Shield AI collaborates with Sentient to offer AI-enabled WAMI

San Diego-based Shield AI, an American defence technology company, and Port Melbourne-based Sentient Vision Systems have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at delivering a Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) solution for the US Department of Defense (DoD), the ADF and other international customers.

The companies will jointly develop and integrate a ViDAR-enabled, wide-area-search capability onto Shield AI’s V-BAT unmanned aircraft, which will enable the V-BAT to intelligently classify, track, and read-and-react to targets in dynamic missions. Shield AI plans to fly the capability on V-BAT next year.

“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 and Co-founder and a former US Navy SEAL.

ViDAR, which stands for Visual Detection And Ranging is Sentient’s AI system using an Electro-Optic or Infrared (EO/IR) sensor to detect and classify targets in the imagery stream that would be invisible to a human operator or to a conventional radar. With these enhanced capabilities, V-BAT will be even more proficient in executing the most challenging missions, offering a level of capability that significantly bolsters threat deterrence, thereby reinforcing international peace and security.

Earlier this year V-BAT, in a team led by Northrop Grumman, was down-selected by the US Army, along with other contenders, as a potential replacement for the long-serving RQ-7B Shadow Tactical UAV.