Prototype / pre-seed R&D
The current prototype demonstrates direction and workflow—not a finished emergency-alerting product.
Broadcast technology · Prototype / pre-seed R&D
Emergency alerts.Reimagined in software.
Locally autonomousResearch-stage
Target architecturePre-seed R&D
01MonitorRF assignments + CAP/IP inputsMulti-path
02Decode + validateLegacy EAS/SAME signal processingResearch
03Decide + controlDeterministic fail-safe state logicResearch
04Output + verifyBroadcast I/O and isolated self-testResearch
Current status
A real prototype.
The hard questions remain.
An early software prototype explores operator workflow and overall architecture. The next step is formal research into whether standardized computing, RF and broadcast I/O hardware can meet the timing, signal-integrity, recovery and security demands of safety-critical alerting.
NSF Project Pitch submitted
Awkward Dog is seeking non-dilutive R&D funding through the NSF America’s Seed Fund SBIR/STTR program.
No NSF award has been made
The submission is not an NSF endorsement, selection or award. The project is not represented as production-ready or FCC compliant.
The technical work
Four questions
that have to be proven.
The proposed R&D is about measurable technical feasibility—not simply rebuilding an existing EAS interface in software.
Robust RF and audio DSP
Measure EAS/SAME decoding and generation under noise, weak signals, timing error, clipping and packetized-audio artifacts.
Deterministic fail-safe behavior
Design state control and independent watchdog supervision that fail predictably under crashes, overloads and interface loss.
Multi-path reconciliation
Process over-the-air and CAP/IP sources, identify degraded paths, suppress duplicates and preserve local operation during WAN failure.
Continuous self-verification
Detect latent failures through isolated test vectors without causing an on-air activation.
Why this exists
Built from the transmitter site outward.
The concept came from direct responsibility for real broadcast systems—where equipment has to work, failures have consequences and remote recovery matters.
Core alerting without the internet
The target architecture keeps essential monitoring and decision functions local instead of depending on cloud availability.
Failures that cannot hide
Redundant sources, watchdog supervision and end-to-end checks are intended to make degraded readiness observable.
Infrastructure built to recover
Standardized hardware could lower lifecycle cost and make diagnosis, replacement and multi-site support more practical.
The standard
Emergency-alert infrastructure should never fail silently.
America’s Seed Fund
Seeking proof,
not permission to hype.
Awkward Dog submitted an NSF SBIR/STTR Project Pitch in the Wireless Technologies topic area on September 11, 2026. The proposed Phase I work would move the effort from application prototyping into formal RF/DSP, deterministic-control, fault-tolerance, cybersecurity and automated-verification research.
No NSF award has been made. Awkward Dog is not claiming NSF endorsement, selection, funding or production readiness.
Discuss research or future pilot requirementsStraight answers
Research status,
without the fog.
What exists today?
An early software prototype that explores operator workflow and the overall system architecture. It is a foundation for feasibility research, not a field-ready EAS unit.
Is it production-ready or FCC compliant?
No. The platform is not production-ready, certified, or represented as a compliant replacement for currently authorized EAS equipment.
Has NSF funded the project?
No. A Project Pitch was submitted to the NSF America’s Seed Fund SBIR/STTR program. Submission does not mean NSF has endorsed, selected or funded the work.
Who is the initial market?
The research is aimed first at U.S. radio broadcasters—especially distributed station groups, rural operators and centralized engineering or NOC teams responsible for multiple facilities.
Broadcast experience wanted
Help define what resilient looks like.
Awkward Dog welcomes conversations with broadcast engineers, station operators, EAS specialists and future research partners about requirements, failure modes and representative test conditions.
Talk with Awkward Dog