The threat of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) attacks on both military and civilian populations is growing. 

As if we didn’t already have enough to worry about.

Anxiety riddled, chronic overthinkers and savvy investors alike will be glad to know that Strategic Elements (ASX: SOR) are working on solutions for autonomous sensing and search of CBRN threats. 

Phew.

The Company has today announced that they plan on conducting a feasibility and scoping study through subsidiary company Stealth Technologies alongside the Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group) to develop autonomous drones and vehicles to sense and detect CBRN threats, allowing for more rapid and flexible responses from authorities while decreasing personnel risk. 

The DST Group is part of the Australian Department of Defence and functions to support the safeguarding of Australian national interests through scientific and technological solutions. 

Strategic Elements’ subsidiary company- Stealth Technologies is responsible for developing custom robotic unmanned ground and airborne vehicles, referred to as AxVs. They developed the first ‘automated perimeter security solution’ in conjunction with Honeywell and the Western Australian Department of Justice. The autonomous security vehicle was deployed at the Eastern Kalgoorlie Regional Prison. The vehicle aims to alleviate staff for more skilled work by reducing the level of human involvement in testing and patrols. The perimeter security market is estimated to reach USD $282.26 billion by 2025.

Strategic Elements is hoping to integrate the DST Group’s search algorithms into their autonomous unmanned search vehicle and drone models. The search algorithms enable the location of CBRN sources within geographic areas. The ultimate goal is to enable carriage of drones to target environments via the autonomous ground vehicles to reduce the amount of human involvement in CBRN attack detection. 

Charles Murphy, Managing Director of Strategic Developments said “Stealth Technologies is building a flexible autonomous platform that we intend to deploy in sectors such as security, defence and mining… We strongly believe there is a huge shift underway in the automation of human function and the machines we use.”

Strategic Elements operates as a ‘venture builder’, combining teams of scientists and innovationists to foster creative solutions. The Company operates under a Federal Government program and therefore to compensate for the higher risk of investing, investors pay no capital gains from selling of their SOR shares or dividends.