Quanterion Solutions’ Internet of Things Initiatives

Secure Internet of Things (IoT) Operational Planning Environment (SIoTOPE) SBIR Award

In October 2022, Quanterion Solutions was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) effort titled “Secure Internet of Things (IoT) Operational Planning Environment (SIoTOPE) with the AFRL Information Directorate to develop an Internet of Things (IoT) research and testing laboratory. The lab will explore the operational use of IoT devices, how they can be securely incorporated into DoD networks, and how the data they produce can improve decision making.

The project revolves around building IoT capabilities for the Air Force and pioneering integration strategies from other supporting capabilities within the DoD.

Quanterion Solutions will establish an interoperable cloud ecosystem for integrating and testing IoT devices to produce technological solutions in support of Air Force mission use cases. During Phase I, Quanterion will design and implement a scalable cloud-hosted environment that will provide the necessary ecosystem and infrastructure to test and evaluate disparate edge devices, data streams, processing pipelines, and analytics, as well as decision support displays. The effort involves research into digital twin modeling, big data analytics, and edge processing capabilities. The results of this effort will ultimately support IoT/Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) solution development, increasing situational awareness, force readiness, and operational efficiency.

Alex MacDiarmid, Director of Advanced Programs at Quanterion Solutions, is leading the in-house team of technical experts working on the SBIR.

“The proliferation of IoT devices offers a wealth of new capabilities to the warfighter,” said MacDiarmid. “At the same time, it is absolutely critical that we properly secure these technologies so as not to introduce new attack vectors.”

Quanterion Solutions has long worked at the forefront of Department of Defense (DoD) IoT implementations, providing expert assessments and guidance to such organizations as U.S Central Command, AFRL Information Directorate, the U.S. Marine Corps, the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Energy. The technical solutions company has built an impeccable reputation over 20 years by continuously evaluating and improving processes and technologies that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of many defense-related organizations.

Internet of Things Onboarding Capability (IoTOC) SBIR Award

On Dec. 15, Quanterion Solutions was awarded a Phase I SBIR titled “Internet of Things Onboarding Capability (IoTOC),” which will develop cloud-based IoT acceptance test methodologies for Air Force systems integration. This was the second SBIR Quanterion Solutions has been awarded by AFRL in the past quarter.

The mission of the SBIR is to develop a proof-of-concept framework to test and onboard Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for Department of Defense (DoD) implementations. This framework will bring a software defined IoT/Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Test as a Service (TaaS) capability to the DoD that protects an installation’s critical infrastructure while integrating new IoT technologies. Quanterion Solutions will work with AFRL Information Directorate engineers, as well as contributing scientists from U.S. national laboratories to construct the Phase 1 design for systems of interest to the Air and Space Force.

This new SBIR effort is motivated by a collection of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Guidelines on IoT device cybersecurity requirements for the Federal Government, which aim to address the challenges presented by IoT heterogeneity and interoperability while integrating automated testing capabilities to improve efficiency.

The IoT subject matter expert team at Quanterion Solutions is dedicated to improving IoT technology for industry as well as government. This SBIR will provide an opportunity to further explore the intricacies of IoT technology as it relates to system functionality, reliability, and security.

“This distributed IoT testing capability is a key build on to Quanterion’s cloud-based, open end-to-end testing ecosystem for the local Rome Defense Industrial Base to more rapidly enable development and obtain Authority to Operate (ATO) accreditation of DoD capabilities,” said Cully Patch, Quanterion Solutions Cybersecurity Program Manager.

Quanterion Solutions has partnered with Idaho National Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to deliver this Phase I solution. This work is supported by the AFRL Information Directorate’s Secure IoT Operational Planning Environment (SIoTOPE), a cloud-based IoT ecosystem that offers a streamlined approach to experimenting with IoT solutions in accordance with Federal and DoD standards.

Quanterion Solutions was invited by industry partners to participate in a key panel discussion on emerging technology issues at the New York State Innovation Summit session in Buffalo, NY, this past October. In this multi-perspective panel, Quanterion Solutions was given an opportunity to describe challenges and candidate capabilities from an industry development perspective.

Quanterion Solutions facilitated a local workshop to demonstrate the potential impact of an Internet of Things (IoT) Living Laboratory, specifically by leveraging IoT medical technologies to improve healthcare accessibility and quality of care. The workshop focused on leveraging IoT solutions for improved medical care while ensuring the cybersecurity of those technologies.

Quanterion Solutions brought together Central New York IoT leaders from government, private industry, and academia to identify emerging capabilities in IoT medical technology and recognize the remaining challenges and associated data security and privacy concerns. Contributing scientists, entrepreneurs, and engineers included Quanterion Solutions; INVIZA Health; Morphix, Inc.; SIPPA Solutions; Syracuse University; AFRL Information Directorate; and the Innovare Advancement Center, which hosted the event. Healthcare providers discussed key partnerships to accelerate time to market and explored potential synergies between the products and technologies that were presented.

Cully Patch, Senior Program Manager for Cybersecurity and Intelligence at Quanterion Solutions, worked with company leadership to spearhead the workshop.

“The focus on medical technology stemmed from rising healthcare challenges for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the civilian population at large,” said Patch. “As demand outpaces supply, the increasing costs and accessibility of healthcare present significant concerns. We would like to thank our contributors for working with us to visualize a secure, accessible IoT medical ecosystem.”

Quanterion Solutions teamed with AFRL Information Directorate to provide support for Griffiss Institute’s 2022 Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ (VICEROY) mentor program for college students. One of the objectives of the VICEROY program is to “Provide an enhanced pipeline for future cyber leaders,” according to the Griffiss Institute website. 

In the summer of 2022, Quanterion Solutions developed an eight-week, end-to-end, broad perspective of the Internet of Things (IoT) to supplement the main VICEROY curriculum.  

Interns from multiple backgrounds benefited from the curriculum to both study and experiment with IoT system models from hardware to cloud-based software. The interns also completed networking and data analytics work, and left the program with a developed understanding of IoT systems. This knowledge allowed the interns to become aware of IoT systems and gain an understanding of job and education paths for their future careers.

Quanterion Solutions, in collaboration with McGuirk USA, was selected to participate in Griffiss Institute’s HUSTLE Defense Accelerator program in the spring of 2022, which culminated in a pitch for funding for Demo Day.

Teams eligible to compete at Demo Day pitched their innovations to a panel of judges for a chance to win investments of up to $300,000. HUSTLE, which stands for Helping Upstate Science and Technology Leaders and Entrepreneurs, is a 12-week accelerator program for innovations in the fields of artificial intelligence/machine learning, cybersecurity, quantum computing, and unmanned solutions. No other business accelerator in New York State targets defense and national security innovations.

In Quanterion Solutions’ role as a sponsor for McGuirk USA, the two companies have collaborated on a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) concept. The initiative is to develop a new capability that can be offered to Department of Defense (DoD) organizations to assist with the many challenges of ensuring the cybersecurity of defense assets.

Quanterion Solutions has teamed with McGuirk USA on a collection of recent opportunities based on the companies’ synergy in DoD and commercial cybersecurity.