EDA's AIDED project showcases autonomous UGV and UAS collaboration

The AIDED project, funded with €1.55 million ($1.6 million) through the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR), achieved a Technology Readiness Level of three-to-four during its final demonstration in Belgium last month.

The project, overseen by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and managed by a consortium led by Belgium's Space Applications Services, featured an AI-powered 'detect and avoid' system to prevent collisions between UGVs and UAVs.

Using a combination of sensors, including the EM metal detector, Ground Penetrating Radar, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and specialised identification sensors, the autonomous systems demonstrated their capability to detect mock-ups of explosives and improvised explosive devices in both rural and urban settings.

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Neural networks were trained for each type of sensor signal processing and played a crucial role in enhancing the accuracy of the detection process.

The project showcased advancements in AI algorithms, emphasising their potential use in mission planning, self-navigation, teamwork and autonomous explosive device detection with minimal human intervention.

As the AIDED project concluded, the EDA announced the selection of its follow-up initiative, AIDEDex, from the European Defence Fund 2022 call.

This 48-month project aims to further refine uncrewed ground and aerial systems for hidden threat detection, signalling a continued commitment to advancing autonomous capabilities in defence technology across EU member states.