WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new, artificial intelligence-based visual recognition and identification system is in place around Washington, D.C. to keep an eye on the skies and defend the National Capital Region against airborne threats, the Pentagon says.
Washington, D.C. is partially protected by an integrated air defense system installed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It's monitored through a network of cameras and lasers that are in the process of being upgraded.
The new, AI-based visual recognition and identification system is spread throughout the National Capital Region and offers an exponential increase in capability compared to the old system. Known as the Enhanced Regional Situational Awareness system, or the ERSA system, it is closely monitored by the Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome, New York.
'If we need to validate some radar data that we can't for sure say what it is, we can utilize the camera system as an asset to look in that set location to assist in the validation process,' said Air Force Master Sgt. Kendrick Wilburn, a New York Air National Guardsman and the non-commissioned officer-in-charge of capabilities and requirements at the Joint Air Defense Operations Center at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C.
The new ERSA cameras each have a naked eye-type of view known as an electro-optical visual, as well as an infrared view of the landscape. Made by small tech company Teleidoscope, they're replacing a system that was installed in 2002, which had replaced the initial cameras installed after 9/11.
Wilburn said the new AI-capable cameras are a vast improvement over the legacy system.
The cameras also integrate a visual warning system, which is a laser that can illuminate the cockpit of an aircraft. The new lasers are used on aircraft that aren't following an assigned flight plan and aren't in radio contact or compliant with the Federal Aviation Administration's special flight rules.
Two of the new cameras have been installed and are operational. The team is working to install seven new cameras within a year, the U.S. Defense Deparment said in a press release.
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