[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd.) is partnering with 'Shield AI', which participated in the development of the US X-62 VISTA, and is moving forward with AI autonomous flight verification. 

On the 5th, KAI signed a contract to use 'Hivemind Enterprise (HME),' an AI-based autonomous flight software applied to Shield AI and unmanned aerial vehicles and drones. The contract was conducted between three parties, including Quantum Aero, the domestic supplier of Shield AI.

Shield AI's HME, which recently signed a contract, is a software that builds, evaluates, and verifies the autonomy for performing missions on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Since 2018, it has been applied to the F-16 (X-62 VISTA), GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger, and Kratos MQM-178 Firejet, demonstrating AI-based autonomous flight capabilities.

KAI plans to use HME to verify the free flight technology of the AI ​​pilot it is independently developing and integrate it into a reduced-size multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle (AAP) for verification, thereby shortening the AI ​​pilot development period and advancing the technology.

KAI engineers plan to visit Shield AI, headquartered in San Diego, USA, next month to receive training and discuss ways to utilize the software.

KAI is the only company in Korea that can develop AI pilots, as it has diverse aircraft development experience and secured flight data. It is expanding its investment in future technologies centered on AI to strengthen its competitiveness in the global market.

KAI is committed to technology development by investing KRW 102.5 billion in AI, big data, and autonomous/unmanned aircraft in February of last year, starting with research on AI pilot aircraft control technology in the second half of 2023 to implement a manned-unmanned composite combat system, which is the core of the next-generation air combat system.

In addition, in order to enhance AI pilot technology capabilities and build a domestic ecosystem, we are building a strategic cooperation system through equity investments in AI powerhouses such as Conan, an AI big data company, Funjin, a decision-making AI specialist company, and GenGenAI, an AI-based defense synthetic data solution company.

KAI plans to demonstrate basic navigation, obstacle avoidance flight, and target recognition by installing an AI pilot on its AAP (Aerospace Advanced Pilot) scale aircraft this year, and plans to install the AI ​​pilot on the AAP, which is being prepared for release this year.

Meanwhile, through a national naming contest this month, the official name of the AI ​​pilot being developed by KAI was named 'K-AILOT.'

KAI AI and Avionics Research Center Director Choi Nak-seon said, “KAI will quickly verify the AI ​​pilot technologies it is developing in-house through various methods and elevate them to world-class levels,” adding, “Please keep an eye on the process in which ‘Kairot,’ Korea’s representative AI pilot, evolves and grows.”