By DroneLife Features Editor Jim Magill

Palladyne AI, an artificial intelligence and machine-learning software company, which recently launched a defense arm to develop AI-enabled drone systems for use in warfare, is committed to keeping humans in the loop regarding combat decisions, according to the company’s leader.

“With our AI platforms, humans are able to supervise, interrupt and redirect machine performance at any time,” Palladyne AI’s President and CEO Ben Wolff said in an email interview with DroneLife.

The company recently announced the launch of Palladyne Defense, a new division created through mergers with GuideTech LLC and two Crucis companies: Warnke Precision Machining and MKR Fabricators.

Wolff said the acquisitions would enable Palladyne to combine the parent company’s expertise in AI software with the acquired companies’ experience in precision hardware fabrication.

“While we have been very successful with integrating our AI system onto drones produced by third parties, the fact is we can maximize the full potential of our AI capabilities by developing hardware that is purpose-built to do so,” he said.

He likened Palladyne’s development strategy to those of innovative high-tech companies, such as Tesla and Apple, which have combined the development of their hardware and software in tandem with one another.

“It is hard to imagine either company being as successful as they have been if they were only in the hardware or software business, instead of delivering a tightly integrated solution where both hardware and software are designed from the ground up to optimize the final product,” Wolff said.

Palladyne has excelled at developing systems that allow swarms of robots to operate collaboratively, with human oversight, to complete complex missions. The company’s new Palladyne Defense affiliate will focus on the further development of that technology for military applications.

“SwarmOS™ is the defense variant of Palladyne™ Pilot, and Palladyne AI’s combat force multiplier, a next-generation autonomy platform that enables one operator to manage multiple tactical missions through true collaborative swarming across drones, sensors and autonomous defense systems,” Wolff said. “This coordinated approach results in decisive yet ethical, autonomy that enhances mission success, reduces risk and delivers a networked advantage for modern defense operations.”

Wolff said the company has taught its machines to think like humans in order to learn how to solve tasks in environments that have proven to be too complex for traditional automation.

“We have done this by developing and deploying algorithms that focus on the most relevant information needed to complete a task or mission, while ignoring all of the sensor data that isn’t directly relevant.” In this way, the AI systems mimic human behavior, in which people ignore much of the data perceived through their senses “unless and until they consciously or subconsciously conclude that the data is important to them,” he said.

Palladyne’s systems deploy AI at the edge, meaning the AI software is embedded in the drones and robots themselves, rather than sending data to a central cloud for processing.

“We empower robots and UAVs with real-time reasoning and adaptation so they can operate independently and without cloud connectivity, fostering autonomy and resilience in dynamic environments. Our local edge-computing approach ensures seamless adaptability, reducing costs and latency to provide uninterrupted operations even in communication-constrained settings,” Wolff said.

Smart drones used for defense

The creation of Palladyne Defense is expected to better enable the company to support the goals of the U.S. Department of Defense ’s to develop collaborative autonomy systems “with a clear focus on cross-domain and multi-platform collaboration,” Wolff said. To that end, the company has developed SwarmOS™ as the defense variant of Palladyne™ Pilot, a next-generation autonomy platform that enables one operator to manage multiple tactical missions through collaborative swarming across drones, sensors and autonomous defense systems.

“SwarmOS is an edge-based, de-centralized collaborative autonomy platform that enables multiple drones to share curated, relevant information and react to that information in real time, enabling drones to identify, prioritize and track objects of interest,” Wolff said.

He said the AI-enabled platform “turns multiple autonomous systems into an intelligent, coordinated team that adapts in real time across air, land, and sea domains. This coordinated approach results in decisive yet ethical, autonomy that enhances mission success, reduces risk and delivers a networked advantage for modern defense operations.”

The SwarmOS system’s capabilities include “autonomous integration with the native autopilot and autonomous management of point-tilt-and-zoom cameras, lessening the cognitive load on the operator and enabling an operator to manage multiple drones simultaneously,” he said.

“The same AI system is equally applicable to a variety of different types of autonomous machines, including ground, space and maritime assets.”

Among the newer defense-related programs that Palladyne has under development is Project Banshee, which aims to develop the next generation of autonomous loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, which fly over a target area, wait for a target to be identifies, and the dive into the target. Integrated with the SwarmOS software that enables intelligent autonomous swarming capabilities, the Banshee system will allow military forces to move from a one-operator-to-one-drone relationship to a one-to-many relationship, Wolff said.

“The integration of SwarmOS into Project Banshee will be a force multiplier by enabling a single operator to manage a fleet that consists of one of the lowest cost-per-effect systems available. Our focus is on cost-effective lethality and precision harm mitigation while redefining the balance between cost, capability and control in modern warfare,” he said.

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Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.