AI-assisted optronics consortium formed for EU
NewsApril 26, 2024
LA DÉFENSE, Paris. The European Commission signed a Grant Agreement for the launch of the STORE [Shared daTabase for Optronics image Recognition and Evaluation] collaborative research project, to be coordinated by Thales and funded by the EDF (European Defense Fund).
The project brings together a group of 20 partners (made up of manufacturers, SMEs, and academics) from eight European Union member states and Norway with the aim of building a shared image database secured by the latest advanced technology and developing and evaluating artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms used in data analysis of ground platform imaging systems.
The project is intended to further automatic management and tactical analysis of information in land-combat situations using innovations in deep learning using optronic data.
According to the Thales announcement, STORE will be the foundation for Europe's first shared, scalable database of defense imagery and explore different algorithm solutions for threat detection. It will specifically address issues of data governance and the cost-effective development of sovereign technologies.
By combining optronic sensors with AI-based analysis techniques, STORE is intended to set up future ways of augmenting warfighters’ perception of the battlefield, enhancing tactical situational awareness, shortening the decision loop to accelerate reaction times, and thereby improving survivability.
