Expedition Technology Wins DARPA Award to Map the IoT Via Machine Learning

(Dulles, VA) August 2, 2018 – Expedition Technology, Inc., is proud to announce the receipt of a three-year prime contract award worth up to $9.1 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Radio Frequency Machine Learning System (RFMLS) program.

RFMLS is the first DARPA program to emphasize the application of machine learning to the RF spectrum. Machine learning is demonstrating considerable success when used in related fields including speech recognition and computer vision, but it has not yet been similarly applied to the crowded spectrum of signals that currently exists.

Through this contract, Expedition Technology and its partners will develop the foundations for applying modern data-driven Machine Learning to the RF Spectrum domain as well as develop practical applications in emerging spectrum problems which demand vastly improved discrimination performance over today’s hand-engineered RF systems. Ultimately, these innovations will result in a new generation of RF systems that are goal-driven and can learn from data rather than being hand-engineered by experts.

The four technical components of the program include: feature learning, attention and saliency, autonomous RF sensor configuration and waveform synthesis. A successful RFML system is intended to address the need for enhanced spectrum situational awareness. By discerning subtle differences in signals transmitted by mass-produced devices, RFMLS strives to identify signals intended to spoof or hack into devices in the Internet of Things (IoT). Additionally, RFMLS investigates new paradigms for the rapid evaluation of broad spectrum use to better support cognitive radio applications.

“The RFMLS program is the centerpiece of Expedition Technology’s rapidly growing portfolio of RF machine learning capabilities,” says Marc Harlacher, President and CEO. Harlacher continues, “Success in this endeavor will give our military the ability to discern and characterize signals in the increasingly-crowded RF spectrum, enhancing the ability to understand what is going on in the wireless domain.”

EXP is a prime contractor for DARPA’s RFMLS program, leading a team that includes the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) and Leidos as partnering subcontractors.

About Expedition Technology
Expedition Technology (EXP) is a leading developer of machine learning algorithms and autonomous systems for defense and intelligence C4ISR applications including radar, lidar, imaging, full motion video, communications, navigation, signal intelligence, and data analytics. As a small business with extensive experience researching, engineering, developing and operating civil and military defense and aerospace systems, EXP is applying rapidly evolving machine learning capabilities to provide our U.S. Government customers with improved situational awareness and actionable intelligence.