AI training models for AFRL garner BlackSky $2 million defense contract
NewsMarch 08, 2024
SEATTLE. Space-based imagery company BlackSky received a $2 million defense contract to provide data to train artificial intelligence (AI) models; the contract was awarded by engineering/test firm Axient on behalf of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
Under the terms of the contract, Axient will use BlackSky’s satellite imagery and data-analytics platform to undertake studies and technology demos focused on tracking moving objects from space. In the contract-win announcement, BlackSky officials stated that the studies will “collect and annotate thousands of BlackSky multi-frame burst images to train moving target artificial intelligence models for commercial motion imagery.”
Satellites take what are called multi-frame burst images, which are sequences of consecutive video frames captured by satellites within a seconds-long time frame.
The data AFRL gathers through these experiments will enable it to more accurately identify moving objects from space and recognize patterns of life.
