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Drone hardware and software company Red Cat Holdings has announced the completion of the second phase of its artificial intelligence and computer vision with Australian military decisionmaker Athena AI.
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Red Cat confirmed thermal-imaging sensor video captured by the company’s Teal 2 military-grade drone during a night-time test flight was successfully processed by Athena AI for target recognition and battle tracking.
Athena has licensed proprietary computer-vision architecture to Red Cat for the purposes of high-speed tracking of objects, slow speed in-depth data exploitation, weapons identifying, and friend or foe identification.
George Matus, founder and chief executive officer of Teal Drones, a Red Cat subsidiary, said the day and night-time capability allows commanders fast decision making on the battlefield with artificial intelligence assistance.
“Night-time computer-vision capability is a Teal 2 add-on we support for users who need high-value data at night,” he said.
“The images and insights that Athena’s technology deliver are outstanding. Athena’s battle-tracking capabilities and artificial intelligence, combined with Teal’s best-in-class drone, give warfighters the unfair advantage.”
Teal 2 recently received clearance from the US Department of Defense to be designated on the Blue UAS Cleared List on 21 June. The list features other DoD-approved drones for government users that are validated as cyber-secure, safe to fly, and available for government purchase and operation.
“Unlike a lot of other drones in the sUAS quad space that aren’t MISB-compliant, the Teal 2’s KLV metadata unlocks the full decision-suite support of Athena AI,” said Athena chief executive officer Stephen Bornstein.
“This combination of a night-time sUAS with live-vehicle metadata allows for real-time situational awareness to support battle tracking, common operational picture at higher echelons of command, and accurate targeting.”
Teal 2 is scheduled to be on display at the Modern Day Marine expo in Washington later this month from 27 to 29 June, said Matus.
“Blue UAS clearance is a high bar to reach for any sUAS because of the extensive vetting process.
“With this certification, all our customers — military, government and commercial — can be confident that the Teal 2 meets the highest standards for cyber security, safety, and operation.
“Blue UAS certification opens the door to greater opportunities for Teal 2.
“We can now fill orders that were contingent on certification and in addition to orders from the US government, we know that governments of allied nations are also more likely to purchase Blue UAS-approved drones.”
