FORT combines network links for autonomous machines
FORT Robotics announced Connectivity Aggregation on October 14, software designed to keep autonomous and remotely operated machines connected across cellular, satellite, Wi Fi and radio networks. FORT reports rollout with several defense customers.
For a remotely operated machine, losing a connection can also mean losing the operator’s view or control. FORT’s launch targets that communications dependency, with software that combines network paths as conditions change.
FORT’s earlier Digit 5 safety announcement with Agility outlined a proposed partnership subject to definitive agreements.
How customers get it
FORT says customers can use their own hardware and deploy the software by itself or alongside the company’s wider platform. It works with public and private networks without requiring proprietary devices or custom cellular links. Integration is handled directly with each customer.
The available entry point is FORT’s sales contact page. Existing customers are directed to support for documentation. The reviewed public pages do not list a price, downloadable evaluation package, supported operating systems or minimum hardware requirements.
What the software manages
On its product page, FORT describes continuous checks of bandwidth, latency and other connection quality measures. The software redistributes traffic as paths deteriorate. Operators can choose whether to prioritize delay, reliability or throughput, rather than relying on one fixed setting.
The design also handles different kinds of traffic together. FORT says video can take priority over telemetry, while control signals receive more reliability protection than operator audio. Multiple tunnels coordinate their scheduling, and available spare bandwidth can be used across links.
Peers identify themselves with public keys and discover one another automatically. Per tunnel metrics and logs provide a way to inspect behavior and adjust the chosen priorities. The public description does not specify a named transport protocol, encryption suite or certification for this software.
What remains unproven publicly
The product page promises operation without switchover time but provides no measured outage, latency or packet loss results. ByteForward has not tested the system. Those missing measurements matter when comparing the claimed connection continuity with an existing deployment.
The announcement warns reliability may fall short in some operating conditions. It names no customers and gives no general availability date.
The featured photograph shows archival networking equipment, not a FORT installation. Photo by Jonathan on Unsplash, published in 2018 and used under the Unsplash License.
