(NewsInsights.org) – The US military uses a lot of technology to scan for and detect threats to national security. With the emergence and growth of artificial intelligence (AI), it was only a matter of time before the Pentagon adopted some of its capabilities in its activities. That was recently put to work in underwater drones.
Working with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the US Navy has been using drones equipped with AI to autonomously detect underwater threats. Combining the technologies has decreased the time needed to search the ocean floor for mines by half. This is thanks to the use of AI algorithms that draw on sonar sensors to help navigate the terrain and identify shapes. This project has apparently been in the works for the past two years.
Since then, the technology has helped the Navy reduce the number of sailors and mission times. Additionally, the Navy has improved the time it takes to update the AI models, knocking it down to under one week. This process used to necessitate the removal of the drone from the water, and it took roughly six months to complete.
Nick Ksiazek, a US Marines Corps major who works for DIU and leads the project, said that the AI models are capable of rapid retraining, particularly when they are introduced to new terrain, such as sandy waters rather than rocky ocean floors or ones covered with debris.
Now that the drones have proven successful, the Navy is working to expand the use of the technology. It has introduced production contracts to explore how it can be further used to identify other threats, such as enemy planes or ships.
The idea is to incorporate more technology — including AI — into the military’s operations to gain an edge over China, which is relying on AI technology to increase its military capabilities.
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