Four Aquidneck Island research and development companies have begun working on...the Undersea Perimeter Security Interoperable Defense Environment (UPSIDE) project...to address waterborne threats to shoreline infrastructure both in the public and private sector. Pulling together individual technologies and ongoing research and development, UPSIDE focuses on protecting U.S. naval and private defense contractor facilities within the state, according to an abstract of the project provided earlier this month.

Facilitated by the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, the companies involved in UPSIDE are Purvis Systems Inc., Rite-Solutions, LiveWave [(now Smith's Detection)] and Sonic Works.

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport will act as a “third-party validator,” [EDC’s defense industry manager John] Riendeau said, by monitoring and evaluating UPSIDE as it moves forward.

Aside from the security issues UPSIDE addresses, the project also fits into the EDC’s Innovation @ Scale program – which is governed by the philosophy that Rhode Island’s manageable size makes it an ideal spot to test projects.