MITRE 360 February
February 2025
Drones carrying sensors to detect hazardous materials. Antennas that can function across the global communication spectrum. An app that rapidly identifies suspicious aerial activity. All are examples of MITRE-developed technologies that moved from our labs into the marketplace through low- or no-cost licenses.
Our technology transfer office leads licensing efforts in the spirit of spreading impact and spurring national economic development.
Domino effect: As an operator of FFRDCs — federally funded research and development centers — it's part of our charge to share the technology we develop with industry to benefit our nation.
Breathing new life into government IP: "The end goal is to promote our national security and foster economic development by working with startups and large companies alike," says Barry Costa, director of MITRE’s tech transfer office.
5-minute read time
QUOTABLE
Douglas Robbins, vice president, engineering and prototyping, highlights MITRE’s unique role as a connector. In addition to technology being leveraged by industry, our tech also addresses a wide swath of sponsor challenges.
BY THE NUMBERS
Our aim is to get MITRE intellectual property commercialized for the broadest impact possible. In the last decade, more than 800 U.S. businesses have licensed our innovations.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Cyber Tools for Non-Cyber Experts
What do a naval submarine, a power plant, and a gas pump have in common? They’re all examples of cyber-physical systems run by both hardware and software. The duality makes them more vulnerable to cyber attacks and also more challenging to protect.
Universal appeal: To help non-cyber-savvy teams detect, respond, and recover from attacks, a MITRE team developed a suite of tools known as Cyber Streaming Effects and Analytics Languages, or Cyber SEAL™. The tools support proprietary data sources and generate response playbooks tailored to a variety of platforms. The effort has led to three patents with several more to follow.
Why it matters: Most cyber defenses require skilled operators who are in short supply.
IN MEMORIAM
DCA Tragedy Touches MITRE Family
Last month, we lost a cherished member of our finance team, Kaiyan Mao, in the tragic mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport. Our hearts are with all the victims and their families.
Remembering Kaiyan: “She was known for her warmth, generosity, and enthusiasm for helping others—a presence that will be missed,” says MITRE CEO Mark Peters.
NATIONAL SECURITY IMPACT
Navy Ramps up Use of Autonomous Vessels
The big picture: The Navy increasingly relies on uncrewed surface vessels, or USVs, to conduct special operations, antisubmarine warfare, intelligence collection, and other efforts better served by autonomous vehicles.
The goal: The service aims to transition 40% of its fleet to USVs by 2050.
The challenge: As the Navy standardizes interfaces across its growing USV portfolio, commercial vendors are required to develop compliant platforms to facilitate system integration. MITRE set out to defray costs of the expensive endeavor with existing tools.
The solution: We combined commercial hardware with a popular open-source software package to craft a prototype that industry can use to develop low-cost, compliant autonomous platforms.
Why it matters: The vessels are portable, light, expendable, and most importantly, a boon to our defense capabilities.
EXTRA EXTRA
Empowering Citizens to Defend Against Drones
New Jersey residents are well acquainted with turnpike traffic, but mysterious drones flying over the busy interstate? Not so much. Hundreds of recent aerial sitings have left citizens on the ground concerned and confused.
Employing AI drone technology: The first line of defense against uncrewed aircraft is identification. MITRE’s CARPE Dronvm program, adopted by both military and industry, applies AI to help people identify and report suspicious drone activity via a smartphone app.