French AI Firm Enhances Drone Footage Analysis for Threat Detection

Paris-based Preligens integrates drone footage into its AI algorithms for improved military threat detection

Paris-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm Preligens is set to process drone footage for automatic threat detection, aiming to enhance the identification of military assets deployed by Russia and China. The company’s AI-based solutions, Robin and Xerus, are reportedly designed to analyze satellite imagery and determine whether objects of interest are civilian or military.

AI Solutions for Military Terrain Mapping and Imagery Analysis

Founded in 2016, Preligens offers two AI-based solutions: Robin, an imagery-analysis software, and Xerus, a computer system for military terrain mapping. These systems work with commercial or government-collected satellite imagery and can help analysts determine whether objects of interest are civilian or military.

“It has been primarily designed for site monitoring and has an alerting system that can be set up for the customer for pattern-of-life analysis to cue analysts towards key signals that can identify aircraft, vessels, vehicles, surface-to-air missiles, and more,” said Coralie Trigano, the company’s senior sales executive for the Asian-Pacific region.

Enhancements to AI Algorithms

The latest improvements made to the firm’s algorithms have included adding new detectable items as well as additional categories of objects that the software can spot.

“We recently developed a helicopter detector that can now classify and identify precise models and we have also improved the vehicle detector which is now capable of detecting and categorizing civil, armored, military, and electronics radars vehicles,” Sophie Hue, head of communication at Preligens, wrote in an email.

In addition to integrating full-motion video gathered by drones into its data sources, developers are also looking to implement analyses of synthetic-aperture radar images.

The Impact of the Ukraine War on Cyber Intelligence Gathering

The Ukraine war has significantly driven the demand and development of drones, ushering in a new era in cyber intelligence gathering. Preligens demonstrated the capabilities of its software by releasing its own imagery showing that China was carrying out major military infrastructure work at one of its naval bases in 2022. The company’s vessel detector also spotted Russian air-cushioned landing craft stationed in the port of Baltiysk, Kaliningrad, in January 2022.

The integration of drone footage into AI algorithms by Preligens represents a significant advancement in automatic threat detection. As the demand for drones and cyber intelligence gathering continues to rise, AI firms like Preligens are poised to play a crucial role in enhancing global security.