Supervised Autonomy RF Testbed: Safe, Open Spectrum Experimentation
7/28/2025
🛰️ Open Infrastructure for Safe RF Experimentation
At Uchū Dōshi, we believe secure, compliant communications testing should not be reserved for governments or large corporations. Today, spectrum licensing complexity, costly infrastructure, and regulatory uncertainty lock out innovators, researchers, and civil society organizations from safely developing next-generation communications technologies.
We’re introducing the Supervised Autonomy RF Testbed — a portable, modular kit designed to make safe, transparent RF experimentation accessible to everyone.
🤖 What is Supervised Autonomy?
Supervised autonomy is a design principle where automated systems operate independently under continuous human oversight with built-in safety controls. In RF communications, this means:
- No black boxes: Every signal, command, and response is observable and traceable.
- Real-time safety: Automated actions are monitored with rapid alerting (sub-5 seconds) and instant kill-switch capability.
- Regulatory alignment: Experimental transmissions remain within licensed parameters and can be halted immediately if safety is compromised.
Benefits of Supervised Autonomy:
- ✅ Compliance: Prevents illegal or unsafe spectrum use
- 🔎 Transparency: Builds trust through full observability
- 🛡️ Resilience: Fault-tolerant design minimizes mission risks
- 🌐 Accessibility: Enables safe experimentation in small labs, classrooms, or non-specialist environments
🔑 What Is the Supervised Autonomy RF Testbed?
The testbed is a scalable RF experimentation platform, combining:
- Software-defined radios (SDRs): Flexible uplink and downlink testing with modular, interchangeable components
- Intermediate Frequency (IF) routing: A standardized, low-power IF backbone supporting multiple bands (UHF, S-band, X-band) with future expansion to other frequencies
- Frequency conversion modules: Switchable up/down converters to support different spectrum needs without complex rewiring
- Supervised autonomy software:
- Real-time command validation
- Multi-channel spectrum monitoring
- Detailed audit logs for regulatory compliance
- Portable, shielded design: Deployable in research labs, classrooms, or workshops
This platform empowers users to:
- Validate satellite and IoT communications protocols
- Experiment with secure, censorship-resistant networks
- Conduct spectrum testing without risking harmful interference
🖼️ RF Testbed Architecture
Diagram: Modular, multi-band RF testbed with supervised autonomy control.
🌍 Who Benefits?
The testbed is designed for:
- University teams and student researchers
- Independent innovators and makers
- Civil society organizations advancing resilient communications
- Startups and small aerospace/IoT companies needing affordable, compliant RF testing
By lowering both cost and complexity, we’re enabling spectrum experimentation for anyone—from early prototypes to pre-launch validation.
🚀 Why This Matters
Safe access to spectrum is essential for advancing Internet freedom, digital rights, and open innovation. Today, many teams cannot legally or safely test secure communications systems due to:
- Regulatory hurdles
- Lack of access to testing facilities
- Dependence on government or corporate infrastructure
The Supervised Autonomy RF Testbed changes this by providing:
- An open, developer-first platform
- Auditability and transparency to avoid black-box RF operations
- A stepping stone toward RF-as-a-Service and in-orbit testing as future evolutions
📅 What’s Next
We’ve submitted a proposal to the Open Technology Fund to support the development of the first testbed units. Over the next year, we plan to:
- Build and validate the portable RF kit with multi-band support
- Release open documentation and compliance tooling
- Partner with universities, NGOs, and innovators for pilot deployments
This is only Phase 1 of our vision—eventually leading to affordable ground station solutions and in-orbit testing capabilities for global access to safe and transparent spectrum use.
If you’re a researcher, innovator, or organization interested in early access to the RF Testbed, contact us at founder@uchudoshi.com.
“Access to spectrum should be safe, transparent, and available to all.”