Calay News
Drones are increasingly being used in civil and military aviation. In the Ukraine war, Russia has used Iranian-made drones to attack where its aviation has been ineffective, while Ukraine has also used them for defense. In addition, many countries are enhancing their capabilities with unmanned drones. The United States, which is a leader in the military use of drones, is implementing facial recognition capabilities in its drones so that they can respond autonomously.
The Pentagon has awarded a project to Seattle-based RealNetworks to implement facial recognition on small autonomous drones for identification and intelligence gathering. The system developed by RealNetworks is based on artificial intelligence and is designed to provide practical information to remote human operators as well as enable the drone to respond autonomously in real time. Other Department of Defense projects involving facial recognition have already been awarded to RealNetworks, including access to security checkpoints, rescue missions, and the installation of these identification programs on autonomous quadruped robots. The project to adapt these facial recognition systems to drones has cost $729,000.
Facial recognition is an effective technology if the image is taken under the right conditions, but this is more difficult to achieve from a drone. Some companies are working on developing technologies to improve reliability by varying the angle depending on the position of the person. Facial recognition from a drone has multiple applications in security, from surveillance of facilities to locating suspects. However, equipping a drone with facial recognition and allowing it to respond autonomously raises fears that it could be programmed to find and kill someone, raising ethical and legal questions about such an operation.
