AFWERX Autonomy Prime selects Applied Intuition Defense to provide synthetic data

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 21, 2024 – Applied Intuition Defense, a software solutions provider for defense autonomy, today announced that it was awarded a contract by AFWERX Autonomy Prime to deliver synthetic data to support the Air Force’s computer vision model development for rapid prototyping. This research and development work will provide Autonomy Prime and the Program Executive Office Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Special Operations Forces (PEO ISR-SOF) with critical information about how to optimally implement synthetic data.

This contract award will enable Applied Intuition Defense’s autonomy development solutions and dual use technology to help the U.S. Air Force rapidly design, test, and field novel autonomy technology that meets the needs of an ever-changing battlefield. 

The award builds on the successful work completed under a production contract awarded to Applied Intuition Defense last year to support an Autonomy Prime computer vision/Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) program. Under the previous Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, Applied Intuition Defense delivered synthetic data to train an aided target recognition (AiTR) algorithm. 

“In a complex battlefield, ensuring that capabilities move at the speed of development is crucial to success. This work is essential to filling current gaps in the autonomy development, training, and T&E pipeline, ultimately allowing the U.S. Air Force to adapt and operate in complex environments,” said Peter Ludwig, Co-Founder and CTO of Applied Intuition. “We are thrilled to continue to support a trusted partner like AFWERX and help the U.S. Air Force’s PEO ISR-SOF tackle critical national security use cases.”

“Synthetic data enables the development of computer vision models where little to no data exists to train on. This is especially relevant for defense applications and we expect to better understand the capabilities, limitations, and developmental next steps for synthetic data within the USAF data pipeline.” said Lt Col Josh Fehd, AFWERX Autonomy Prime Branch Chief. 

This contract is evidence of Applied Intuition Defense’s work in the aerial domain and the applicability of the company’s end-to-end autonomy development toolchain to national security use cases. 

‍

About Applied Intuition Defense

Applied Intuition Defense is a software supplier that accelerates the deployment of next-generation autonomous capabilities to the warfighter. Based out of Washington, DC, Applied Intuition Defense is a business of Applied Intuition, which provides advanced vehicle software technology to the automotive, trucking, mining, and construction industries globally. Today, Applied Intuition Defense provides rapid, agile software development best practices from the commercial automotive industry to major programs across the Department of Defense.

‍‍

About AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit www.afresearchlab.com.

‍

About AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at five hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts worth more than $4.7 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: www.afwerx.com. 

‍