of electromagnetic interference in the current channel anywhere on the network, MAN-IA rapidly switches all radios in the network to a more suitable band/channel.
OPERATE THROUGH INTERFERENCE
MAN-IA enables tactical users to operate through intentional or unintentional interference at an operational tempo. For example, during video surveillance, MAN-IA reacts fast enough to the onset of a rogue interferer so the network can maintain a glitch free video stream.
GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN CONFIGURATION
Get greater flexibility in configuring MAN-IA for specific applications by using the MAN-IA page within the StreamScape GUI.
Autonomous frequency agility over several GHz of frequency can be achieved by defining channels within the band(s) the radio supports.
MAN-IA has no practical limitation in terms of the size of the network, regardless of the number of nodes or the physical distance covered by the network.
EFFICIENT IMPLEMENTATION
Efficient implementation of the cognitive features of MAN-IA allows sensing and sharing the channel states with minimal impact to network throughput. The MAN-IA radio interface can also provide a graphical representation of the system’s assessment of the current performance of the network at each radio and on each channel. This enables the operator to visualize the state of the network and localize the sources of interference.
AVAILABLE NOW AS A SOFTWARE UPGRADE
MAN-IA is now available as a software upgrade to any SC4200 or SC4400 radio, including those already in operation in the field.
Please watch this YouTube Video that will show the anti-jamming in action.
2. What is the protection system for accidents (crashing trees / buildings, losing control, drone is getting stuck in cables, etc.)?
At the moment we have not released our obstacle avoidance system. We can however mount a second camera and stream it, so you get a first-person view. This is high on our list of new features for our customers.
3. Can the ADS-B (transponder) feature be removed or, please give us the details of the ADS-B In and ADS-B Out, because it may not be suitable for all operations due to security concerns.
The standard system is an ADS-B In and Out system. ADS-B In is only a receiver so it doesn't broadcast the Overwatch 6's position to air traffic control. The ADS-B Out is the transmitter however, without a squawk code, and without enabling this feature, there is no transmission of location to anyone. The ADS-B in is a safety feature for your Overwatch 6 so it doesn't get in the way of a manned aircraft such as private aircraft or helicopters assuming they are transmitting ADS-B. The system will detect if there is another aircraft coming in the same airspace as the Overwatch and the Overwatch will move out of the way to avoid a collision. That collision over a crowd of people would be very dangerous for the people on the ground and the crew of the helicopter. If, however you don't want this feature, we will not install it but, we highly recommend it for safety reasons.
4. Additional features of the camera and software are needed to zoom in so that it can detect the number of people and can detect people's faces.
We don't offer facial recognition as normally to get an accurate detection the facial recognition camera needs to be straight on the subject’s face e.g. walking through an airport metal detector or at passport control at the airport. The Camera is going to be a high angle as the drone is flying above and the sensor will not be able to get enough points to get an accurate reading. In order to count the number of people in an area, you can take photos taken and send them to your software to do the estimate.
5. How about bandwidth requirements used for transmission (if using an Ethernet frequency network)?
A SINGLE-RADIO SOLUTION FOR THE TOUGHEST UNMANNED SYSTEMS COMMUNICATION SCENARIOS
Meticulously developed features address unmanned systems communication challenges in unpredictable environments.
o Integrates with a variety of antennas, amplifiers and ground stations
o Available in ruggedized enclosure or as an OEM PCB stack
o Single transceiver for all video, C2 and telemetry
o Scalable mobile ad-hoc mesh network (100+ nodes)
o IP-based
o Relay capability
o Low latency
o Data rates up to 100+Mpbs
o Dual band
o 256-bit AES encryption
This demonstration shows an aircraft flying to almost 160km and achieving almost 10 Mb per sec data rate over the 2.4 - 2.5 GHz frequency.
In order to get the best range out of Overwatch 6 a tracking antenna should be installed. A short video of our tracking antenna is here and on our KD-AERO.com website under the communications tab:
6. How about the video frequency which is used on the device?
You can select any two of these frequencies. Note* If you choose two of them, the price will double. The most popular is Lower L band and S Band. As you may be aware, the lower the frequency the longer the range, but the speed is less. The higher the frequency the shorter the distance but the faster the speed. In order to extend the range for every 3 dBi gain you double the distance roughly. In Malaysia MCMC as of the last time we checked has chosen specific frequencies for UAV Systems. One of which is 5030-5091 MHz. It is possible to add this additional radio, but it will need to be installed and tested in Malaysia as no other country we are aware of will allow it to be used at the power levels needed to get long range. To install this, we will charge a non-recurring engineering charge. The purpose of this frequency is for collision avoidance systems. These don't exist in other countries and we are not sure if they even exist in Malaysia at this time. If you can avoid installing these please consider it as ADS-B is operational in order to avoid collisions
Overwatch 6 does not require two different radios like many older drones have. The Digital Radios used are SDR or Software Defined Radios. This means that there are packets of bits in the data stream that are telemetry data, and video all in the same stream. There are control packets that tell the camera where to point and zoom and all the while continuing to operate the Drone and all functions on it. For example, Packet A could be the header file of which drone is being communicated with and could also have in it changes to airspeed, direction, altitude etc. All the telemetry. Packet B could have the video stream files and Packet C could have the Camera control and other functions on the drone such as the ADS-B Transponder Code, Engine Control Module, Waypoint information and other functions. All of these are continuously transmitted all in one data stream.
This is an example of a Data Packet.
We can offer amplifiers for your operations. The common method is to have the ground control station with 4400 which outputs native 8 watts of power however, an amplifier can output 10 - 25 watts of power in a given frequency while the on-board system will only use 4 watts in order to save weight and space.
All of these parameters and more are available for the user to change hence this is why it's called an SDR. Each radio also can have GPS installed and the commander can see where every unit is located on a map in real time.
This photo shows all the Radios in the network and how they are meshed together.
An article on June 2, 2020 where the USAF has awarded each vendor up to $950M USD for its Joint All Domain Command and Control contract. Silvus was one of the receipents of this contract.
7. Tell about the drone controller range in cities / urban areas.
In order to cover the drone in the city it will depend on too many factors. Buildings blocking line of sight, the placement of relay radios and or antennas. In order to solve this problem, you would put a second drone above the surveillance drone that always has a link to the ground control station. Then the connection to the over the top drone will follow the drone that's doing the surveillance if it needs to go behind a building, the drone above will be able to maintain connection to it while relaying the video and communications back to the ground control station.
In general, all Radios need a line of sight to operate.
If the bottom drone goes behind a building, the top drone will connect to the GCS and relay the commands to the drone is can see.
8. How the MIMO function working in urban areas?
9. Tell about the Opensource Software.
The Opensource Software has more than 1,000,000 users and has been enhanced by the community for more than 10 years I believe. This is the most common drone software in the world by far more than any other drone software even DJI.
You will see a comprehensive set of documentation and descriptions and features that Ardupilot / Mission Planner has.
Besides the fact that this is the most widely used drone software in the world and there are many contributors to enhancing its mission capabilities, if your government wants to add in a special feature, your own engineers will be able to access the source code and build exactly what you want.
10. Explain about the implementation of drone devices for intelligence and border operations?
The system is configurable with different cameras, sensors, such as IMSEI Catchers which could be added to the payload bay as well as other systems for detecting Cell Phones and relaying data to HQ. Cameras can be SWIR, MWIR, LWIR and Electro-Optics with 30x optical zoom out to 133X optical zoom. Multiple Cameras and sensors can be added including AIS receivers for example if you are flying over the ocean.
These two cameras are daylight only, but the zoom is unmatched in this weight class. The HD80VV and HD-VV-510 has no competition that can fit on a multi-rotor UAS.
In the past we have connected the Ground Control Station to Satcom vehicles and broadcast over X-Band Satellites to HQ very far away. I the tropics, X-Band or L-Band Satellites are the most reliable where Ku or Ka Band suffer with rain.
GCS connected wirelessly to a C2C Vehicle sending encrypted Video Link and Data in one direction to HQ. It would have been possible to have GCS at HQ sending Commands to the on-site GCS and control the system as well as see the Operation in Real-Time some few second delay due to Satcom distance is to be expected. This would allow a real time operation to be viewed by stakeholders e.g. the President of Indonesia and other senior officers even if the operations were being run in Papua if you can connect a good Satcom link to the GCS as seen above.
The ability to see car license plates and as well as photograph who is coming and going from suspected hideouts are also examples of Intelligence gathering.
11. How about the camera replacement system when the device is being used, is it necessary to restart the device or not?
The Drone can be landed, and the engine can continue to run but in order not to burn yourself, we suggest when refueling you shut the motor just as you would do with your car of motorbike. The Camera can be swapped in a few minutes as it slides onto 2 rails and locked in place. If the camera is not the same as what is previously installed, then the location of the camera and motor will need to be moved to get weight and balance setup before flight. Since you will only need to do this once and you can mark the rails, installing the camera and plugging it into power and data is a simple connection. You would slide the camera into the right location on the rail and move the motor to its corresponding position. You would restart the motor after refueling and take off. To start the Drone takes about 10 seconds and you are airborne again. The Software is the same for any of the Trillium Cameras and the Standard Camera works in Mission Planner software.
12. Customization is required on Overwatch 6 drone devices to further support the intelligence operation process with high-level secret capabilities.
The Radios can be purchased with AES-256 FIPS140-2 Level 2 (Suite B)
Is the AES Encryption Algorithm Uncrackable?
There has yet to be a single instance of AES-256 ever being hacked into, but that hasn’t been for a lack of trying. The first crack attempt at AES was in 2011, against AES-128 encryption where a biclique attack was used. Biclique is around four times faster at attacking encryption than the standard brute force attack seen most often. It failed.
It would take upwards of a billion years for an attack to force its way through a 126-bit key, let alone AES-128. So long as the data encryption has been implemented properly, there is no known attack that would compromise the protection afforded by AES.
256-bit encryption is equivalent to that of 2256 key possibilities. To put this into perspective, we’ll provide an example. Let’s say that one billion supercomputers from all around the world have decided to team up to take down the AES encryption algorithm. We’ll also assume that they can look at 250 keys per second, which is generous seeing as that’d make them capable of approximately one quadrillion keys per second. A year in seconds is around 31,557,600.
So, this means that with a billion supercomputers calculating non-stop for a year, they would only ever be able to check around 275 keys. You’d be looking at a rate of 234 years to look at less than .01% of the entire key possibilities available. You can rest assured, no one is stealing your data anytime soon while protected by AES-256 or, “military-grade encryption”.
How long this protection will last is unknown. It’s almost impossible to determine if and when AES encryption will become obsolete. The National Institute of Standards and Technology created the Data Encryption Standard (DES) which lasted approximately twenty years before it was deemed hackable.
The AES supports significantly larger key sizes than what DES supports meaning that AES has the potential to surpass the twenty-year mark.
13. Overwatch 6 is suitable as an intelligent tool and can be used for Intelligence and border operations because it has a thermal vision feature and several other functions.
Note* KD-AERO has not validated these products and does not make any representation one way or another. It is up to the user to do their test and evaluation but, it's possible that one of more of these devices could be incorporated into Overwatch 6's payload.
14. Can the Overwatch 6 be hacked and jammed?
Jamming and Hacking are two different things. The Jamming is possible if the state actor who is jamming you knows what frequency you are operating on. Normally most UAS use the WiFi frequencies so as not to disturb public safety and first responders. In this case they will Jam 2.4 - 2.5 GHz. The second thing they do is to Jam GPS. The Overwatch has a GPS system that incorporates all 4 GPS Suppliers, EU, US, China and Russia. If in this case the Chinese are jamming GPS, it's most likely they will not jam themselves. While there is no guaranty this is the case the only option is to install an INS (Inertial Navigation System). This can be done but so far, no customer has requested us to do it. Disruption of the Radio and Jamming it is shown in the video above in question 1.
What about hacking and forcing the system to land. Due to the Manet MIMO Radio and how it works it by itself would require someone with a Silvus Radio to transmit the same waveform for the Silvus radio to recognize that it's a valid message. If the user doesn't turn on Encryption as described above, then it's possible to control the drone and force it to land where they want it to land however, with the AES 256, they would not ever be able to send commands to the UAS without known the code to the AES Encryption. It is highly unlikely that they would be able to do that without a quantum computer and a lot of brute force. Unlike in the past when Drones data streams were not encrypted, we recommend encryption for this reason. Clearly a criminal enterprise wouldn't have the technology to do this but a state actor e.g. another country may be able to shoot down your Overwatch 6 with live fire or a missile. If you did somehow detect a missile launch the best you could do is to either land the drone where it is or, get close to a building or tree to avoid the weapon. If the Drone is on the ground, depending on where you are, you may not be able to restart it or control it due to no line of sight. You would of course know where you landed it due to the GCS displaying it on a Map.
15. Can Overwatch Land on a Ship?
Yes. Overwatch can land on a ship because it's a multi-rotor UAV. A bit of practice is needed if the ship is in heavy sea states or a net can be fitted above the deck and as you hover over the top of the net, the power can be cut, and the drone will fall into the net. Otherwise a controlled descent can be performed, and the unit will land on a small area. That area should be fenced off so if the deck is wet Overwatch will not slide into the sea. The fencing will stop it from slipping.
16. How long does it take to deploy Overwatch?
This depends on do you have a location that allows for suitable line of sight to the Drone after it's launched, and have you already built the mission into Mission Planner software. If you have both of these items done, you only need to fuel the UAV with its ~4 Liters of Petrol, install the gimbal and run through preflight check list. Get the radios setup so the entire process should take normally less than 10 minutes.
17. How long will Overwatch fly?
This is a difficult question to answer as there are many factors that affect flight time. The most notable are, wind direction and speed, weight, weight and balance and how fast you intend on flying and how much time you intend on hovering. The graph below does show how long Overwatch can fly given a payload weight.
18. Can we install our own camera?
The answer is yes but the communications system needs to be compatible and so does the camera control software. Please inquire with which camera you have, and we will let you know.
19. What is the best camera for operations in the tropics where there is a lot of moisture and heavy rain?
The best camera for these conditions are those with Medium Wave Infrared Cooled sensors. MWIR.
For any other questions please contact us.
