DARPA-USAF Integration: COLLABORATION and SECURE TASKING for MULTI-AGENT SWARMS

Visual Semantics, Inc. (dba Third Insight) and its non-profit partner, the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) based in Pensacola, FL, are pleased to submit the attached Phase I STTR proposal: “DARPA-USAF Integration: Collaboration and Secure Tasking for Multi-Agent Swarms”. This effort sits within the “Information Technology” focus area to address adversary effort disruption, autonomous systems teaming, reasoning and intelligence, and human and autonomy systems trust and interaction.   Third Insight and IHMC have developed complementary approaches for DARPA and the USAF to understand how multiple UAVs may collaborate in a decentralized manner. Third Insight is working closely with AFRL, AFIMSC, and the National Guard under three ongoing USAF Phase II SBIRs to provide the DOD with an AI-driven software plug-in that imparts COTS Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with autonomous decision-making, navigation, and planning capabilities. While such capabilities are typically intended for GPS-denied and/or contested environments, the AI’s ability to build Situational Awareness at the edge is bearing its own fruit. Perhaps most exciting is our team’s realization that multiple UAVs can share their Situational Awareness and then collaboratively reason about it.   Our non-profit partner, Dr. Matthew Johnson at IHMC, is currently leading two DARPA projects (CREATE and ASIST) that focus on different aspects of autonomous systems teaming and human-machine coordination. IHMC has developed high-fidelity, 3D simulated versions of “Capture-the-Flag” to study the impact of collaboration on successful teaming. In the simplest case, UAVs on each team select from a pre-defined “playlist” of behaviors to defend the team’s flag, take offensive action, etc., based on their perceived state in the world. The approach taken by DARPA is state-of-the-art, and we expect similar approaches to be taken by the two USAF Vanguard Programs Skyborg and Golden Horde.   The proposed STTR seeks to integrate teaming concepts from both the DARPA and USAF projects. Project goals are to assess the feasibility of combining both approaches so agents can: Build and share representations of dynamic threats (both to the agent and to the group) Communicate with neighboring teammates to highlight tactical and strategic advantages Balance individual goals and behaviors against those of the group Capture new knowledge, best practices, and learnings and share with the team Machine-machine cooperation will be a key enabler for Skyborg and Golden Horde. Our STTR efforts will seek to identify customers inside AFSOC and AFIMSC, as well as the National Guard, who has critical need for collaborative ISR and tracking in support of Disaster Response and Homeland Security. Lt Col Alex “Stoiky” Goldberg (TXANG), who is the TPOC for two of Third Insight’s SBIR Phase II’s, has provided a letter of support on behalf of this effort to highlight the project’s urgency.