Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has announced the five participants that have been selected in the second phase of its Prize Award Contest on the detection of low flying objects.
After a complex evaluation process, the selected participants, listed in alphabetical order, are:
- DAT CON d. o. o.
- Dedrone GmbH
- FLIR Systems AB (Teledyne FLIR)
- Marduk Technologies
- OPTIX JSC.
Each one has been awarded a prize of EUR 50,000.
The three participants whose proposed solutions received the highest scores – DAT CON d. o. o., FLIR Systems AB (Teledyne FLIR), and Marduk Technologies – have also been invited to the third and final phase, the operational trials. These trials are taking place at the Ridali Airfield, in Estonia, from September 16 to October 6, 2023. Each competitor will have the opportunity to demonstrate their technology in a dynamic environment, simulating real-life scenarios.
In addition, on September 27, a live demonstration will be organized for representatives from Frontex, EU Agencies and Institutions, and Member States to witness the simulation of real-world low-flying object challenges.
The second phase of the contest saw a thorough appraisal of the technical capacity of the solutions proposed, and the winners were chosen for their innovative multi-layer and multi-sensor architectures.
The contest, launched in December 2022, has been designed to motivate small and medium-sized businesses to develop innovative approaches and technological solutions for detecting, tracking, and identifying low flying objects (LFOs) crossing the EU’s external borders. With a variety of LFOs, including piloted ultralight and conventional aircraft to remotely piloted aircraft systems, the contest required cost-effective, scalable, and integrated technologies.
In the first phase of the Prize Award Contest, 21 unique proposals were submitted, with 10 innovative technologies selected. Each was awarded EUR 10,000 and invited to the second phase of the contest.
