Cohere Wins $28m US Military Contract for Drone Detection

Cohere Technologies has secured a US$28m contract from the US Department of War to develop a Multi-Waveform Radio Access Network (RAN) prototype for Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC).

ISAC combines communications and sensing capabilities within the same wireless infrastructure, enabling mobile networks to both transmit data and detect physical objects using radio signals.  

It is one of the big new features coming in 6G, but such is the demand for it – no doubt sparked in part by the way that drones have transformed the Russo-Ukrainian war – that telecoms vendors are working hard to get it deployment-ready ahead of the 6G standards work in 3GPP.

A new approach

The Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) waveform used by 5G networks was not specifically developed for ISAC and it shows. This is why Cohere has developed its Zak-Orthogonal Time Frequency and Space (OTFS) waveform, which forms the basis of its Pulsone Technology. This waveform is designed to perform in high-Doppler environments, which occur when objects are moving at high speeds relative to the transmitter or receiver. 

According to Cohere, published research indicates that Zak-OTFS is four times better than OFDM when it comes to target detection and tracking simultaneous targets. It can also detect objects one quarter the size that OFDM can and its link budget properties are better.

The contract, funded by the FutureG Office within the DoW, expands on a National Science Foundation VINES Phase 2 project. 

It aims to deliver what Cohere describes as a sovereign, mission-first ISAC capability that leverages existing and future commercial 5G and 6G infrastructure to provide persistent aerial and ground surveillance.

The multi-waveform system prototype is designed to provide detection, classification, tracking and defeat-cueing of drone threats while operating in commercial spectrum bands, making it difficult for adversaries to distinguish sensing activity from normal cellular communications.

Addressing the drone swarm threat

The technology addresses what the DoW considers a priority threat. 

“ISAC is a mission-first priority for the U.S. Department of War to defend against drone swarms,” says Tom Rondeau, Principal Director for FutureG, Office Of The Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering.

“Due to guidance from leadership to execute rapidly, we required a partner with the right technology ready today. As a proven innovator with a demonstrated ability to build multi-waveform platforms, Cohere Technologies offered a clear path that we could move on immediately. 

“[Its] OTFS modulation carries information directly in the sensing domain, delivering massive communications and sensing performance advantages in high-Doppler environments. 

“This solution rapidly delivers critical ISAC capabilities while building on our ‘innovate-first’ posture, demonstrating the tremendous opportunity for innovation brought by the FutureG Open Centralized Unit Distributed Unit (OCUDU) platform.”

Combining waveforms in software-defined architecture

Ray Dolan, Chairman and CEO of Cohere Technologies, emphasises the contact’s importance to the company and the value of its approach. 

“This ISAC contract from DoW represents a major milestone for Cohere and for the future of dual-use wireless technology,”  he says. 

“By combining our Pulsone Technology with conventional OFDM in a flexible, software-defined architecture, we can deliver high-performance sensing that is affordable, scalable and operationally invisible-exactly what is needed to counter the growing threat of sophisticated drone and Unmanned Aerial Systems.”

By supporting both OFDM and its own Zak-OTFS waveform within the same platform, Cohere’s system can operate across existing cellular networks while adding sensing capabilities.

Technical development and commercial applications

Under the contract, Cohere will develop several components. These include a multi-waveform physical layer running on an open, extensible software stack that supports both traditional 4G and 5G OFDM and Pulsone Technology. 

The company will also build a mobile test platform enabling bi-static and multi-static sensing configurations.

The programme includes development of what Cohere terms a Layered Inference Sensing system that converts raw Delay-Doppler data into real-time 3D tracks with classification and confidence scoring. 

Testing will take place in outdoor environments supporting mono-static, bi-static and multi-static sensing configurations. The system must comply with the FutureG OCUDU platform and Zero Trust security requirements.

Beyond core defence applications including battlefield awareness, border security and critical infrastructure protection, the programme will identify parallel commercial use cases such as Advanced Air Mobility, smart city traffic management and public safety. 

Work under the contract will be executed in collaboration with government technical authorities and programme partners.

“This ISAC project award validates Cohere’s long-term vision of building sovereign, future-proof wireless infrastructure that serves both national security and commercial markets,” says Ray. 

“We are proud to work alongside the FutureG Office and partners to deliver technology that strengthens our nation’s ability to sense and respond in contested environments.”