Cambridge Pixel’s VSD security display software,designed for radars and cameras,has been utilized in a exhibition funded by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA),showcasing the visual tracking capabilities of a police drone in the UK.
This initiative, spanning nine months and backed by a DASA Security Rapid Impact Open Call, involved collaboration with two UK police forces to investigate vision-based 360° Detect and Avoid (DAA) functionalities for Beyond visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations.
In early July 2023,Cambridge Pixel partnered with Vizgard and Gibson Robotics to showcase their combined expertise at the Edinburgh Royal Observatory for the project’s final demonstration.
Utilizing Vizgard’s onboard edge computing system alongside an enhanced FortifAI computer vision server,the team was able to process six 4K video streams simultaneously. This setup enabled near-real-time classification of aerial objects, including other drones, which were transmitted through a secure cellular connection.
A notable focus of the project was to illustrate how a vehicle-mounted Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera system could autonomously oversee the surrounding airspace while continuously tracking the police drone. Cambridge Pixel’s VSD display software was integrated with a local ADS-B receiver, providing a clear bird’s eye view of the positions of transmitting aircraft. The refined monitoring capabilities of VSD, combined with camera tracking and control, made it an optimal choice for integration with Vizgard’s FortifAI, which utilized Deep Neural Networks to monitor the drone and detect non-transmitting aerial objects.
Cambridge Pixel has enhanced VSD to support a wider array of radars, devices, and video tracking functionalities.Additionally, Vizgard’s technology is facilitating automated long-range 360° visual detection along the ‘Skyway’ drone flight corridor, which will link Reading, Coventry, and Cambridge in the UK.
Alex Kehoe, CEO of Vizgard, remarked: “Having previously collaborated with Cambridge Pixel on various command and control projects, I was confident in the extraordinary support we would receive for this initiative. the integration of VSD with FortifAI has substantially broadened our capabilities, allowing us to provide clients with AI-driven insights in time-sensitive situations, alongside our extensive range of supported sensor technologies. This advancement not onyl enhances our service portfolio but also opens up exciting opportunities for future collaborations with other sensor providers, whether for Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) or broader security applications.”
