Evolve Dynamics has partnered with datalink provider Doodle Labs to integrate Mesh Rider Radios into the Sky Mantis UAS Platform.
Evolve Dynamics’ Sky Mantis UAV platform is a mid-size, multi-rotor drone that boasts a one-hour flight-time, true all-weather performance with resistance to heavy rain and wind up to 75km per hour, and a wide array of modular, quick-release payloads leveraged for photography, mapping, surveying, OGI and gas leak detection.
Los Angeles-based Doodle Labs, who produce industrial-grade wireless networking solutions, provides its Helix Mesh Rider Radio as the onboard datalink for Sky Mantis. Integrating Doodle Labs’ radios secures long range, high-bandwidth mesh capabilities, a more reliable connection for the drone, and empowers rapid and effective operations in contested airspace in Ukraine, in public safety responses and in other industrial settings.
The Sky Mantis is currently deployed with UK and international police forces, fire services, energy inspection outfits, search & rescue organizations, UK MoD (Ministry of Defense) customers and by Ukrainian defense forces.
“There are lots of radio companies out there. Doodle Labs is one of the few that is reactive and is on the cutting edge of technology, and at a reasonable price point,” said Mike Dewhirst, Founder of Evolve Dynamics. “We really value agility – that’s the key thing on the frontline right now in Ukraine.”
He continued; “No matter how great the base platform is, without that perfect radio link, it’s only got limited use. So you bring those two together and they don’t just become the sum of the two parts, but it’s a massive multiplier and you suddenly get that magic, perfect combination, that perfect storm of all of the requirements of the system, in terms of flight time, weather, resilience to jamming, distance, performance, sensors, usability and rapid deployment, as well.”
Mesh Rider Radio makes use of Doodle Labs’ proprietary multi-band technology to capably cover up to six bands in a single radio. The radios are available in a variety of band combinations, including 900 MHz + 2.4 GHz for commercial use-cases, several Helix options in federal combinations (M1 – M6, L + S) for defense purposes, and the capability to combine licensed and unlicensed bands for dual-use applications.
The radio’s Sense feature allows a drone to automatically switch operational channels and bands in the field to thwart jamming attempts and maintain connectivity in contested areas, like those in Ukraine where the Sky Mantis is actively deployed by Ukranian defense forces.
Development of the Mesh Rider Radio was sponsored in part by the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). It meets the standards of DIU’s Blue UAS program and is NDAA compliant.
“The challenges drone operators face in Ukraine are among the toughest in the world,” added Amol Parikh, VP of Marketing for Doodle Labs. “We’ve designed the Mesh Rider Radio to serve as a reliable datalink in the face of jamming and other interference in contested environments, and we’re proud that Evolve Dynamics would trust our product in such a high-performance platform as the Sky Mantis when the stakes are so high.”
Doodle Labs will highlight Evolve Dynamics’ Sky Mantis on its upcoming AUVSI Webinar, “Flying Drones in the World’s Most Challenging Environments,” on Wednesday, November 29th at 3pm ET / 12 pm PT.
