EDF BADB PROJECT FUNDED

KrattWorks Ltd, GIM Oy, KappaZeta Ltd, Rigr AI Ltd
Press release, 29 May 2024

Project BadB, led by the Estonian defence technology company KrattWorks, has been selected for a €6 million investment from the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the Ministries of Defence of Estonia and Finland.

Project BadB will focus on improved navigation solutions for land and aerial vehicles without relying on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). This will be achieved by using satellite maps data and machine vision algorithms to determine the position of the vehicle.

Rapidly developing electronic warfare technology, such as radio jamming and GNSS spoofing, demands countermeasures to be constantly one step ahead for unmanned systems – both aerial and ground-based – to be successful in active war zones and other contested environments across the critical infrastructure. Developing a navigation system that proves reliable without radio connection or GNSS availability is a significant improvement in using such systems effectively.

Specific objectives of the project include the development of weather independent up-to-date satellite imagery maps for unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, development of a machine vision module, an image recognition system and development of a path planning system, based on sensor data, cross-platform data sharing and swarming.

The project has already gained attention among the European Defence and innovation leaders who see it solving a burning issue for the rapidly growing unmanned systems sector. The situation on the technology front has changed significantly in the past 2 years and we are facing new obstacles and opportunities every day.

“We are witnessing an unprecedented fundamental change in the character of war, and our window of opportunity to ensure that we maintain an enduring competitive advantage is closing.”
General (ret) Mark Milley

GNSS-free navigation and geolocation also have huge potential for civic use – in applications for critical infrastructure management, natural disaster mitigation, and autonomous transportation systems, to name a few.

Badb is a great example of how small, innovative actors can use their agility and flexibility to create solutions which will both strengthen the European defence capabilities and provide commercial opportunities for the parties involved, and the wider European audience

The consortium consists of four companies from three countries:

  • KrattWorks (Estonia) – fast growing defence sector company aimed at Unmanned Aerial Systems development.
  • GIM Robotics (Finland) – company developing a GNSS-denied navigation software for land vehicles that can resist and detect jamming and spoofing.
  • KappaZeta (Estonia) – a company specialised in satellite data processing and AI land monitoring system development.
  • Rigr AI (Ireland) – develops AI-powered software for policing and defence.

The project also has strong support from Solita OÜ (Estonia) and Solita Oy (Finland) part of Solita Group, a digitalization consultancy company, currently based in nine European countries.

Project BadB was selected during the EDF 2023 Calls for Proposals. The duration of the project is 24 months. The European Defence Fund is the EU Commission’s instrument to support research and development in the defence sector by promoting cooperation between companies and research actors, boosting defence capability development.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION please contact:

Silvar Laasik
KrattWorks, Public Relations, silvar.laasik@krattworks.com, www.krattworks.com

Mattias Luha
KrattWorks, CEO, mattias.luha@krattworks.com, www.krattworks.com

Edward Dixon
Rigr AI, CEO, ed@rigr.ai, www.rigr.ai

Jürgen Lina
KappaZeta, Head of Business Strategy, jurgen.lina@kappazeta.ee, www.kappazeta.ee

Tatu Lyytinen
GIM Robotics, Business Development Manager, tatu.lyytinen@gimrobotics.fi, www.gimrobotics.fi

Eva Sula
Solita group, Head of Defence and Security, eva.sula@solita.ee,
https://www.solita.fi/industries/defence-and-security/

Description of the project on European Commission page:

https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9385b84d-c98c-4263-878f-283e28000cba_en?
filename=EDF-2023-LS-DA-SME-NT%20BadB.pdf