MQ-35A V-BAT and artificial intelligence (AI) Hivemind pilot developer Shield AI has announced an agreement to acquire Sentient Vision Systems –the Australian AI-enabled imagery tech company. As part of the deal, Shield AI will set up a unit in Australia with the vision of delivering on AUKUS objectives.
The acquisition will also enhance Shield AI’s expansion in the Australian market. The deal is pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.
Shield AI’s release states that the two companies will merge AI expertise and operational understanding to deliver “superior intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities for today’s rapidly changing defense and security environment.”
The two have been working together for a long time. In 2023, they announced the joint development of a ViDAR-enabled wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) solution for the Department of Defense, Australian Defence Forces (ADF), and others. The solution, called ‘Sentient Observer,’ is planned to take flight this year.
Immediate plans following the deal
Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s president, and cofounder, said the deal would allow them to make better drones for land and maritime monitoring at a fraction of the price they are currently selling.
“The combination of AI pilots, Sentient Observer, and teams of affordable drones like the MQ-35 VBAT will provide the same land and maritime domain awareness that today’s $40M and $180M Group 5 drones and crewed aircraft like the P-8 provide at a fraction of the price.”
Referring to a specific requirement of the DoD, Tseng said that the DoD has asked for an all-seeing eye over tens of thousands of square miles, 24/7, without needing GPS or communication links.
“For Shield AI, Sentient Observer is the final piece of that puzzle. The DoD can begin augmenting and replacing their legacy solutions for a distributed, low-cost, low-risk solution that doesn’t break the bank if an aircraft is shot down,” he expressed.
Ryan Tseng, the CEO and co-founder of Shield AI, stated that this acquisition will unite Sentient’s ViDAR and Shield’s Hivemind AI pilot, creating the “world’s most advanced AI-piloted ISR sensor package.”
He also stated that the acquisition was a strategic choice, considering Sentient’s “expertise in optical radar solutions. The integration of WAMI on V-BAT will revolutionize our offering, enabling Group 3-sized aircraft to perform tasks that previously required larger, costlier aircraft, significantly enhancing our customers’ operational capabilities.”
ViDAR is Sentient’s AI system, which uses 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 a conventional radar.
Shield AI’s flagship product, Hivemind, is an AI pilot that enables teams of intelligent aircraft to operate and complete missions autonomously in high-threat environments without the need for remote operators or GPS.
“What stood out to us about Shield AI is that they are the only company in the world with an operational AI pilot, and therefore have the technological expertise and maturity to really deliver on the AI technology workstream underlined in AUKUS Pillar 2,” said Sentient’s CEO, Mark Palmer.
“The innovation breakthrough combining our computer vision AI-enabled ViDAR and Shield AI’s Hivemind will increase situational awareness, enabling quicker more effective decision making and help to save lives.”
Hivemind is an aircraft-agnostic autonomy stack similar to the self-driving technology found in cars. According to the company, it has flown six aircraft, including quadcopters, the MQ-35A V-BAT, the F-16, and Kratos’ MQM-178 Firejet.
The AUKUS agreement
The AUKUS agreement is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States for the Indo-Pacific region.
Announced in 2021, the AUKUS partnership helps the US and the UK in assisting Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. The comprehensive partnership also includes cooperation on advanced cyber mechanisms, AI, electronic warfare, and more.
AUKUS focuses on military capability, making it distinct from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, which also includes New Zealand and Canada. Recently, Australia officially chose the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems to design and build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS pact. The deal will cost Australia billions of dollars and include infrastructure construction and training for support staff.
According to reports, the Australian armed forces have also expressed interest in acquiring unmanned systems, making the Shield AI-Sentient deal a major win for its goal of having a robot-aided monitoring mechanism in place.
