SUMTER, S.C. — Different organizations throughout the Midlands have been working together to test a new program that might make a global impact on United States security. The US Army Central (USARCENT) at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter has been working to develop a new phone application that would allow civilians to track and monitor drones.
“The goal behind Carpe Dronvm is that everybody becomes a sensor,” Sgt. Mickey Reeve explains.
Protecting the United States through evolving technology is what Reeve works to do as a non-commissioned officer with Task Force 39, USARCENT’s innovation task force. Recently, that means working on a new phone app to identify unmanned aerial systems – or enemy drones.
CARPE Dronvm funded by the Department of Defense, and it was developed by MITRE Corporation, according to USARCENT.
“The CARPE Dronvm experiment, or proof of principle, was a huge success for ARCENT,” Maj. Travis Valley, the Task Force 39 operations officer, said in a release. “This was the largest experiment ARCENT has conducted to date. We expanded the experiment footprint, covering 50 kilometers, with multiple individuals in the area using the CARPE Dronvm app. This was all to prove the CARPE Dronvm app works. It did, in fact it exceeded my expectations on the simplicity of use and the program’s drone detection ability. This has the potential as a Force Protection multiplier, adding another tool to help protect Soldiers in a deployed environment.”
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“This app enables yourself to aid in the collective security of your community by reporting these drones up to authorities that are then able to take actions against them and able to monitor and track them,” Reeve details.
The phone app is meant to be used by servicemembers and civilians, particularly within the Middle East, and it’s getting its start right here in the Midlands with help from partners.
“Ultimately South Carolina here is a great place to explore innovation and work with the local community to build out tools and build out programs that are potentially going to have major impacts to our operations within the Middle East,” Reeve shares.
USARCENT has partnered with Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the local FAA office in Columbia, the South Carolina Air and Army National Guard to conduct the first official test of this technology, which was successful.
“We flew a drone from McEntire Air Force Base, which is on the outskirts of Columbia, to a range south of Shaw Air Force Base,” Reeve starts. “And in that test we had a Black Hawk trialing this drone that was provided by the South Carolina Army National Guard….We had people staged along the route and these people with phone with the app on it were able to take pictures of the drone, identify the drone and were able to monitor and record that information in real time at our operation cell and track where this drone was.”
Reeve says this technology will start to roll out soon so servicemembers can be more knowledgeable about the potential threat they’re facing.
“Knowing that there is a potential threat to your community, threat to your country, and you're not able to act upon that threat or aid in defense of your neighbors and your community, it’s a terrible feeling for anybody,” Reeve shares.
But now, Reeve says this app will provide a way for service members and civilians to help out.
“It’s incredibly fulfilling to be able to aid in protecting civilian populations and our partners in the middle east and as well, that directly impacts the quality of life over here in the United States,” Reeve says.