Step into the world of innovation and excellence with “Industry Champions”! Join us as we celebrate the trailblazers who are redefining success across diverse industries, sharing their journeys, strategies, and secrets to thriving in competitive landscapes. Today our host, Morgan Yonge, spoke with Matthew Krupczak.
Matthew Krupczak
CEO at Theta Informatics LLC
Website Address: https://theta.limited
Short company description:
Theta Informatics LLC produces and publishes software named OpenAthena which introduces a novel terrain-raycast technique for remote location sensing via UAS.
What’s The Biggest Challenge you are facing in your business or industry?
Defense Acquisition system and requirements process.
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
Maturing the OpenAthena software from TRL 1 whiteboard idea to TRL 8 tested and validated in operationally-relevant environments, building a brand, and licensing to high-profile customer organizations.
What’s The Biggest Challenge you are facing in your business or industry?
Defense Acquisition system and requirements process
How do you see your field evolving in the next 3-5 years?
U.S. Army is already adapting for increased use of UAS through Army Transformation Initiatve, Transofmation in Contact, etc. for what is being dubbed as “the changing character of warfare”.
Who in your industry do you see as a trend setter and why?
Anduril, Neros, and Firestorm as far as software integration and mass production of UAS platforms.
Transcript:
Morgan:
Welcome to Industry Champions. I’m Morgan Yonge, and this is where we highlight those who are making an impact across all industries, across the country, and across the world. I’m Morgan Yonge, joined today by Matthew Krupczak with Data Informatics LLC. Now, Matthew, how much did I butcher your last name?
Matthew:
Not too much, but I’ve gotten all kinds of variations through the years.
Morgan:
There we go. I love it. Tell me about what you’re doing with Data Informatics.
Matthew:
Sure. I’m the founder of the company, and for over five and a half years now we’ve been developing software. What Data Informatics does is produce software called Open Athena, which introduces a terrain raycast technique for remote sensing by drones.
What we’ve developed is a technique that allows regular, off-the-shelf drones, like ones you can buy at Costco, to get location data for anything they’re looking at in real time or near real time.
Matthew:
The typical challenge with drones is that they know where they are, but they don’t know where anything their camera is pointed at actually is in space. Traditionally, solving that problem required very expensive drones equipped with laser rangefinders that could measure distance from the drone to the target.
What Open Athena does is remove the need for that laser. Instead, it uses a digital twin of terrain elevation to range from the drone to the target. This creates use cases in search and rescue, defense, agriculture, site security, and anywhere time-sensitive situational awareness and a common operating picture are critical.
And it allows all of this to be done with drones that don’t break the bank.
Morgan:
This is incredible and extremely cutting edge. I know you’ve been working not only with the government, but also with local, nationwide, and worldwide drone manufacturers. Tell me how this software is being utilized with what’s happening in Ukraine right now.
Matthew:
Absolutely. What we’ve seen in Ukraine is that drones have been far more effective than anyone originally anticipated. Many in the military talk about what they call the “changing character of warfare” and a transparent battlefield.
Because drones are always in the air and always watching, software like ours allows users to get location data for whatever they see almost instantaneously and then share that information over systems like Starlink with other units. This has made the battlefield extremely transparent and very punishing for the concentration of forces, or what they call mass and maneuver.
Matthew:
Since World War II, the prevailing doctrine has been to concentrate armored units and infantry to create a breakthrough. But when forces are constantly observed by drones, that concentration becomes extremely vulnerable.
Being able to observe and call in artillery using drones has reduced response time from over 30 minutes to as little as three to five minutes, from drone detection to rounds landing on target. This represents a major shift in how commanders must think about the battlefield and adapt to the technological realities of 21st-century conflict.
Morgan:
This is massive. I imagine the government is now planning differently, where pilots aren’t just flying planes anymore, but also drones. Do you know how they’re preparing for this shift toward drone warfare?
Matthew:
Yes. The Army has a large effort underway called the Army Transformation Initiative. One of the first components is called Transformation in Contact, organized under Army Futures Command and led by General James Rainey.
The goal is to make units more proactive in testing and adapting new technologies. From there, they develop TTPs, or techniques, tactics, and procedures, for integrating that technology into operations.
Matthew:
Having technology is one thing, but knowing how to use it and integrate it into a combined arms framework takes much more time and effort. Certain divisions are designated as technology units and are given opportunities to work with cutting-edge firms to test what works and what doesn’t.
Morgan:
What an incredible software you’ve created and how it’s impacting the world and the safety of our nation. Thank you so much, Matthew, for coming on the show and for sharing your knowledge and innovation.
Matthew:
Thank you.
Morgan:
And viewers, thank you for tuning in to another episode of Industry Champions. If you’d like more information, head over to DailyNewsNetwork.com. We’ll see you in the next episode of Industry Champions.
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