MoD Grand Challenge (2007 - Present)

In 2006 the MoD announced an open competition designed to spur technology that would help UK troops detect threats in the urban environment. The MoD distilled this problem into the detection of four types of threat: armed people, "technicals" (or weaponised four-wheel drive vehicles), marksmen, and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Systems were to be deployed from a small staging area, and would search a designated 150m x 150m area with as high a degree of autonomy as possible. Teams would have one hour to operate their systems. Points would be awarded based on targets detected correctly within the hour as well as the level of autonomy achieved. Deductions would be made based on the level of human input required to operate the system, as well as the level of false positive target detection.

Blue Bear partnered with a range of organisations to develop one of the entries into the competition. These partners included:

Blue Bear took on the development of two UAV types as well as the team's safety case.

The two UAV platforms were:

a High Level UAV (HLUAV), tasked to fly close to the legal altitude limit; and
a "Low Level" BMAV (BBSR Mini Air Vehicle), tasked to fly as low as possible over the rooftops of the target area.

The UAVs carried IR and optical sensors, as well as Selex Galileo's digital datalink.

In addition to platform development and integration, Blue Bear developed the flight control algorithms to the point where each vehicle could automatically follow waypoints and gather imagery in response to commands from Selex Galileo's ground control station.

The Grand Challenge Finale was held in August 2008 at Copehill Down, a Fighting in Built-Up Areas (FIBUA) training village on Salisbury Plain. After more than a week of pre-qualification events and the Finale itself, Blue Bear and partners were declared the overall winners from an original 14 entries (from other teams of major defence primes, academic institutions and SME's).

Since winning the Grand Challenge, Blue Bear and partners have received two follow-on MoD contracts to further develop the system. Under these contracts, Blue Bear has:

distilled the functionality of the two original UAV types into a single vehicle capable of filling both roles;
developed advanced payload packages, including an end-to-end digital optical option and gimballed sensors;
enhanced the control algorithms for improved image capture and greater vehicle autonomy; and
developed auto-launch and auto-land functions for the UAVs.