SPARC AI Inc., a defense technology company delivering positioning in GPS-denied environments, is pleased to announce the launch of Overwatch Patrol. This dismounted positioning application delivers continuous location to soldiers and security personnel in environments where GPS is jammed, spoofed, degraded, or simply unavailable.
Overwatch Patrol was unveiled at MSPO, the International Defense Industry Exhibition in Kielce, Poland, one of Europe’s largest defense exhibitions and a focal point for NATO and allied procurement at a time when persistent GNSS interference across Eastern Europe and the Baltic region has made assured positioning a front-line requirement rather than a contingency. Ahead of the exhibition, the SPARC AI team demonstrated the application in Kraków, Poland.
No software to install, no additional hardware, no external receiver, and no antenna. The solution was initially designed for navigation on military-grade phones. The new version now sits on the Overwatch Positioning Network, SPARC AI’s cloud-based positioning service, and can be delivered to any mobile device either as a native application or through a standard web browser.
Overwatch Patrol now also allows multiple users to share their live positions within the application. As each team member walks, runs, or holds position, every other member sees them move on the map in real time, with no GPS. Teams are formed on the ground using a dynamic code generated by the group’s commander, and members can join or leave without a central administrator or pre-configured devices.
Knowing where friendly elements are is the foundation of every dismounted operation, and it is the first thing lost when satellite positioning is denied. Overwatch Patrol keeps that shared picture together without a satellite signal.
Another new feature lets any team member drop a rally point on the map, which is shared immediately with the rest of the team so each member can navigate to it independently from wherever they are.
Rally points are a fundamental of dismounted operations and are traditionally briefed from a map before a patrol departs, then passed by voice if circumstances change. Making the rally point a live, shared object means a commander can designate a new linkup point in the moment after contact, during a casualty evacuation, or when a route becomes untenable, and every member can converge on it even if they are separated, out of visual contact, or beyond radio range.
The SPARC AI management team held meetings at MSPO with prospective technology partners, including discussions about integrating Overwatch Patrol with tactical radio network providers to extend shared position data to soldiers operating across existing communications infrastructure.
