Kestrel supports Australian Troops in Afghanistan
Melbourne, Australia - 24 August 2010 --[ASDWire]-- Since 2006 the ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) has delivered tactical aerial reconnaissance support to Australian land forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through collaboration with Insitu Pacific, Sentient, Australian specialist in computer vision technology, has successfully demonstrated and deployed Kestrel, a real-time vision system for EO/IR sensors, with the ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).
“Kestrel brings the capability to analyse live ScanEagle imagery from the battlefield into both, the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) and Remote Video Terminal (RVT),” states Dr Paul Boxer, Managing Director of Sentient. “It assists Australian war-fighters in automatically detecting and tracking potential threats, in real-time. At the same time, it provides Mission Commanders with the most accurate and timely information possible.”
Kestrel is a real-time computer vision system that automatically detects and tracks moving targets below an UAS. It analyses the ScanEagle’s imagery and alerts the Air Vehicle Operator to easily missed, small moving targets, such as dismounts and vehicles. Kestrel is ideal for surveillance in mountainous and urban terrain, detecting objects that are easily missed by the human eye.
“Kestrel’s ability to detect very small targets, even in difficult environments, allows the ScanEagle to conduct wider area surveillance,” said Andrew Duggan, Managing Director of Insitu Pacific. “Kestrel adds to the ScanEagle’s ISR capability, extending its ability to provide situational awareness.”
For the past year, Sentient has worked with the Australian Department of Defence and Insitu Pacific to roll out Kestrel to Australian forces in Afghanistan.
"We have worked closely with the Australian Department of Defence and Insitu Pacific to stand up this UAS imagery analysis capability. We are exceptionally proud of our achievement," said Dr. Boxer. "We look forward to continuing support of the Australian Army during the Afghanistan deployment."
Kestrel interfaces with the ScanEagle UAS in the field without changing current ground control station hardware or support equipment.
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About Sentient
Sentient successfully develops and deploys computer vision technology for defence and civil projects. Since 1999 Sentient has been specialising in video analytics with a strong focus on the development of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision software. Sentient is a member of the Defence Recognised Supplier Scheme and a trusted partner of the Australian Department of Defence. For more information, visit www.sentientvision.com.
About Insitu Pacific
Serving the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) needs of the Asia-Pacific region since June 2009, Queensland, Australia-based Insitu Pacific provides UAS services to defence, civil and commercial interests. Insitu’s ScanEagle and NightEagle UAS delivers valuable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data for day and night missions. With robust payload integration features, Insitu’s new UAS platform Integrator will expand the breadth of Insitu Pacific’s UAS capabilities. Insitu Pacific is a subsidiary of U.S.-based Insitu Inc.
