Melbourne based Sentient has announced its Kestrel Land MTI, a computer vision system for electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) sensors, has been deployed aboard RAAF 5FLT Heron UAVs based at Kandahar in Afghanistan.
The system processes imagery in real time and automatically detects and tracks small, moving targets such as dismounts or vehicles within the sensors’ field of view.
“Kestrel detects any small movements in the field of view and alerts our operators to targets that are easily missed – camouflaged vehicles in tough terrains, dismounts or squirters leaving houses,” said WGCDR Dave Riddel, the RAAF’s deputy director – air combat capability and head of Project Nankeen under which the Heron capability was acquired. “This gives our commanders a complete understanding of the situation on the ground.”
Kestrel Land MTI was developed by Sentient as a part of the Capability and Technology Demonstrator Program which is managed by DSTO.
