Human-friendly Control & Artificial Intelligence for Military Drone Operations (HADRON)

The global objective of this study is to render the use of drones easier for the operator. This is to be achieved through the development of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, assisting the human operator in controlling the drone and in processing the sensor data, thereby alleviating the need for extensive operator training.

RMA will co-develop AI tools, allowing for safe and human-friendly control and navigation of drones. It is specifically *not* the goal to develop totally autonomous capabilities, but to develop assistive tools & algorithms that enable a novice pilot to operate a drone safely and effectively, and an expert pilot to operate multiple drones from a distance. Furthermore, RMA will develop AI tools, assisting drone operators with semi-automated real-time data processing. The main goal here is to take the cognitive load on the human operator away from assessing large data streams towards assessing anomalies that have been detected automatically.

This project has received funding from the Royal Higher Institute for Defence of Belgian Defence under the triple helix research action programme.