Generative AI for Counter-Drone Applications

Lantern UAS proposes to apply advances in generative AI capabilities to counter-drone missions, in particular to enable improved situational awareness and decision support for warfighters responding to drone-based threats.ááCounter-drone technology needs to more effectively serve operators and decision-makers. While the available sensor and mitigation technology to respond to drone threats is rapidly advancing, significant obstacles remain. Each of the major categories of sensors currently used ľ radar, cameras, acoustic sensors, and radio frequency ľ have strengths and limitations, and must be seamlessly integrated to provide warfighters with the capability to detect, identify, track, and respond to potential threats. Additionally, the range of available mitigation measures varies enormously depending on the legal, regulatory, and operational environment in which operations occur. áIn a critical infrastructure context a counter-drone operator may have several minutes to evaluate a potential threat but be constrained in which counter-drone tools can be applied, while on the battlefield decisions may need to be made in a matter of seconds but there may be greater response options. Existing systems provide enormous amounts of information in the form of video feeds or sensor mapping, but often push the burden of processing this information onto the warfighter who manages the system and must decide which mitigation measures are appropriate, placing major cognitive demands on operators with decisions that need to be made nearly immediately. ááGenerative AI has the potential to alleviate this burden and to enable faster, more accurate decisions in response to rapidly emerging threats. By rapidly integrating information from multiple sensor systems, continuously evaluating the operational environment and the suite of potential responses, and pushing information and options to the user in an accessible and streamlined manner that supports effective and fast decisions, this project has the potential to provide significant benefits to counter-drone operators.ááLantern UAS is well placed to advance this research. We have a detailed understanding of national security requirements. Lantern UAS is a proud Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business with a executive team that includes two former directors from the White House National Security Council. Our CEO and Founder, David Hansell, has worked on aviation and drone policy at the Air Force, FAA, TSA, the White House, and in the private sector at Meta, Google, and Airbus. Additionally, we have partnered with the leading data science company Silicon Mountain Technologies ľ who have previously successfully implemented a DOD SBIR through Stage 3 ľ áas a subcontractor to provide the technical capabilities necessary make this a success.á