Ukraine to receive Estonia Vegvisir's Core situational awareness system.

On December 27, 2023, Vegvisir, a defense industry startup with offices in Estonia and Croatia, concluded its first sales contract in collaboration with DefSecIntel, a surveillance system provider from Estonia. This partnership will result in the deployment of the Vegvisir Core advanced situational awareness system to Ukraine in the spring of 2024, with specific contract details remaining confidential.
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The Vegvisir Core system is designed to deliver a comprehensive 360-degree view for various military vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, main battle tanks, and naval applications. (Picture source: Vegvisir)

Ingvar Pärnamäe, CEO of Vegvisir, has highlighted the significance of this contract as an indication that situational awareness solutions may provide advantages to vehicle troops in combat scenarios. He also expressed hope that Vegvisir's success might serve as an example for other startups looking to integrate hardware and software into defense equipment.

Pärnamäe remarked, "Governments worldwide are increasing their military capabilities in response to escalating global conflicts, leading to a notable rise in defense budgets. Consequently, the defense sector has become an appealing area for founders and investors."

Securing funding, particularly for startups with a hardware-focused approach, remains a challenge. Investors often express caution due to the significant financial requirements, the need for engineering resources, and lengthy development and sales cycles.

Pärnamäe offered insights into Vegvisir's journey, mentioning that it took nearly three years of meticulous planning, fundraising, research, development, extensive testing, and negotiations with manufacturers to secure their first contract. This experience underscores the inherent risks but also the potential for government contracts over several years.

To continually improve their solution, Vegvisir actively seeks new investors. The core of Vegvisir's situational awareness system integrates vehicle-mounted cameras, an ultra-low latency headset, and supplementary data overlay capabilities. This approach offers vehicle personnel a comprehensive 360-degree view of their surroundings, equipping troops with valuable tools to navigate complex scenarios and make informed decisions on the battlefield.

Vegvisir recently introduced its inaugural ready-made products at the DSEI 2023 exhibition in September. The company unveiled two versions of its solution: Vegvisir Core and Vegvisir Remote. Vegvisir Core is designed to deliver a comprehensive 360-degree view for various military vehicles, including infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, combat support platforms, engineering vehicles, main battle tanks, and naval applications. It facilitates crew connectivity to a digital hub, enabling seamless interaction and access to digital data. In contrast, Vegvisir Remote offers a similar experience but is optimized for lower bandwidth, making it suitable for remote use, particularly on optionally manned or unmanned platforms requiring remote operation.

Key technical features of Vegvisir's system include a 4-sensor module system affixed to the vehicle (front, sides, and rear), providing a 360-degree field of view through the integration of different sensor layers. The system offers ultra-low latency, military-grade casings with an integrated cleaning system, optional thermal sensors, head or helmet-mounted display options for a mixed-reality experience, an intuitive user interaction panel, and a custom 3D virtual engine to support multi-user and channel input. Additionally, it provides extra interfaces such as CAN and ETH, a tailored user interface for effective data display from the vehicle and other systems, and seamless integration with battlefield management systems for data virtualization and visualization of vehicle information.

The components of the Vegvisir system include the Close Range Sensor System (CRSS), Dual Close Range Sensor System (DCRSS), Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), and the Driver Sensor System (DSS). (Picture source: Vegvisir)

The Vegvisir Core, an advanced situational awareness system, is designed to provide mounted personnel with a comprehensive understanding of their immediate surroundings and the broader battlefield context. This system offers digital overlays of critical information and real-time data to support military operations. It serves as a digital hub, connecting the crew to essential digital data for decision-making and situational awareness.

The Vegvisir Core can be utilized by drivers, commanders, gunners, or dismounted personnel operating platforms with obstructed field of view. With suitable communications infrastructure, it can also function as a network-based system for live connectivity. Each position within the platform benefits from a dedicated functional UI/UX design for a personalized experience.

At the core of the Vegvisir system are several essential components that work together to provide an advanced level of situational awareness. These components include the Driver Sensor System (DSS), Close Range Sensor System (CRSS), Dual Close Range Sensor System (DCRSS), and the Helmet Mounted Display (HMD).

The Driver Sensor System (DSS) is a technologically advanced sensor module, combining three Electro-Optical (EO) sensors with up to three uncooled Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) sensors. Offering ultra-low latency and a resolution of approximately 2k, it serves as the primary driving sensor. Equipped with compressed air and water cleaning capabilities, along with an optional wiper module, the DSS provides an unobstructed 180-degree horizontal field of view and is typically mounted at the front of the platform.

The Close Range Sensor System (CRSS) is another key component of the Vegvisir Core, delivering clear High-Definition (HD) imagery from a single sensor with ultra-low latency. Covering a horizontal field of view of 175 degrees, it is often mounted on the sides or rear of the platform to provide a close-up view of the immediate surroundings. This sensor's output can be optimized for remote use to conserve bandwidth, enhancing its versatility.

For enhanced versatility, the Dual Close Range Sensor System (DCRSS) combines HD imagery with an LWIR uncooled thermal sensor. Featuring an ultra-low latency module and a horizontal field of view of 130 degrees for EO and 60 or 86 degrees for LWIR, the DCRSS is well-suited for monitoring the platform's close proximity. Like the CRSS, it offers compressed air and water cleaning options, along with an optional wiper cleaning system for remote operation.

The Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) serves as the interface that allows users to create a customized User Interface (UI) for specific functions, complete with 6 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) head tracking. The goggles can be mounted on a helmet or worn directly on the head, accommodating up to four simultaneous users. This multi-user capability enables independent operation and data sharing among the crew, facilitating information exchange.

The Vegvisir Core offers an array of features, including virtual overlays of friendly and enemy information on live video feeds, real-time position and heading information for drivers, display of driving aid lines and notifications, integration with vehicle information systems and other interfaces, coordination of information among the crew, and customizable interfaces for different crew members in future versions. Its intuitive and user-friendly design ensures ease of use even in high-pressure combat situations, and it is designed to adhere to STANAG and MIL-STD standards for interoperability and compatibility with multiple platforms and systems.

The Vegvisir Core system offers an array of features, including virtual overlays of friendly and enemy information on live video feeds, display of driving aid lines and notifications, and integration with vehicle information systems and other interfaces. (Picture source: Vegvisir)

Defense News December 2023