Team GroundWatch
University of Colorado at Boulder
From Hacking for Defense Students to Company Co-Founders
The Team
Lt. Matthew Giltenan
• Co-Founder & Chief Operations Officer of GroundWatch
• U.S. Army Infantry Officer
• BA in Communication and Media Studies from Fordham University
• MBA from University of Colorado Boulder
Ron Thompson
• Co-Founder and CEO of GroundWatch
• Former Quantitative Developer at Point 72
• Former Rapid Prototype Application Developer at Booz Allen Hamilton
• MS in Computer Science Candidate at Tufts University
• Post-Baccalaureate Studies in Computer Science at University of Colorado Boulder
• BA in Government from Georgetown University
Carl Mueller
• Co-Founder / CTO of Lighting in a Bot, Inc.
• Former Research Scientist at QualTek Molecular Laboratories
• PhD in Computer Science Candidate at University of Colorado Boulder
• BS in Biopsychology University of California - Santa Barbara
Cameron Casby
• Mechanical Engineer at CACI International Inc.
• Co-Founder / CTO of GroundWatch
• MS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Colorado Boulder
• BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Colorado Boulder
Michael Flanigan
• Former Development Engineer Ocean Aero Inc.
• Former Systems Engineer at DMC, Inc.
• MS in Computer Science Candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder
• BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame
Nicolas Mayhan
• Co-Founder of GroundWatch
• BS in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering Candidate
Problem Sponsor
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
Original Problem Statement
USASOC Operational Detachments seeks to improve the automation of sensory information processing within their Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System in order to identify potential threats.
Beneficiary Discovery Interviews
65
The Innovation
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) is developing a Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (“Count sUAS”) platform that will be mounted onto military vehicles. Hacking for Defense team GroundWatch was tasked by the USASOC to focus on integrating the visual and the machine learning algorithms.
As the group began their process, they interviewed over fifty beneficiaries including USASOC commanders, Army engineers, sensors manufacturers and the end-user. As the group further explored this topic another key issue emerged: sensor integration. They found that many Count sUAS options from competitors require sensors to only work with internal products from the same company. They also found that many of their competitors' sensors struggle to track out-of-frame objects. Their solution needed to use the data from sensors to provide a full picture of the battlespace.
With the challenges faced by end-users in mind, the team decided to look further down the pipeline to address how these sensors worked together. With this, the team developed “Sixth Sense”, a sensor middleware that gives clients more choice with sensors and software (preventing vendor lock-in) and improves out-of-frame tracking capabilities. The solution provides more robust sensor integration that allows systems to be more modular than a traditional more customized integration.
Additionally, the team addressed the problem of out-of-frame objects by combining the streams from various sensors to provide 360 degree situational awareness. Through Sixth Sense integration, the team has enabled the sensors to communicate with one another more effectively and pass relevant information to allow the sensors to automatically track threats. Finally, Sixth Sense allows the sensors to track threats out-of-frame, which means the camera doesn't need to be pointing at the threat continuously to estimate where it is.
From this Hacking for Defense group, three of the members of GroundWatch, Ron Thompson, Matthew Giltenan, Cameron Casby have formed a company, with Michael Flanigan continuing to work with the group as a software developer while pursuing another startup opportunity. The team is working on developing a more advanced prototype and looking at commercial opportunities.
To get in touch with GroundWatch, please contact info@ground-watch.com or ron.thompson@ground-watch.com.
Presentation
Team GroundWatch’s
Hacking for Defense Experience
Working directly to serve the end user
A highlight for Team GroundWatch was that they were able to work on a solution that directly impacted end-users. Ron Thompson stated that most of his previous interactions with the military had been with officers. However, throughout their work, the team had the opportunity to interview and work with a lot of enlisted personnel on the ground. This allowed the team to create a solution that would not just be helpful in the abstract but allowed them to create something that would actually be helpful for the end-users on the ground.
The team made all the difference
For most of Team GroundWatch, the team and teaching staff at CU Boulder made the course such a meaningful experience. Ron stated that his favorite part of the Hacking for Defense experience was “hands down the team.” He appreciated being with a group of such dedicated and motivated teammates that allowed them to make real progress on such a big issue in such a short amount of time. Mike spoke on behalf of the team to praise the CU Boulder teaching team. After hearing Hacking for Defense instructor Lloyd Thrall speak, Mike realized “I want to be in the same room as that guy.” The team appreciated the support and guidance from their teaching team that supported their team to where it is today.