SAN DIEGO (June 13, 2024) – Shield AI, the defense technology company building the world’s best AI pilot, and Parry Labs, an industry leader in deploying digital technologies to the edge, today announced the successful integration of Shield AI’s “Hivemind” AI Pilot on Parry Labs’ Edge Compute Micro (EC Micro). This integration was showcased in a flight where the AI, using only onboard computing, autonomously piloted a Kratos MQM-178 Firejet through several complex maneuvers.
“This integration with Parry Labs’ EC Micro enhances our ability to rapidly deploy our AI Pilot across various platforms, more efficiently than working with multiple individual companies,” said Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s President and Co-Founder. “As autonomy becomes essential across all platforms, the speed of implementing these solutions is crucial and will ultimately define the success of platform providers. Importantly, our AI pilot operates self-contained on the aircraft, setting it apart from today’s remotely piloted aircraft.”
EC Micro, Parry Labs’ smallest form factor to date, represents one of Parry Labs’ family of edge compute solutions built to host a wide variety of software capabilities at the tactical edge. The EC Micro provides an on-platform operating environment combining high density CPU and advanced GPU processing resources for the orchestration of autonomy, navigation, intelligent networking, and AI/ML applications. EC Micro’s small form factor and modularity enables expanded mission capacity and enhanced command and control across a wide range of air and ground platforms.
“We are thrilled to partner with Shield AI to demonstrate the delivery of autonomous flight technology with our open architecture digital infrastructure,” said John Parkes, CEO of Parry Labs. “This benchmark event combining Shield AI’s Hivemind and the Parry Labs EC Micro on a Kratos aircraft validates the feasibility and necessity of leveraging modular approaches to deliver autonomy solutions at the speed and relevance of technology innovation.”
This work with Parry Labs enhances the scalability of Shield AI’s technology, demonstrating that the company’s Hivemind AI pilot can be rapidly adapted across a broad range of platforms. This capability is optimized by Parry’s open software and hardware and integration of their compute modules into systems including the MQ-9A Reaper, MQ-1C Gray Eagle, and several other UAS. These integrations enable interfaces with both mission control and autopilot functionalities, streamlining the implementation process and expanding the operational reach of the AI pilot.
About Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown jets (F-16; MQM-178 Firejet), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (MQ-35 V-BAT), and three quadcopters (Nova, Nova 2, iPRD). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X and Instagram.
About Parry Labs, LLC
Parry Labs redefines the edge for the modern battlespace with digital systems integration that delivers rapid capability deployment and a decisive combat advantage. The company combines open software architecture and mission-proven hardware to create a common framework that’s integrated, agile and designed to deliver the most mission-critical technology at mission relevant speed. For more information about Parry Labs, visit: www.parrylabs.com and follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parrylabs/
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology, products, system and software company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial markets. Kratos makes true internally funded research, development, capital and other investments, to rapidly develop, produce and field solutions that address our customers’ mission critical needs and requirements. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we seek to utilize proven, leading-edge approaches and technology, not unproven bleeding edge approaches or technology, with Kratos’ approach designed to reduce cost, schedule and risk, enabling us to be first to market with cost effective solutions. We believe that Kratos is known as an innovative disruptive change agent in the industry, a company that is an expert in designing products and systems up front for successful rapid, large quantity, low-cost future manufacturing which is a value add competitive differentiator for our large traditional prime system integrator partners and also to our government and commercial customers. Kratos intends to pursue program and contract opportunities as the prime or lead contractor when we believe that our probability of win (PWin) is high and any investment required by Kratos is within our capital resource comfort level. We intend to partner and team with a large, traditional system integrator when our assessment of PWin is greater or required investment is beyond Kratos comfort level. Kratos primary business areas include virtualized ground systems for satellites and space vehicles including software for command & control (C2) and telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C), jet powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles and rocket systems, propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, space craft and launch systems, C5ISR and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, satellite, counter UAS, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual & augmented reality training systems for the warfighter. For more information, visit www.KratosDefense.com.
