B5 Systems

Archive for the ‘AI / ML’ Category

Air Force Special Operations Command and Armaments Research Company Successfully Complete Prototyping Effort

Wednesday, July 24th, 2024

(A Special Operations Mission Sustainment Team member with 27 Special Operations Wing demonstrates firing from cover. Source: 371 Special Operations Combat Training Squadron)

Highlights:

• Milestones completed in collaboration with the 371st Special Operations Training Squadron.

• Technology integration supports future developments for Enhanced Situational Awareness combined with small unmanned aerial systems.

• ARC artificial intelligence-enabled weapon sensors support training for austere airfield defense within Agile Combat Employment.

Washington, DC – July 22, 2024 – Armaments Research Company (ARC) announced today that it has successfully completed a prototyping effort with the United States Air Force Special Operations Command to enhance training for austere airfield defense.

“Over the past year, we’ve worked to develop and demonstrate a tool that will enable connectivity, situational awareness, and decision-making at our tactical echelon. In future conflicts, the USAF must rapidly maneuver our bases and elements across the battlefield to generate combat air power in an expeditionary environment. That level of maneuver requires our tactical leaders command and control their forces, secure their location, and generate combat power.” – Lt Col Sean M. Williams, 371st Special Operations Combat Training Squadron Commander.

Through ARC’s Engage capability, Airmen are enabled to collect tactical scenario training data in real-time related to orientation of weapons, ammunition consumption, and maneuver of friendly forces.

The effort focused on leveraging advanced technologies and simulation systems to replicate real-world scenarios, providing aircrew members with immersive training experiences that closely mirror operational environments. AFSOC aims to empower its personnel with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in high-intensity, rapidly changing combat situations within emerging Agile Combat Employment doctrine.

OKSI Awarded USSOCOM and AFRL Contracts for Precision Guidance Seeker for Munitions

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024

LOS ANGELES, July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — OKSI has been awarded multiple contracts totaling nearly $6 million from USSOCOM and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for their ARMGDN seeker. ARMGDN is a capability enhancement to BAE Systems’ APKWS® laser-guidance kit, providing passive target acquisition and tracking for precision engagements. APKWS is a guidance kit for the 2.75 inch Hydra-70 rocket. Together, the APKWS with OKSI’s ARMDGN seeker will facilitate rapid engagements of multiple air or ground targets via ripple fire of multiple precision- guided rockets in rapid succession.


BAE Systems’ APKWS® laser-guidance kit integrated with OKSI’s ARMGDN launch during a test demonstration.

OKSI’s ARMGDN provides DoD with a low-cost precision-guided munition designed to defeat small drones and other unmanned systems. Warfare is on the brink of a major paradigm shift where low-cost robotic systems, UXS, and swarm tactics are an imminent threat and will be used to overwhelm and confuse the opposition. ARMGDN enables rapid engagement of multiple threats simultaneously to thin out swarms and protect personnel and equipment.

“The ARMGDN seeker transforms our defense strategy from a costly war of attrition to a cost-effective campaign of precision,” says Chris HolmesParker, CEO, OKSI. “By harnessing existing rocket inventories, it dramatically cuts the expense of countering UAS threats, aligning our expenditures nearly 1:1 with the drones they counter. This shift from deploying prohibitively expensive munitions to utilizing ARMGDN’s affordable capabilities marks a pivotal move towards sustaining our defense without the economic strain.”

OKSI’s ARMGDN seeker is designed to accommodate a variety of warhead configurations for both a standard air to ground armor defeat capability as well as hard kill of UAS threats. OKSI’s advanced seeker technologies brings not only a new, impressive capability to bear, but also keeps the overall system’s cost at or below the cost of the targets it is designed to defeat. 

Learn more at www.oksi.ai

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/oksi-ai

OKSI’s Seeker Technology for Guided Munitions & CUAS

Wednesday, July 17th, 2024

Lately we’ve been talking about Artificial Intelligence and ways it can make a difference in warfighting. To illustrate our points, we’ve discussed the capabilities of the OMNISCIENCE AI/ML portfolio from OKSI. But that’s not all OKSI does; they also put a lot of effort in enhancing existing warfighting systems with new capabilities.

In addition to the OMNISCIENCE AI/ML portfolio we’ve already mentioned, OKSI also provides seeker technology for guided munitions and unmanned aerial systems defeat. Once again, the technology isn’t taking over, but rather enhances existing capabilities to make them faster, more accurate, and more capable, even in electromagnetically contested environments.


OKSI Booth at AUVSI 2024 (left: ARMGDN Seeker right: 81mm Mortar with PGK)

OKSI has many Passive Seeker Technologies, some examples are their 81mm Precision Guidance Kit, a screw-on EO/IR guidance system for the 81mm Mortar and the ARMGDN, a bolt-on intelligent EO/IR seeker for Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS). These systems provide the ability to accurately employ precision munitions and effects even in the absence of GPS or laser guidance.

OKSI’s seeker technologies provides multi-role capability (air to ground, air to air, ground to air, and ground to ground) and adds passive EO/IR guidance to existing munitions that previously only had GPS or laser guidance. They can also be used to provide detection, tracking, and terminal intercept.

The screw-on 81mm PGK allows warfighters to precisely guide mortars onto the desired impact point or predesignated target via OKSI ATAK targeting plug-in. The mortar’s guidance system is able to find, fix, and lock onto target then uses control surfaces to steer the mortar down onto the tracked target. It transforms an inaccurate area weapon into a precision munitions with first round effects.


81mm PGK Test Launch

ARMGDN is a capability enhancement to BAE Systems’ APKWS laser-guidance kit, providing passive target acquisition and tracking for precision engagements. APKWS is a guidance kit for the 2.75 inch Hydra-70 rocket. This fire-and-forget capability is also effective, via proximity fuzing, for hard kill of UAS threats.


BAE Systems’ APKWS® laser-guidance kit integrated with OKSI’s ARMGDN launch during a test demonstration.


Photo courtesy of NAVAIR

These mature technologies have been around for the past couple of years and are ready to employ today with capabilities validated via recent contracts with USSOCOM and USAF.

For more information, visit OKSI.ai.
Follow them on LinkedIn.

Quantum Systems Deploys Receptor AI in Ukraine for the First Time

Monday, July 15th, 2024

Munich, Germany, 12.07.2024 – Quantum Systems, the Munich-based manufacturer of dual-use reconnaissance drones that use multi-sensor technology to collect data for government agencies and commercial users, confirms for the first time the deployment of a previously unreleased AI sensor upgrade of the type “Receptor AI” in Ukraine. The new upgrade kit is based on a Jetson Orin Nvidia chip and several sensors for the Vector reconnaissance drone. The further development enables optical navigation during the day and at night and in poor visibility conditions, as well as automated AI-supported object recognition and identification.

Enabling navigation in GNSS-denied conditions
In times of electronic warfare, navigation is the biggest challenge for the use of drones. The new Quantum Systems upgrade offers a further option for signal-independent positioning of reconnaissance drones and fundamentally improves their use under GNSS-denied conditions. The new module is being tested and further developed at the company’s recently opened development site in Ukraine.

“Receptor AI” enables autonomous flight at night and in bad weather thanks to infrared-supported visual navigation. Object sensor technology has also been significantly improved. Hardware and software upgrades now allow better object detection, classification, identification and tracking of objects.

Equal weight and range of the system with update kit

“We are implementing the upgrade without any weight changes and with the same range,” says Daniel Kneifel, Director of Software Engineering at Quantum Systems. “We are designing these adaptations without fundamental changes to the existing platform architecture.” 

“We are demonstrating that AI does not have to be an abstract topic, but offers tangible benefits in use. For Quantum Systems, the combination of hardware and software is crucial to being able to offer market-leading solutions in the field of aerial intelligence.”

Sven Kruck
CRO and Managing Director
Quantum Systems

OMNISCIENCE by OKSI – OMNIseek

Friday, July 12th, 2024

So far this week, we’ve introduced you to OMNISCIENCE, an overarching AI environment by OKSI, used to enhance current unmanned aerial systems with software to speed the ability to identify and characterize the operating environment. To add context, we offered a video depicting OMNInav which is used for UAV navigation in GPS-denied environments, analyzing the terrain as the UAV flies, comparing it to mapping data and maintaining position on the fly.

This video explains OMNIseek which provides Automatic Detection and Recognition (ATD/ATR). This goes way beyond the phase change detection systems we’ve seen in the past by not only detecting items of interest in the field of view, but characterizing what they are as well.

OMNISCIENCE components can be used alone or in conjunction with one another, depending on customer requirements and each application is customized to the user’s existing equipment.

OKSI is a privately held small business headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Learn more at www.oksi.ai.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/oksi-ai

OMNISCIENCE by OKSI – OMNInav

Wednesday, July 10th, 2024

In a recent post, we introduced you to OMNISCIENCE, an AI environment which is used to enhance current systems with software which speeds the ability to identify and characterize the operating environment. This short video depicts OMNInav which is used for UAV navigation in GPS-denied environments, analyzing the terrain as the UAV flies, comparing it to mapping data and maintaining position on the fly.

OMNISCIENCE components can be used alone or in conjunction with one another, depending on customer requirements and each application is customized to the user’s existing equipment.

OKSI is a privately held small business headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Learn more at www.oksi.ai

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/oksi-ai

OKSI Announces their AI/ML Technology Portfolio for Unmanned Airborne Platforms: OMNISCIENCE

Tuesday, July 9th, 2024

Los Angeles, CA, July 9, 2024 –

OKSI has announced the release of OMNISCIENCE, theirautonomy portfolio for unmanned airborne platforms. OMNISCIENCE is a modular and containerized software suite of autonomy and computer vision technologies that work together to provide intelligence to virtually any air platform. OMNISCIENCE is offered as both individual containerized capabilities or tightly coupled interoperable modules, providingnext-level autonomy and adaptability to UAS/UAVs. Some of the available modules include OMNInav for GPS-denied navigation, OMNIseek for Automatic Detection and Recognition (ATD/ATR), OMNIlocate for providing CAT I/II target coordinates in denied environments, and OMNItarget for terminal guidance.  These individual modules can work together to provide true autonomy when managed and controlled by the mission executive module, OMNImind. OMNImind provides conditional behavior logic and adapts to dynamic missionenvironments on the fly.

OMNISCIENCE provides the operator the option to plan and fly, truly autonomous missions completely passive with no external dependencies on GPS or RF communications. For platforms with enough processing power, OMNISCIENCE is ready for rapid integration into any air platform. Manufacturersand system operators can hand-select the custom software modules based on customer or mission requirements or integrate the entire OMNISCIENCE software stack for full mission autonomy. The OMNISCIENCE software portfolio brings autonomy at scale, unlocking capabilities such as true autonomy and affordable mass integration.

“OMNISCIENCE sets a new standard for unmanned aerial autonomy, enabling mission success in any environment without external dependencies,” says Chris HolmesParker, CEO, OKSI.“Our technology ensures that warfighters stay ahead with true intelligence and adaptability.”

The OKSI team is expert in GPS-denied navigation, targeting, and autonomy. The OMNISCIENCE software enables platform developers to achieve the new gold standard in autonomy: Intelligence by OKSI. OKSI encourages UAS/UAV manufacturers and government entities to reach out to discuss integration so they can elevate their platforms with capabilities that allow them to operate anytime, anywhere, without fear of being jammed or emitting detectable signals.

OKSI has been revolutionizing the AI/ML defense landscape in recent years. However, what industry and end-users may not realize is that OKSI boasts a rich history spanning over 30 years in developing and integrating AI and computer vision technologies. Formerly known as Opto-Knowledge Systems Inc., OKSI’s roots lie in government R&D, specializing in “knowledge systems”—the early foundations of AI—alongside EO/IR systems, with many of these technologies now commercialized and fielded. Throughout their history, OKSI has collaborated with every government agency dedicated to advancing defense and aerospace technologies.

OKSI is known for pioneering passive and autonomous technologies designed for integration and adaptation into future warfare systems. They recognize the critical need to outpace adversarial advancements, ensuring the US and allied nation’swarfighters maintain the advantage on the battlefield. Manufacturers and systems integrators should look to improve their capability and reliability by equipping their platforms with Intelligence by OKSI. They can do so by contacting solutions@oksi.ai.

USSOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University to Conduct GPT – AI Platform Assessment Event

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024

SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University, will host a series of events to develop a custom Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) model tailored to the university’s commercial “.edu” domain for the academic and administrative needs of students, faculty, and staff members. The GPT model will be trained on relevant datasets to enhance its understanding and generation capabilities in domains pertinent to the university’s academic and administrative functions.

The primary objective of this project is to develop a GPT model that can assist students, faculty, and staff members in various academic and administrative tasks, including but not limited to research, writing, and tutoring.

1. Develop a customized GPT model architecture optimized for academic and administrative tasks.
2. Collect and preprocess relevant datasets including academic papers, administrative documents, and institutional knowledge.
3. Train the GPT model on the collected datasets to improve its understanding and generation capabilities.
4. Evaluate the performance of the trained model through rigorous testing and validation procedures.
5. Deploy the GPT model within the university’s infrastructure for practical applications and integration with existing systems.

If you’re interested in participating, visit events.sofwerx.org/jsou-gpt-ai-platform.