Pentagon launches $100 million autonomous drone swarm challenge

The US Department of Defense has opened a six-month competition promising a $100 million reward for teams capable of building voice-controlled autonomous drone swarms.

The initiative is part of a broader AI acceleration strategy which calls for expansion across military planning, logistics, and combat systems.

At its core, the program seeks technology which can translate spoken commands into coordinated actions across multiple unmanned systems operating together.

From strategy to battlefield application

The effort is being run with the involvement of the Defense Innovation Unit and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group under US Special Operations Command.

It also continues elements of earlier autonomous systems initiatives intended to ...