AI in Defence Surveillance

“Invincibility lies in the Defence, the possibility of Victory in the attack”

• Sun Tzu

Mongols conquered half of Asia because of their Long Bow archery, a relatively new tech at that time. Alexander conquered almost all of Eurasia because of his Cavalry strategies. The Germans waged war because they had the most advanced tech of the time, and lost the war when the allied powers advanced ahead of them in technology. Latest and most lethal technology is what wins wars, and maintains the status quo. The logical next step for technology is Artificial Intelligence. AI has many uses in defence, and surveillance is one of the key sectors to utilize AI effectively.

The main function of surveillance is to observe public places or the perimeter of secure facilities in order to protect them from theft, intrusion, fire, and any other possible danger. No matter how good the cameras and VMS are, the weakest link in the security system is the human operators. The problem is that people can’t keep an eye on multiple screens all the time without losing concentration, which eventually can lead to missing critical events. On top of that, people are prone to fatigue, which inevitably results in a decline in productivity and response time and increases the possibility of human error.

Artificial intelligence for surveillance imaging utilizes computer software programs that analyze the audio and images from video surveillance cameras in order to recognize humans, vehicles, objects, attributes, and events. Security contractors program the software to define restricted areas within the camera's view (such as a fenced off area, a parking lot but not the sidewalk or public street outside the lot) and program for times of day (such as after the close of business) for the property being protected by the camera surveillance. The artificial intelligence ("A.I.") sends an alert if it detects a trespasser breaking the "rule" set that no person is allowed in that area during that time of day.

The A.I. program functions by using machine vision. Machine vision is a series of algorithms, or mathematical procedures, which work like a flow-chart or series of questions to compare the object seen with hundreds of thousands of stored reference images of humans in different postures, angles, positions and movements.

The A.I. asks itself if the observed object moves like the reference images, whether it is approximately the same size height relative to width, if it has the characteristic two arms and two legs, if it moves with similar speed, and if it is vertical instead of horizontal. Many other questions are possible, such as the degree to which the object is reflective, the degree to which it is steady or vibrating, and the smoothness with which it moves. Combining all of the values from the various questions, an overall ranking is derived which gives the A.I. the probability that the object is or is not a human.

In addition to the simple rule restricting humans or vehicles from certain areas at certain times of day, more complex rules can be set. The user of the system may wish to know if vehicles drive in one direction but not the other.

AI is used in road traffic management to help analyze real-time data from various means of transportation, including cars, buses and trains. The AI analyzes this information for patterns that could indicate safety risks. This information is then used to suggest ways to mitigate these risks and reduce the number of accidents that occur.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) promises to streamline operations in border management, where governments and technology advocates point to the potential of AI to help secure international borders more efficiently and in some cases more safely. In recent years, authorities particularly in the United States and the European Union have moved quickly to integrate “smart border” AI capabilities into their operations, heralding a potential game-changing moment for the ability of governments to patrol their borders. Border-focused AI technologies come in multiple forms and can include algorithms designed to evaluate travellers’ nuanced and almost imperceptible emotional expressions, biometric analysis of fingerprints and facial recognition, and scanner software that can differentiate humans from wildlife in remote border sections. Artificial intelligence promises to supercharge surveillance, making tools more powerful and capable of processing and interpreting more data than in the past. 

Infusion of AI into Targeting systems for land or air-based weapon systems has changed the war arena drastically. AI surpasses the human limit and conventional system’s capabilities to detect, identify, and clearly recognize friends or foe making target acquisition much faster and easier. The very fact that AI uses complex algorithms to ensure that false alarms are reduced and the neural networks that keep increasing the efficiency of AI are added bonuses. Automated target acquisition, tracking, and assisted firing are making the operator’s job far easier and their aim very precise.

AI can play a crucial role in navigational systems as well for aircrafts, vehicles, and vessels. Multi sensor data acquisition and analysis is done by the AI in real-time and navigational operations become effectively more efficient.

Artificial Intelligence is not just limited to large gawdy war machines, AI can provide warfighter soldiers with real-time intuitive actionable combat information. AI enabled sights can help in Passive Range Management, Automat Ballistic Correction, Weapon Zeroing without the need of live fire, and creates and effective interface with tactical command and control. AI in personnel systems is also extremely useful, from body analytics of the warfighter to AI enabled exo-skeletans, Artificial Intelligence can be  imbued in all aspects of conventional defence forces.

With Innovation as our backbone, we have indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured Intelligent Surveillance Platforms which have far ranging applications in Land, Air, and Naval Defence Surveillance. We have products that cover the entire Electro-Magnetic spectrum providing mission critical intelligence in all weather or light conditions. Our Vision series of products have Long Range Surveillance capacities with proven ranges for Detection at 30 Kms and future products planned for 50Kms as well. Our EYE series of product are strategic in nature and can be deployed for restricted access control and clandestine perimeter security. The Eye series products are smaller in scale and have a low power factor. All of our products are AI enabled and as such can be used as unmanned systems, this reduces human error, false alarms, and increases situational awareness. Our AI onboarded systems also mean that our brave soldiers have enough time to respond in case of an emergency.

- The article has been written by Sandeep Shah, Co-Founder & MD at Optimized Electrotech