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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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Introducing OMNISCIENCE, the AI Takeover by OKSI

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024

I’ve been looking into the implications of Artificial Intelligence at the tactical edge just ran across this video from my friends at OKSI. It gives you some key points on what they are phrasing as the “AI takeover by OKSI.”

We’ve been talking for awhile now and between SOF Week and a recent telecon with OKSI SMEs, I excited about the enhancements offered by OMNISCIENCE to a wide variety of existing systems with AI, meaning operators and analysts alike will make faster and more accurate decisions.

It’s not a takeover in the science fiction sense. You’re not replacing any hardware and you’re not enabling autonomous systems. Instead, it’s adding software capability with OMNISCIENCE integration to do everything faster and better with what you already have.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as dive into AI/ML OMNISCIENCE technologies by OKSI with weekly coverage. In the meantime, visit oksi.ai.

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Department of the Air Force Launches NIPRGPT

Wednesday, June 19th, 2024

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —

As part of its ongoing modernization efforts, the Department of the Air Force chief information officer, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory, is accelerating initiatives to provide Guardians, Airmen, civilian employees, and contractors the ability to responsibly experiment with Generative AI, with adequate safeguards in place.

DAF senior leaders are focused on maximizing competitive advantage, recognizing that Airmen and Guardians need advanced technologies at the speed of relevance. To that end, the DAF is launching NIPRGPT, an experimental bridge to leverage GenAI on the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network while continuing to explore maturing industry solutions.

“Our recent GenAI Roundtables with industry and academia have shown us this is an actively growing field,” said Venice Goodwine, DAF chief information officer. “Now is the time to give our Airmen and Guardians the flexibility to develop the necessary skills in parallel. There are multiple modernization efforts going on right now across the federal government and within the DAF to get tools in the hands of the workforce. This tool is another one of those efforts.”

NIPRGPT is part of the Dark Saber software platform developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, New York. Dark Saber is an ecosystem of Airmen and Guardians from across the DAF that brings together innovators and developers and equips them to create next-generation software and operational capabilities deployable to the Force at a rapid pace.

At no additional cost to the unit or the users, NIPRGPT is an AI chatbot that allows users to have human-like conversations to complete various tasks. The CAC-enabled GenAI tool can answer questions and assist with tasks such as correspondence, background papers and code, all within a secure computing environment.

“Technology is learned by doing,” Chandra Donelson, the DAF’s acting chief data and artificial intelligence officer, said in a statement. “As our warfighters, who are closest to the problems, are learning the technology, we are leveraging their insights to inform future policy, acquisition and investment decisions.”

The experiment is an opportunity to facilitate real-world testing, focusing on key metrics such as computational efficiency, resource utilization, security compliance, etc., to understand GenAI’s practical applications and challenges and ensure that future implementation is effective and efficient. The platform includes user feedback opportunities to help develop governing policies and enable informed conversations with vendors as the DAF works to incorporate these tools into its operations.

“NIPRGPT is a critical bridge to ensure we get the best tools we have into our team’s hands while larger commercial tools are navigating our intense security parameters and other processes,” said Alexis Bonnell, AFRL chief information officer. “Changing how we interact with unstructured knowledge is not instant perfection; we each must learn to use the tools, query, and get the best results. NIPRGPT will allow Airmen and Guardians to explore and build skills and familiarity as more powerful tools become available.”

Civilian and uniformed Airmen and Guardians, as well as contractors who are CAC holders, can register for NIPRGPT access here: niprgpt.mil. The system has a limited number of users available to be registered during the experiment. After capacity has been reached, individuals seeking access will be put on a waitlist.

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

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Army Leverages Army SBIR and xTech Prize Competitions to Secure AI Pipeline

Saturday, June 15th, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research and xTech Programs collaborate with artificial intelligence innovators to find and scale solutions across the Army. Led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Army SBIR and xTech prize competitions support a secure, Army-ready AI pipeline.

In March 2024, Mr. Young Bang, ASA(ALT) principal deputy, announced the ASA(ALT) AI Implementation Plan, that kicked off with a 100-day sprint. The plan aims to deliver a single, coherent approach to AI across the Army, aligning multiple, complex efforts within 100 and 500-day execution windows, and establishes the baseline to continuously modernize AI and contributing solutions as technologies rapidly evolve.

The Army SBIR and xTech Programs’ initiatives are at the forefront of these efforts to drive digital transformation and deliver required AI capabilities across the Army.

As the 100-day window concludes this summer, the Army is outlining a plan that leverages the outcomes of the 100-day sprint to adopt industry solutions without competing with commercial vendors. However, there are inherent risk factors associated with the adoption of AI solutions.

“Some of the obstacles include looking at and understanding AI risks such as poison data sets, adversarial attacks and trojans,” Bang said. “Developing AI in a controlled, trusted environment owned by the Army or Department of Defense can make addressing these risks easier.”

Bang and his team have prepared an initial AI Layered Defense Framework called #DefendAI to help tackle the risks associated with third-party algorithms, while helping to operationalize industry AI technologies. His team is looking to collaborate across industry and academia to evolve the framework and prioritize capability exploration and implementation in support of Army programs, such as Project Linchpin, which is building an operational pipeline of trusted AI solutions.

Initiated by Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, Project Linchpinaligns with Bang’s AI risk evaluation efforts. Bharat Patel, Project Linchpin-Sensor AI product lead, noted that the program aims to deliver commercial capabilities to the Army by applying fundamental concepts such as test and evaluations, and adopting an AI risk framework.

“It’s your infrastructure, it’s your standards, it’s your governance, it’s your process. All those areas are things that we’re taking on, because that’s how you can tap into the AI ecosystem and that’s how you deliver capabilities at scale,” Patel said.

ASA(ALT) is progressing with the AI Implementation Plan and its alignment to Project Linchpin to prepare the Army for AI at scale. As these initiatives ramp up, the Army SBIR and xTech Programs are strategically focused on leveraging excellence in the private sector to speed up the Army’s broad adoption of AI.

Army SBIR’s AI funding

The Army SBIR Program collaborates with small businesses and Army customers to align innovative solutions with Army priorities. It awards more than $350 million annually to reinvigorate the Army’s technology ecosystem, and is prioritizing and funding cutting-edge AI solutions.

The program has invested nearly $102 million in active AI projects in fiscal year 2024, distributed among approximately 75 small businesses across the country, and aims to align small businesses with the Army’s larger AI pipeline through funded AI initiatives.

In FY24, Automated Detection and Prevention solutions received $30 million in Army SBIR investments, representing 29% of the program’s AI and machine learning portfolio by the number of awards. Within this framework, the Army categorizes technologies as automated systemic-based controls that stop threats and predict the next attack for improved prevention.

There are currently 20 active Army SBIR Automated Detection and Prevention awards with organizations such as PEO IEW&S; PEO Simulation, Training and Instrumentation; and Army Test and Evaluation Command.

Army SBIR investments in FY24 have directly supported Army programs such as Project Linchpin, with two awards made in FY24 and 16 additional planned to start in FY25. The Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition also recently leveraged $48 million in Army SBIR funding to modernize munitions manufacturing processes using AI.

Looking forward to FY25, Army SBIR’s AI/ML portfolio is projecting upwards of $105 million in AI funding. Six AI-focused solicitations are slated for release this summer, which will comprise approximately $55 million of the FY25 funding. Several of the solicitations, which include an AI/ML open topic solicitation, align to Project Linchpin thrust areas, amongst other potential Army transition partners.

xTech’s scalable AI

In late 2023, Bang requested that Dr. Matt Willis, the director of Army Prize Competitions and Army SBIR Program, and his team leverage xTech prize competitions to scale AI. This led to the launch of xTechScalable AI in December 2023, which sought innovative AI solutions from U.S.-based small businesses with scalable solutions to defend against adversarial AI threat vectors.

Leveraging prize competition authorities, xTech offers cash prizes along with opportunities for participants to receive direct feedback on their solutions, plus mentorship and networking opportunities with Army customers to help accelerate their unique AI solutions towards Army capabilities. xTech competition winners find themselves well-positioned to compete for follow-on contracts, such as Army SBIR awards.

xTechScalable AI was not the first competition aligning AI with Army needs. Earlier in the year, the xTechPrime competition funded two Army SBIR contract awards to inform Project Linchpin pipeline tools and services, totaling almost $4 million.

The xTechScalable AI competition is following a similar track, offering up to $370,000 in cash prizes and $8 million in follow-on Army SBIR contract awards for critical AI solutions. Through these competitions, 150 small businesses received exposure and feedback from Army customers and experts, and introductions to follow-on contract opportunities to continue the development of their AI solutions for the Army.

“xTech is a valuable mechanism for identifying and nurturing scalable, commercial AI solutions to strengthen the Army’s security framework,” Willis said. “Paired with ASA(ALT)’s vision, we can operationalize AI to enhance data accuracy and combat cybersecurity threats.”

xTechScalable AI 2 launched in March 2024 and focuses on identifying small businesses with game-changing technologies that can feed into Project Linchpin’s operational AI pipeline. The competition offers up to $603,000 in cash prizes and opportunities post-competition to submit proposals for a Phase I or Phase II Army SBIR contract valued at up to $250,000 and $2 million, respectively.

xTech will host the finals at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Expo in October. Additionally, xTech will hold more AI-focused competitions in the coming year, including several AI-focused Technical Grand Challenges.

Commercial vendors and small businesses have made quick progress in developing and implementing AI capabilities. As part of ASA(ALT)’s AI Implementation Plan and the upcoming 500-day execution window, Army SBIR and xTech are adopting AI solutions and preparing them for operational use in a secure, government-owned environment.

“Army SBIR and xTech are committed to strategically investing in areas where we can leverage the excellence of the private sector and transition technologies to Army programs such as Project Linchpin,” Willis said. “We have the funding and processes in place to drive industry collaboration and investment opportunities for these large-scale Army efforts.”

About the programs

The Army SBIR Program offers Phase I contract opportunities to U.S.-based small businesses showing commercial viability, feasibility and technical merit. It also offers Phase II and Direct to Phase II contracts to vendors with mature technologies meeting Phase I qualifications.

The Army SBIR Program releases contract opportunities on an ad-hoc basis to address current and expected Soldier needs. The program will promote new contract releases via solicitation announcements and email. For more information, please visit the Army SBIR website.

Established in 2018, the Army xTech Program offers prize competition opportunities for entities including nontraditional vendors direct exposure to Army laboratories, program executive offices, program managers and end-users. Participants receive feedback from Army DoD stakeholders and have access to training, mentorship and networking, and opportunities to win non-dilutive cash prizes.

For current and upcoming competitions, visit the xTech website.

By Anna Volkwine, Office of Army Prize Competitions and Army SBIR Program

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