Israel developing voice command drone system

Israeli military researchers are developing a voice command system for unmanned platforms, Defense News revealed.

The Directorate of Defense Research and Development has been designing the Casper for use with various unmanned systems for two years. It will take “several years” before the system achieves operational readiness, the outlet wrote.

Currently Only Understands Hebrew

Israeli special forces will be the first to use the system — developed by Thirdeye Systems — with subsequent distribution to other ground forces.

The Casper employs a total of 20 commands, currently only in Hebrew, out of which 80 percent involve “controlling a drone’s basic abilities, such as lifting off and flying to a certain height, while the remaining 20 percent is focused on commanding a drone to investigate or detect targets.”

Frees up Soldier’s Hands

The system is meant to free up a soldier’s hands for his weapons, improve his situational awareness, and close the sensor-to-shooter loop faster.

“On the battlefield, a few seconds can be the difference between life and death, between mission accomplishment and mission failure,” Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Defense News.

“Voice commands that eliminate the need to look down at a tablet can save vital time and increase soldier situational awareness. That will save lives.”