Shield AI, an American defence technology company, and Australia-based Sentient Vision Systems have joined forces to deliver a wide area motion imagery (WAMI) solution for the Department of Defence (DoD), Australian Defence Forces (ADF), and other international customers.
In a news release, Shield AI said the partners will work together to build and integrate Sentient’s ViDAR AI system, which will improve Shield AI’s V-Bat’s WAMI capabilities.
Shield AI, which plans to fly the capability on V-BAT next year, said the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) will be able to intelligently categorise, track, and read-and-react to targets.
“This work with our Australian partner, Sentient, is a unique opportunity to fuse the innovation prowess of two companies from allied countries on opposite sides of the world. Together, we are shaping the future of defence technology,” said Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s president, co-founder, and former US Navy SEAL.
To identify and categorise targets in the imaging stream that would be invisible to a human operator or to a conventional radar, ViDAR AI uses an Electro-Optic or Infrared (EO/IR) sensor.
With these improved capacities, Shield AI said V-BAT is more effective and provides a level of AI that considerably improves the system’s response to threats that have not yet been encountered.
Mark Palmer, Sentient’s chief technology officer, expressed his excitement to be working with Shield AI on this breakthrough solution.
“We look forward to combining the AI expertise and operational understanding of our two great teams to deliver superior ISR capabilities for today’s rapidly changing defence and security environment,” Palmer said.
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defence technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
Headquartered in Port Melbourne, Sentient Vision Systems is an Australian company that produces automated object detection solutions for video from aircraft and surface sensors used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, search and rescue, as well as law enforcement.
