The Israeli defense company Rafael is reporting significant progress in research for the development of an autonomous system that can significantly improve the Israel Defense Forces' capabilities, specifically for combat drivers and pilots. The purpose of the reseaerch is to identify abnormal stress in the operator of a military vehicle or aircraft, for example in the event that enemy fire is opened on him, and take control of the vehicle autonomously.
Today, most systems are one-sided, where the operator receives alerts and data, but the systems are not able to adapt themselves to the operator. Rafael understood that this was a risk and that a soldier in an area under high pressure would not be able to use all his abilities and operate efficiently.
Recently, a groundbreaking study was carried out by Rafael, in collaboration with Ariel University, in an adaptive simulator, in which it was tested for the first time how an autonomous system works that take over the military vehicle in an emergency and assists the operator.
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Yotam, a fellow researcher and R&D leader in the human engineering department at Rafael, explained that this is a non-invasive simulator, unlike other systems being tested. "If a soldier has to perform a task with a helmet full of electrodes as a result of being semi-autonomous, he will not be able to do it. That's why we developed accessories that do not interfere with the user."
As part of the research and development, operators of military tools with and without autonomous systems were tested. "This is a breakthrough. We let the operators train in the simulator and compared the training with those training in a non-adaptive simulator. We proved that the operators' training in the adaptive simulator led them to a higher level of expertise. We discovered that the training was more effective and even required less time to reach high expertise."
Breaking: Ondas' @AiroboticsUAV and @RAFAELdefense Collaborate on Autonomous Drone Infrastructure. $ONDS
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Rafael is an Israeli defense technology company, founded within the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Learn more about Rafael here: https://t.co/N2EghGuPio https://t.co/5wy9zXHBYp… pic.twitter.com/3aJ8ic1SAT
Yotam explains that the system does not aggressively take over the tool when under pressure, but knows how to work in cooperation with it. "There is a human partner and a system partner who work together. The system acquires the operator's trust and shows him the set of considerations in which it operates. We want to improve the relationship between man and machine so that everyone speaks the same language and gets the most out of it."
Although this is a significant breakthrough, there is still a long way to go until this kind of system is implemented in various IDF battalions. "We are inventing the technology we need on the go, so we are not currently setting a deadline."
