The European Commission has announced a list of projects that will receive financing under the European Defence Fund (EDF). The list includes two projects by Łukasiewicz – Industrial Institute for Automation and Measurements. One of them – DeterMine – is the first ever EDF project coordinated by a Polish entity.

The Łukasiewicz Research Network – Industrial Institute for Automation and Measurements submitted two applications in the EDF 2022 competition and both of them were successful. The projects that received funding are DeterMine (Detect and Recognize Mines and IEDs hidden in the environment), which was selected in the Digital Transformation category, and SWAT-SHOAL in the Underwater Technologies category.

Łukasiewicz Research Network reports that the aim of the DeterMine project is to validate the concept of a modular, multisensor and multi-platform solution for detecting and identifying hidden threats, in a range of configurations that take into account different types of such threats and changing environmental conditions. The project will compare solutions developed by different consortia.

It will contribute to the development of a European knowledge base and universal benchmarks for the evaluation of landmine and improvised explosive device (IED) detection systems. Ultimately, this will provide better protection for personnel and infrastructure and greater freedom of action for armed forces.

The SWAT-SHOAL project develops the System of Systems (SoS) concept, which integrates various types of manned and unmanned vehicles into a swarm. All with the aim of achieving greater effectiveness in underwater missions such as surveillance, reconnaissance, mine action and demining or support to landing operations.

The project focuses on technological innovations such as swarms of unmanned systems, underwater communications and vehicle autonomy to increase the versatility and capability of naval operations.

Adrian Andrzejewski