Military system integrators are exploring how they can best leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge of the battlefield.

Military threats are accelerating at machine speed, so military forces are adding artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to their arsenals of sensor, signal, and image processing to analyze vast streams of data in real time.

I am the Chief Technology Officer at Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions Division and a Curtiss-Wright Technical Fellow. I joined with PacStar, now part of Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, over 16 years ago. During this time, I have supported the development of our rugged, tactical hardware and IQCore software.

Military experts are developing new enabling technologies to help unmanned aircraft, ground vehicles, submarines, and surface vessels swarm and make decisions without human intervention.

Size, weight, power consumption, and cooling technologies today block quantum computing from the embedded world, but new generations should yield advances in artificial intelligence and computer security.

In the defense industry, AI is on the path to becoming a loyal companion to the warfighter and manufacturers alike. As technology progresses, so does the range of defense capabilities that AI could not only supplement but eventually manage.

The latest generation of unmanned vehicles operating on land, in the air, and at sea no longer simply are remotely operated. These advanced systems have built-in intelligence to learn from their experiences and make their own decisions.

Industry experts say open standards are helping drive development in small-form-factor battlefield and aerospace hardware like system-on-chip and single-board computers.