Drones World Editor Kartikeya in conversation with Colton Wood, CTO of Digital Force Technologies
Seraphim 2.0 is positioned as a full kill-chain counter-UAS platform. How does it technically fuse multi-sensor data in real time while maintaining low latency and decision accuracy in contested or disconnected environments?
Seraphim is an edge-based sensor processing and fusion architecture which enables real-time assessment, classification, and threat analysis. This approach shortens the “sense to make sense” decision loop and avoids reliance on vulnerable and latent communication layers.
With the integration of Seraphim and Leonidas HPM, how do you ensure safe, auditable AI-enabled decision-making from detection through non-kinetic defeat, particularly in complex urban or critical infrastructure scenarios?
The Seraphim 2.0 release includes Digital Force Technologies’ Engagement Decision Engine allowing the operator to intelligently decide when and how to engage the threat. The AI-based system provides the operator with recommended courses of action based on the fused multi-modal sensing data. The system is highly configurable with pre-mission planning to set rules of engagement, “no fire” zones, and location specific safety guidelines to help ensure effects are deployed safely. Additionally, the integration with Epirus’ Leonidas provides a precision defeat system that is able to direct energy only at the identified threat mitigating collateral effects.
AI at the tactical edge is becoming central to modern defense systems. How does DFT manage model validation, updates, and resilience against adversarial tactics while maintaining operator trust?
Utilizing AI at the tactical edge is critical for Seraphim 2.0’s autonomous assessment and classification of threats. Digital Force Technologies’ approach balances lab testing and verification with extensive operational assessments and frequent warfighter feedback allowing rapid iteration of the models while instilling operator confidence in the system. This approach has been successfully validated in real-world operations.
Seraphim is designed to be sensor- and effector-agnostic. What architectural choices enable rapid integration of new sensors or effectors without compromising system stability or cybersecurity?
Seraphim is built on an open, standards-based plugin architecture with dedicated modules for handling new sensors and effectors. The modules handle the individual subsystems which are isolated from other core system elements. Seraphim supports common data formats and provides a flexible SDK that can extend format support rapidly without impacting the security of the system.
As drone threats evolve toward autonomous swarms and low-observable systems, what are the top technical priorities for DFT over the next 3–5 years to stay ahead of adversary adaptation?
Digital Force Technologies is focused on reducing the cognitive load leveraging tactically relevant AI and advanced sensor fusion to increase the ‘speed to action’ for operators combatting advanced drone threats. The current model of singular drone engagement and heavy user interaction to defeat threats does not scale when trying to defeat a swarm. DFT is building a high confidence “human before the loop” experience that hyper enables our warfighters to execute complex taskings at machine speed.
