PROJECT TITLE

H2020 AI4DEF: Defence technologies supported by artificial intelligence

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

The project “Artificial Intelligence for Defence” (AI4DEF) will demonstrate the benefits of AI on military functional areas,such as situation awareness, decision-making and planning optimization. To illustrate the transversal and scalableapproach of AI4DEF as a cloud service platform, it will be implemented in multiple domains such as UAV (unmanned aerialvehicle) missions with means-of-effect optimisation, enhanced Joint ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance)analysis, tactical situation awareness and decision-making.

The core concept is a European AI LabStore where member states can gain valuable knowledge and add AI components, methods, and tools to their existing defence strategies. The participation of end-users in the AI4DEF project is important to address their practical needs. That is why our consortium brings together key European companies to ensure that we can achieve this goal.

The AI4DEF consortium consists of 22 partners across 10 European countries and is a mix of small, medium, and large companies, as well as selected universities with key capabilities and skills in AI-technology. On our team, we have European champions in AI, platform manufacturers, and systems developers covering the entire spectrum of AI-related applications. We benefit from cooperating with large companies that contribute defence-system-know-how, capabilities, and resources to support real life cases. Each of our participants brings distinct value to the consortium, which is why key roles of AI studies and prototyping are given to small and medium sized enterprises while mid-caps are leading integration and demonstration.

The purpose of the project is to demonstrate the ability/benefits of AI systems to strengthen situational awareness in various situations where decisions must be made. With its four use cases, AI4DEF will cover a functional approach and a technology assessment to match these functional capabilities. They derivate from military needs on the basis of already existing solutions and technologies. The four use cases will address and cover a wide spectrum of defence capabilities in different domains from air to sea and land. AI4DEF LabStore will be vital in scaling up the integration of AI in defence systems. It is vital to have the capability to handle increasing complexities as technology evolves. AI4DEF will facilitate the integration of AI-based analytics and improve defence capabilities thanks to:

• an innovative AI technique selection methodology, which considers all system aspects and technical challenges, focusing on understandability and trustworthiness.
• the identification of the best operational human interactions, as well as ethics, legal, and standardization criteria.
• a large catalogue of AI techniques and analytics to guarantee the best possible choice of AI defence systems.

8BELLS ROLE

Within the AI4DEF project, 8BELLS utilizes its know-how to facilitate the integration of AI techniques to improve defensive capabilities. More specifically, 8BELLS focuses on AI in order to enhance UAV ISR (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) missions. 8BELLS will develop the VERTIGO system offering an advanced, holistic and platform agnostic approach oriented to mission planning of UxVs meant for diverse ISR missions. The AI capabilities of VERTIGO do not only allow the automation of the mission planning process, but also take into account situational factors that occur during the mission, offering alternative pathways through predictive analytics, while always protecting the integrity of UxVs mission.