Tel Aviv: Israeli company XTEND, the developer of XOS – a human-guided autonomous operating system that is revolutionizing ‘human to machine’ interaction, has been awarded a $20 million contract by Israel Ministry of Defense, for the development and supply of a first-of-its-kind multi-drone operating system.
The new joint project with the Israeli Ministry of Directorate of Defense Research & Development, will see XOS enable the remote, safe, and intuitive operation of dozens of human-guided semi-autonomous drones simultaneously, utilizing the latest virtual reality, edge processing and AI technology.
According to the company, XOS will allow XTEND’s drones to be deployed remotely by military units in various scenarios precisely, intuitively, and immersively. The unique and ground-breaking joint initiative, which embodies the IDF and XTEND’s shared vision of enabling drones to become more than just another “eye in the sky”, enable operators to control, interact, and run 3rd party applications on the drones remotely, keeping forces out of danger, while fusing an operator’s expertise with machine autonomy, VR and AI. The deal is based on performance and deliverable milestones.
“We’re witnessing a revolution on the modern battlefield,” says official source, at the IDF. “Working with XTEND over the last three years, we have already been able to field systems that are now in daily use, and we are confident that this new program will provide a tremendous leap in our operational capabilities. Putting the best of civilian technology into the hands of our soldiers. One of the greatest challenges for a program office working with cutting-edge technologies is to find the right industry partners. Along with very few other vendors, we see XTEND as such partner.”
“We are very honoured and excited to have been chosen once again by MAFAT, and to collaborate with them on this game-changing project,” says Ido Bar-On, VP BD & Sales, XTEND. “Our continued partnership reflects the trust of the Israeli Ministry of Defense has in our company’s team and technology. XTEND’s deep collaboration with MAFAT in recent years has already been operationally proven time and again, reducing the risk to operators and providing them with best of breed technology to give them an operational edge. XTEND and the Ministry of Defense are working to secure the cooperation of other ally countries in this development program.”
XTEND’s new contract with Israel’s Ministry of Defense is the latest in over 20 major contracts secured by the company in the last three years, including a multi-million-dollar contract with the US Department of Defense, which will see XTEND’s technology enabling US military drone operators to interactively operate multiple smart machines from a remote, safe distance, with minimal training.
The company says that XOS is easily programmable and configurable to suit different needs outside defence, as Aviv Shapira, co-founder, and CEO at XTEND, explains: “Scalable, affordable, and infinitely flexible, XOS’s unique operating system allows humans to connect and interact with drones, robots, vehicles, smart devices, and smart machines remotely, safely, and intuitively. Letting almost anyone to control multiple remote machines simultaneously – using advanced VR technology, on top of an AI layer. Alongside defence, XOS is providing a new way for public safety, inspection and homeland security professionals to interact with machines virtually in various civilian scenarios.”
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
