Get ready to immerse yourself in the fascinating world of Thales, a French defense electronics company, and its innovative leap into harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Thales has made a noteworthy stride forward in its AI journey with the establishment of a new group called “cortAIx”. This group is committed to supporting secured solutions for an array of entities, including armed forces, aircraft manufacturers and critical infrastructure operators.
The main goal of these solutions is to enhance the efficiency of both data analysis and decision-making processes. But, that's not all, they are also mindful of considering the significant aspects of cybersecurity and other explicit constraints.
Thales and AI: A Decade-Long Affair
Having been a significant participant in transparent, explainable and ethical AI for over a decade, Thales' move into developing cortAIx is a logical progression in its AI journey.
The cortAIx group is a blend of three entities: CortAIx Lab, CortAIx Factory, and CortAIx Sensors. Each entity has a distinct role to play.
- The CortAIx Lab is positioned as the major AI research laboratory in Europe.
- CortAIx Factory functions as Thales' technology factory for AI. It speeds up the qualification and industrialization of AI development tools.
- Last but not least, CortAIx Sensors specialize in incorporating AI algorithms into Thales' developed sensors.
The Magic of AI: The Talios Pod
One of the best examples of the application of AI is the Talios pod (Targeting Long-range Identification Optronic System). This system can identify and track mobile targets of any size, irrespective of day or night.
The application of AI in the Talios pod will significantly improve the search for targets, thereby saving the crew valuable time. The AI is capable of analyzing images in real time and can provide target positions at a speed 100 times faster than manual searches.
The AI used in this context is embedded and meets frugality requirements for computing power. It has been developed through Thales' AI research laboratory, the CortAIx Lab.
These AI advancements are scheduled to be integrated into the F4.3 standard of the Rafale. As for the planned Rafale F5, there are suggestions to combine the Talios and RECO NG pods. Thales LAS is expected to perform this task under the “Pod TR” project.