Biologically Inspired Threat Monitoring System for Autonomous Vehicles Developed

Roke Manor Research Ltd (Roke), a Chemring Group company, has developed the world’s first threat monitoring system for autonomous vehicles that emulates a mammal’s conditioned fear-response mechanism.

The STARTLE system uses a combination of artificial neural network and diagnostic expert systems to continually monitor and assess potential threats.

STARTLE provides enhanced situational awareness and early threat warning to both the autonomous vehicle and to its remote operator(s). Making use of existing hardware, STARTLE intelligently processes information from multiple on-board sensors, cueing systems to assess and confirm potential threats to the vehicle.

A drawing shows a tank like robot moving toward a fallen limb with arrows directing it around the limb.
Researchers have developed the world's first threat monitoring system for autonomous vehicles that emulates a mammal's conditioned fear-response mechanism. Image courtesy of Roke.

Mike Hook, Principal Consultant at Roke, said: “STARTLE reduces operator workload and improves vehicle efficiency on the ground by helping remote operators to respond effectively in complex mission environments. Operators do not want to be distracted from their mission and the time it takes them to turn their attention to a possible threat could be too slow to save the vehicle.

“Startle delivers local autonomy to a vehicle by providing a mechanism for machine situation awareness to efficiently detect and assess potential threats. This allows vehicle sensing and processing resources to be devoted to the assigned task, but if a threat is detected it will cue the other systems to deal with it swiftly before continuing its mission. These vital seconds could be the difference between mission failure and success.”

Notes about this artificial neural network research

Contact: Roke Manor Research Limited
Source: Roke Manor Research Limited press release sent to NeuroscienceNews.com by Sarah Miles.
Image Source: Image adapted from Roke Manor Research Limited press release image

Join our Newsletter
I agree to have my personal information transferred to AWeber for Neuroscience Newsletter ( more information )
Sign up to receive our recent neuroscience headlines and summaries sent to your email once a day, totally free.
We hate spam and only use your email to contact you about newsletters. You can cancel your subscription any time.