SylphFlight

A Soundside Design program · In development

Sensors and drones that keep working when GPS and radio are jammed.

SylphFlight is a Soundside Design program developing passive sensors for land and sea and drones that park and recharge themselves. The goal: tell our own traffic from true unknowns, send a docked drone to look under rules set in advance, fly by sight when GPS is denied, and get better with every mission.

Discuss a trial, pilot or partnershipHow it works

How it works

Sense, explain, look, learn.

  1. Sense

    Passive nodes on land and at sea, with microphones and cameras, are designed to detect small drones and boats without emitting anything radar or radio detectors could find, and to report over low-signature links.

  2. Explain

    The network recognizes traffic it can account for, such as our own drones from their flight data and ships that broadcast their identity, and alerts only on the rest.

  3. Decide

    A rule the operator set in advance sends a docked drone to look. The operator is told at once and can hold or recall it. Operators can also task a drone in plain English.

  4. Check

    Every plan passes deterministic checks before flight: vehicle limits, keep-out zones and an allowance for navigation drift. Anything unclear becomes a question or a refusal.

  5. Fly

    The drone carries its plan on board, flies by sight when GPS is jammed, watches from a distance, and returns along its route to recharge.

  6. Learn

    Each look confirms or rejects the alert that caused it. New models are tested on held-out recordings before release, as they are today in WhirledPiece, our released acoustic app.

SylphFlight mission conceptIllustrative design goals, not a demonstrated system. Passive sensor nodes on land and at sea take bearings on an unknown drone and an unknown boat. Our own drone and a ship that broadcasts its identity are recognized and not alerted on. A rule set in advance sends a docked drone to look from a distance; it flies by sight through an area where satellite navigation and radio are jammed, then returns along its route to recharge. Each look labels the alert for the next model.LANDSEAGPS AND RADIO JAMMEDPASSIVE NODEUNKNOWN DRONEUNKNOWN BOATOURS: ITS FLIGHTDATA EXPLAINS ITIDENTITY BROADCASTCHECKED LOOK,SENT BY A STANDING RULEWATCHES FROM A DISTANCE,FLIES BY SIGHTDOCKRECHARGESHUB AND OPERATOREACH LOOK LABELSTHE ALERT FOR THENEXT MODEL
Illustrative concept of design goals, not a demonstrated system.

Dual use

For sites and units that must watch more with fewer people.

Designed for civil and military use alike: command posts, bases and dispersed units, ports and shorelines, and critical infrastructure. It looks, watches and reports; people decide what happens next. Every decision is logged for review.

Current status

In development.

The review-and-release learning loop runs today in WhirledPiece, our released acoustic app. The mission language, checks and onboard behavior run end to end in autopilot software simulation. Sensor nodes and docks are designed, not yet built. Flight and field performance have not been demonstrated.

Next: join these parts at one site, with passive nodes, a dock and our test aircraft, first with satellite navigation and then without it, and report the results with their limits.

Contact

Discuss a trial, pilot or partnership.

We welcome government, research and industry partners, test sites and early users.

Contact Soundside Designinfo@soundsidedesign.com