Wireless is Where It’s At: Secure and Seamless Wireless Network Onboard Ships

Competitive Projects

Up to $1.2M in phased development funding to propel technology forward

The Challenge

The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) are seeking innovative solutions to enable robust and secure digital communication with the large and increasing number of wireless sensors and systems throughout Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) warships to allow assured tracking, monitoring, updating, automation and operation in a wide variety of operational scenarios.

What IDEaS Provides

Funding of up to $200,000 will be provided for innovative solutions to help advance this defence challenge over a performance period of up to 6 months. There is a potential opportunity for further funding of up to $1 million for a performance period of up to a year should the solution be found successful and promising by DND/CAF.

What Innovators Bring

Solutions that demonstrate the ability to maintain seamless connections with devices moving between compartments, in a variety of channels, in all conceivable weather conditions and sea states.


Results

WebID Project Title Innovator Amount Stage

Challenge

The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) are seeking innovative solutions to enable robust and secure digital communication with the large and increasing number of wireless sensors and systems throughout Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) warships to allow assured tracking, monitoring, updating, automation and operation in a wide variety of operational scenarios.

Background and Context

In addition to the current RCN fleet of naval vessels, the Government of Canada is acquiring a new inventory of warships under the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC), Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS), and Joint Support Ship (JSS) programs. To take maximum advantage of modern and future technologies, there is a need to communicate with new and future generations of devices, systems, machinery, and sensors that use wireless communications protocols. RCN ships currently depend on wired communication systems that run throughout the ships and these would need to be replaced or augmented with wireless technology to leverage current and future generations of wireless sensors and systems.

Naval vessels present unique challenges when it comes to digital communications; these challenges include but are not limited to: watertight steel compartments that impede signals travelling between compartments, confined spaces that require systems with different security classification levels to be in close proximity, the need to be able to operate in degraded physical conditions such as through smoke and contaminated water, and the need to ensure that no signals which could be exploited by an adversary extend beyond the confines of the ship.

Essential Outcomes

DND/CAF are looking for innovative new systems and technologies that have the ability to exploit the advantages of new and emerging wireless-based devices, systems, machinery and sensors, in current and future navy warships, without compromising the safety and security of the ship and all those within.

Proposed solutions must:

  • Enable the ability to simultaneously communicate, in a robust, secure, and low-latency manner with a wide variety of devices, sensors, machinery, and systems that use a variety of wireless technologies and protocols for communication;
  • Operate in complex physical and RF environments which may include multiple reflections and other sources of radio frequency interference;
  • Operate reliably inside RCN ships in a marine environment;
  • Be scalable and adaptable for use in all classes of Canadian warships including submarines;
  • Communicate seamlessly between RCN ships, between RCN and allied ships, and between RCN ships and shore facilities;
  • Simultaneously communicate data having varying levels of security classification (e.g., unclassified, secret, etc.); and
  • Limit, or eliminate, signals that extend beyond the vessels and that could be exploited by an adversary.

Desired Outcomes

Proposed solutions should include capabilities such as, but not limited to, the following:

  • The ability to maintain seamless connections with devices moving between compartments;
  • The ability to ensure communications despite damage caused by human error, accidents, or intentional (e.g. battle) damage;
  • The ability to operate reliably and at full capacity in all conceivable weather conditions and sea states;
  • The ability to operate in a variety of channels, not solely limited to Radio Frequency communications.

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