Arkeus scales AI sensing manufacturing capacity in Australia

Arkeus' new Queensland facility will support production of AI-powered sensing systems that are equipped on UAVs. (Arkeus)

Australian firm Arkeus' new manufacturing facility in Queensland is intended to boost production of sensing systems designed specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Arkeus co-founder and CEO Simon Olsen told Janes on 14 July that the billion-dollar investment in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sector over the past decade is now increasingly funding software systems that automate data processing and accelerate decision making.

However, according to Olsen, these software systems still depend on sensing hardware that was originally designed to provide data to human operators.

Arkeus said in a statement that the new Queensland facility will build AI-powered sensing systems that serve as “the eyes and brains of autonomous platforms” for Australian and allied defence customers.

“Arkeus' premise is simple – sensing systems that are designed, built, and manufactured for AI that provide truly optimised performance, as opposed to those built for a human operator,” Olsen said.

The company's ARK AI orchestration and data-fusion software forms the core of this approach, he said, adding that best outcomes are achieved when it is paired with hardware designed to maximise performance.

According to the company, the ARK AI tool, which processes and disseminates intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data to customers, can be customised to meet operational requirements using tailored AI.

Arkeus opened the manufacturing facility in Ormeau, Queensland, on 10 July. The site is supported by AUD1.48 million (USD1 million) from the local government's Sovereign Industry Development Fund (SIDF).

The new facility will expand Arkeus' manufacturing capability twentyfold, the firm said.