Dr. Andy Drozd, CEO and chief scientist of ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC was a panelist at the Artificial Intelligence Roundtable Discussion hosted by County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. and New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo.
The free event, which is open to the public, took place on May 23, 2024 at the Mohawk Valley Community College Rome Campus at 1101 Floyd Ave.
The panel discussed what artificial intelligence is, its potential benefits and drawbacks, and other related topics. Panelists will include:
Anthony Martino, director of the Northeast Cybersecurity and Forensics Center at Utica University
Charles Green, cofounder, president and CEO of AIS
Andy Drozd, president, CEO and chief scientist of ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC
Stephen J. Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties and member of the National Association of Counties Artificial Intelligence Exploratory Committee
“Artificial Intelligence has become a hot button topic as of late, and like with many other things, there are legitimate concerns and outright falsehoods surrounding it,” Picente said. “AI has the potential to significantly improve many areas of our lives, but we must tread carefully as we explore its capabilities and the negative aspects that could arise. I look forward to educating the public through a robust discussion about the pros and cons of this emerging technology and I thank Sen. Griffo and our panelists for participating.”
“The use of artificial intelligence is becoming more and more common,” Griffo said. “Given its widespread emergence, many people have questions and/or concerns and want to learn more about this technology. I thank Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. and our panelists for taking part in this important and informative discussion.”
Don’t forget to stop by the 𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗥𝗢 exhibit and visit with Timothy Woods, 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀, and 𝗗𝗿. 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗱! Held May 13-16, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The IEEE International Symposium on Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks will break new ground in spectrum access by uniting industry experts, academics, and innovative minds from across the globe.
ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC is excited to share a significant milestone in the academic and professional community of signal processing and the Internet of Things (IoT). Dr. Jithin Jagannath has been appointed as the IEEE Signal Processing Society Representative to the Internet of Things Journal Steering Committee. This prestigious position not only highlights Dr. Jagannath’s outstanding contributions to the field but also highlights his commitment to providing service to the IEEE and other organizations.
Dr. Jagannath’s expertise spans across various facets of signal processing and IoT, making him an exemplary choice for this role. His dedication to advancing research, fostering innovation, and bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical applications has been commendable. As a representative, Dr. Jagannath is set to bring a fresh perspective and drive significant advancements in the IoT domain, influencing future technologies and applications that will benefit society at large.
Let’s extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Jithin Jagannath on this remarkable achievement. We eagerly anticipate the contributions he will bring to the table, shaping the future of IoT and signal processing. Here’s to new beginnings and groundbreaking advancements!
Dr. Andy Drozd, a distinguished figure in both the technological and philanthropic communities, was recently honored with the Community Service award by the Daughters of the American Revolution. This prestigious accolade serves as a testament to Dr. Drozd’s unwavering commitment to serving his community, a commitment that is vividly reflected in his professional and charitable endeavors. As the President of ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC, Dr. Drozd has been at the forefront of technological innovation, steering his company to achieve remarkable breakthroughs in computational solutions. However, his contributions extend far beyond the realm of technology.
In addition to his leadership role at ANDRO, Dr. Drozd is the visionary founder of the Project Fibonacci Foundation, Inc., an initiative that has made significant strides in inspiring the next generation of leaders in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). Through this foundation, Dr. Drozd has dedicated himself to fostering a culture of learning and innovation among young people, empowering them to pursue their passions in these critical fields. His efforts have not only enriched the lives of countless individuals but have also sown the seeds for a brighter, more innovative future.
The Community Awards Dinner, held at Harts Hill Inn on May 2, 2024, was a fitting venue to celebrate Dr. Drozd’s achievements. This event not only highlighted his individual contributions but also underscored the importance of community service and the profound impact that one person’s dedication and hard work can have on the broader community. Dr. Drozd’s recognition by the Daughters of the American Revolution is a reminder of the power of service and the difference that each of us can make in our communities. His story is an inspiration to all, encouraging us to engage, contribute, and make our own mark on the world.
Additional 2024 Awardees Include:
LuPway Doh, Americanism Award
Players of Utica, Excellence in Entertainment
Victoria Stockton Allen, Community Service Award
Michele & Rich Synek, Distinguished Citizens Award
In 2023, EDGE partnered with ANDRO Computational Solutions to pursue and win a FuzeHub Manufacturing Grant through its Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund. This grant enabled ANDRO to conduct a pilot of “2ndNet”―a wireless rapid alert and intelligent emergency management system for mitigating active threats in schools and public spaces. 2ndNet is anticipated to demonstrate an unparalleled breakthrough in rapid alert/response to save lives, and EDGE is proud to have facilitated this type of critical research and development here in the Mohawk Valley. In addition to sponsoring ANDRO for this grant opportunity, EDGE served as grant administrator and shepherded this project through to completion, culminating in a successful pilot.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked not just the inauguration of ANDRO’s new facility within the Griffiss Business & Technology Park but also symbolized the company’s ongoing commitment to innovation and excellence in the fields of defense research and commercial industry applications.
The event included esteemed representatives from the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce and the honorable Mayor Jeff Lanigan, who all joined forces to celebrate this significant milestone. The relocation to Griffiss Park, a hub for technology and development, in the previous year, was lauded as a strategic move that would further bolster ANDRO’s research, engineering, and technical services prowess.
Since its inception in 1994, ANDRO Computational Solutions has carved a niche for itself by leading the charge in advanced spectrum exploitation, secure wireless communications, software-based waveform development, cognitive software-defined radio networking, multi-sensor data fusion, and sensor resource management. The new facility promises to be a beacon of innovation, offering enhanced capabilities and fostering collaborations that will push the boundaries of what is possible in secure communications and defense technologies. The ribbon-cutting ceremony not only celebrated ANDRO’s past achievements and current endeavors but also looked forward to the future, where the company continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the technological landscape.
ROME, NY — The U.S. Navy has awarded ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC of Rome a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with a base value of $1.3 million plus additional funded options, to develop a new type of autonomous radio frequency signal intelligence (RF-SIGINT) capability for uncrewed air system (UAS) platforms or aerial drones, called RANGER ― Robust Autonomy for NeGation of Enemy Radar. The work will be performed by ANDRO’s Marconi-Rosenblatt Artificial Intelligence Innovation Lab team in Rome led by Dr. Jithin Jagannath, Lab Director and Chief Scientist – Technology Sector.
The RANGER award builds upon an earlier investment by the Navy of almost $1.5 million for ANDRO’s D-MARVEL system, a complement to RANGER, for a total funding amount to ANDRO approaching $3 million to advance UAS autonomy goals. RANGER and D-MARVEL both provide for next-generation machine learning (ML)-based UAS platforms that can autonomously perform a variety of tasks and conduct missions in diverse environments with little-to-no human intervention. RANGER focuses on RF-SIGINT applications whereas D-MARVEL leverages human visual cues with artificial intelligence (AI) for human-machine teaming performance.
ANDROs complementary RANGER and D-MARVEL capabilities for Navy UAS platform applications
For RANGER, the ANDRO AI Lab team will apply novel ML techniques for enhancing radar detection and classification and will integrate the low cost, small-form-factor payload with small UAS host platforms. RANGER represents the government’s focused investment in the development and deployment of lightweight, next-generation RF-SIGINT payloads for use in small military drones.
According to Jagannath, RANGER’s overarching goal is to bolster Manned-UnManned Teaming (MUM-T) to provide superior battlefield agility and improve platform survivability. The design, integration, and flight testing of RANGER on UAS hardware is spearheaded by ANDRO engineers Sean Furman and Tyler Gwin with guidance by Anu Jagannath, Associate Director of ANDRO’s AI Lab and the company’s machine learning-enabled SIGINT subject matter expert.
ANDRO president Dr. Andrew Drozd explains that the impetus for human-machine teaming is driven by the need to migrate from a UAS platform that is strictly controlled by a human operator who must orchestrate its flight to effectively achieve a particular mission objective―representing a human-in-the-loop approach. Rather, Jagannath and his team are focused on an end-to-end, human-on-the-loop framework that leverages specialized machine learning techniques to provide autonomy, adaptability, and highly effective human-machine teaming performance based on experiments recently conducted at ANDRO’s lab facilities.
Jagannath stated, “The RANGER technology sits at the intersection of ANDRO’s Marconi-Rosenblatt Lab expertise in UAS autonomy and efficient machine learning-enabled signal intelligence. The AI lab team sees RANGER as the next-generation autonomous MUM-T planning and coordination system that will be engineered for operation in dynamic and austere application environments.”
ANDRO engineer Sean Furman readies a drone for outdoor flight experiments and measures RANGER system performance.
Drozd anticipates growth in business arising from the work to incorporate the solution into advanced UAS platforms during the next phases of advanced research and development. “RANGER is at the core of ANDRO’s strategic plan to continue to expand the company’s research portfolio and footprint, including the research activities of the Marconi-Rosenblatt AI Innovation Lab,” said Drozd.
ANDRO is a privately owned company established in 1994 focused on scientific research, development, and the application of advanced computer software in the domains of radio frequency spectrum exploitation, secure wireless communications, cognitive radios, advanced radar data fusion, and sensor resource management. Visit www.androcs.com for more information.
Dr. Andy Drozd, President of ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC, and Corporate Advisory Board Member, Bob Bojanek, have been invited to judge at the upcoming New York Business PLan Competition (NYBPC).
The New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) project is designed for students to encourage the development of greater entrepreneurial capacity in New York State. SUNY Poly is the regional host for the Mohawk Valley. The competition is open to all students from all universities in our MV region, all disciplines, and all levels–both undergraduate and graduate. Students are encouraged to form diverse teams and collectively have fun developing their ideas. The competition gives students the opportunity to bring concepts for new useful and inventive technologies, processes, services, and organizations to life. Students do not need a background in business to join forces with others and enter the competition. Cross-disciplinary teams are encouraged.
During the day of the competition (Friday, April 5, 2024), student teams pitch their venture concepts in thematic tracks to judges who then give them feedback and rubric-based evaluations. The tracks are as follows: Food & Agtech; Health & Wellbeing; Learn, Work & Live; Safety, Power & Mobility; Products & Hardware; and Software & Services. Past student participants have remarked that the competition benefited them in several ways including becoming more capable through experiential learning, being nudged to finally develop their dream ideas for helping others, getting valuable feedback from expert judges, being recognized and awarded with cash prizes, and having the chance to get funding for their exciting new ventures.
As an update for NYBPC MV, graduate students from the SUNY Upstate Innovation & Entrepreneurship group have expressed interest in partnering with other students who have complementary skills for our upcoming competition. Here is a description of the SUNY Upstate students and their interest areas:
The SUNY Upstate Innovation & Entrepreneurship student organization is a space for medical students and other students entering health professions to explore the intersection of business and medicine. Our goal is to offer local biomedical start-ups our expertise in science and medicine to help advance these businesses in any way our role as consultants within this sphere can contribute. While our student organization may have teams enter the competition on their own, we also have students who may be interested in serving as consultants to other teams, should their project ideas relate to science, medicine, health, and wellness.
ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC is a proud sponsor and exhibitor for the upcoming IEEE DySpan Symposium, held May 13-16, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The IEEE International Symposium on Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks will break new ground in spectrum access by uniting industry experts, academics, and innovative minds from across the globe. This symposium serves as a platform for pioneering advancements and collaboration in the radio frequency spectrum realm. Brace yourself for engaging presentations, illuminating discussions, and networking opportunities unlike any before. Let’s step into the future of spectrum technology together!
DySPAN 2024 will be co-located with National Science Foundation (NSF) Spectrum Week 2024, which will include SWIFT and NRDZ PI meetings, SpectrumX center meeting, National Spectrum Managers Association (NSMA) annual conference, and a WSRD R&D workshop related to the National Spectrum Strategy.
If you are a SWIFT or NRDZ PI, or if you interested in joining any of the NSF Spectrum Week 2024 programming during DySPAN, you will be given an option to add NSF Spectrum Week 2024 access to your DySPAN registration during checkout. The additional fee is a nominal $20.
If you are interested in attending the WSRD R&D Workshop on Friday, you will be given an option to add WSRD R&D Workshop access to your DySPAN registration during checkout. The additional fee is a nominal $10.
Dr. Andy Drozd, President of ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC will be a panel speaker on the state of Dynamic Spectrum Access in government applications
