Marines ask Sentient Vision for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine autonomy for unmanned reconnaissance

WASHINGTON – U.S. military researchers needed an artificial intelligence (AI) system to detect and classify targets for future U.S. Marine Corps applications. They found their solution from Sentient Vision Systems in Port Melbourne, Australia.

Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense's Directorate of Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities at the Pentagon have chosen Sentient Vision to provide ViDAR Maritime systems for integration and evaluation for future Marine Corps applications.

ViDAR, which stands for visual detection and ranging, is an artificial intelligence (AI) system that uses an infrared sensor to detect and classify targets in the imagery stream that would be invisible to a human operator or to a conventional radar -- such as a human head-size object in the water or a stealthy watercraft.

The ViDAR systems handle intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions aboard a Marine Corps medium-altitude long range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to gather intelligence and enhance situational awareness during amphibious operations.

Related: Artificial intelligence and machine learning for unmanned vehicles

ViDAR uses Sentient AI, a combination of machine autonomy and deep learning to detect, geo-locate, track, and classify objects autonomously in its field of view. It has a greater than 96 percent accuracy on first pass for small targets to sea state six.

A ViDAR-equipped crewed or uncrewed aircraft can cover a search area about 300 times larger than one without ViDAR, Sentient Vision officials say. The company will demonstrate the system at sea, which could lead to wider deployment within the Marine Corps.

For more information contact Sentient Vision Systems online at www.sentientvision.com, or the Directorate of Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities at https://ac.cto.mil.