RTI Awarded $1.25M Contract to Explore Advancements in Data-Centric Cybersecurity for the US Air Force and DoD

RTI is working on the integration and operation of Connext within DevSecOps and Zero Trust Architectures

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Sept. 20, 2022– Real-Time Innovations (RTI), the largest software framework company for autonomous systems, today announced it was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct-to-Phase-2 AFWERX contract for $1.25M.  RTI will advance the cybersecurity capabilities of the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) with its software connectivity framework based on the Data Distribution Service (DDS™) standard from the Object Management Group® (OMG®). RTI will research and develop solutions that focus on cybersecurity, performance and enhanced integration of its technologies in the rapidly evolving DevSecOps environments like Platform One.

The DAF is interested in the exploration of performance and cybersecurity related questions tied to real-time secure software frameworks using DDS, including in DevSecOps and Zero Trust environments. As the largest commercial vendor of this class of technology, and a key author of the DDS standards, RTI's research team will explore increased performance capabilities and enhanced cybersecurity practices to keep pace with evolving technologies. This ensures that RTI is well positioned to explore and develop the needed solutions, standardize the results, and productize them.

The DoD is also interested in improving software containerization. Kubernetes (k8s), an open-source container management software solution for IT systems and the de facto technology in this area, has become a centerpiece of many DevSecOps-driven system architectures. However, IT technologies including Kubernetes were not designed from the ground up for critical, secure, real-time defense systems.

RTI's goal is to explore how to adapt the DDS standard and its commercial implementation to a DevSecOps system development paradigm. DevSecOps covers modeling, development, operations and cybersecurity and is intended to decrease development costs and time to deployment. This will ultimately ensure that the DoD's capabilities continually outstrip opponents by rapidly integrating the latest technologies.

"RTI is proud to work on solutions to these challenges with our DoD customers. This funding will allow us to prioritize research efforts to explore and enhance data-centric cybersecurity within the DAF and DoD," said Paul Pazandak, Director of Research at RTI. "We look forward to advancing the state-of-the-art in verifiable, model-driven data-centric cybersecurity of military systems. We are excited to continue our work to optimize the performance of DDS, and our flagship Connext software, with Kubernetes."

The SBIR program enables the creation of concepts and inventions with significant potential to advance the development of innovative products, and their eventual transition into DAF and DoD programs. The program's chief role is to bridge the gap between the performance of basic science and the commercialization of resulting innovations. RTI has a long and very successful history of participation in this program and is rated in the top 1% of all companies that are awarded SBIR funding and commercialize the results.

About RTI
Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the largest software framework company for autonomous systems. RTI Connext® is the world's leading architecture for developing intelligent distributed systems. Uniquely, Connext shares data directly, connecting AI algorithms to real-time networks of devices to build autonomous systems.

RTI is the best in the world at ensuring our customers' success in deploying production systems. With over 1,800 designs, RTI software runs over 250 autonomous vehicle programs, controls the largest power plants in North America, coordinates combat management on U.S. Navy ships, drives a new generation of medical robotics, enables flying cars, and provides 24/7 intelligence for hospital and emergency medicine. RTI runs a smarter world.
RTI is the leading vendor of products compliant with the Object Management Group® (OMG®) Data Distribution Service (DDS™) standard. RTI is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with regional offices in Colorado, Spain and Singapore.

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