Aviv Shapira, is the Co-Founder, and CEO at XTEND, a revolutionary human-guided autonomous techniques enable any operator, with no flight expertise, to remotely carry out extraordinarily correct maneuvers and actions.
Could you share the genesis story behind XTEND?
The genesis of XTEND started in 2018 when our CTO, Rubi Liani, first translated his ardour for drones into discovering an answer to the incendiary balloons menace on the Israeli-Gaza border. Rubi was satisfied that drones could possibly be used to neutralise the balloons, whereas providing a protected, distant approach for professionals in varied situations to do their jobs higher.
My brother, Matteo, and I, who’re prolonged actuality specialists, teamed up with Rubi and Adir Tubi, a protection specialist, who’s now our CQO, to develop a variety of drones and most significantly, XOS, a uniquely scalable, reasonably priced, and infinitely versatile working system, which permits people to attach and work together with drones, robots, automobiles, sensible units, and sensible machines remotely, safely, and intuitively.
Today XOS is revolutionizing ‘human to machine’ interplay. Letting virtually anybody to regulate a number of distant machines concurrently – utilizing superior VR expertise, on prime of an AI layer. Alongside defence, XOS is now offering a brand new approach for public security, inspection, and homeland safety professionals to work together with machines just about in varied non-combat situations.
Your earlier VR firm was bought to Intel and was rebranded as Intel Sports, what was the inspiration behind this firm and what was it particularly? How did that inform/form your ambition for XTEND?
We based Replay Technologies in 2011 and had been acquired by Intel in 2016, at which level Intel rebranded the enterprise into Intel Sports Group (ISG). Replay offered distinctive 3D video rendering capabilities, which we referred to as “free dimensional” or freeD™ video. freeD allowed sports activities followers to get a 360-degree view of key performs in a variety of sports activities. Freezing motion from any angle, then rotating round it, a bit like bullet scene particular results we noticed within the Matrix film. I spent 2 additional years as Senior Director of Operations and Production for Intel Sports Group, the place we utilized freeD in varied prolonged actuality situations throughout a number of sports activities.
There is little question that these experiences formed our imaginative and prescient for XTEND and XOS. Igniting our ardour for augmented actuality, digital actuality, robotics, and AI, and understanding how better of breed expertise could possibly be used to revolutionize ‘human to machine’ interplay.
XTEND Systems has designed an interface to work together remotely with machines, may you elaborate on how this works?
The drone trade has taken off like a rocket, particularly on the subject of “remote operations” and an operator’s capability to regulate drones from distant areas. For the previous 4 years, XTEND has been creating a brand new and progressive expertise referred to as Remote Interactive Operations (RIO). The benefit of RIO is that it not solely permits professionals to de-risk their operations by interactively working drones or robots from a distant location, nevertheless it additionally permits them to make real-time selections and alter the best way they perform complicated duties in actual time.
While many corporations present distant operations capabilities, we’re hyper focussed on ‘human to machine’ interplay and bringing interactive options to drone operations. We observe one main rule – “seeing” the distant surroundings isn’t sufficient. We consider we have to incorporate extra human senses and capabilities, reminiscent of contact and sound, into the method.
This goes fully in opposition to what many within the trade are doing, as they try and eradicate human operators from distant operations. But we firmly consider the development of machines doesn’t want to return on the expense of human operators, and when the 2 are paired collectively, they unlock a world of limitless alternatives.
With the person and that want for human capabilities at the point of interest of our imaginative and prescient, we developed XOS, our very personal patented Operating System to allow true human and machine collaboration. XTEND’s Operating System (XOS) permits anybody to simply join and work together inside distant environments utilizing drones and different sensible machines, with out the necessity for prior information or coaching. Allowing operators to maneuver, see, work together, and run third occasion purposes on distant machines exactly, intuitively, and immersively – utilizing a mix of augmented actuality, digital actuality, robotics, and AI.
What are some ways in which XTEND Systems makes use of AI?
XTEND’s drones all use AI to energy important performance like detection, facial recognition, and monitoring. By constructing our XOS working system XOS from the underside up, we had been capable of create a patented ‘App Store’ which makes each piece of robotic {hardware} that makes use of our working system far more succesful and versatile through the use of software program purposes, together with a whole bunch of AI apps.
XOS additionally permits people to be current on the most crucial level of distant missions with its “last mile capabilities”, by which a human operator remotely “enters” and takes management of a machine at its ultimate stage of a mission or when our automated machine alerts inform an operator that human intervention is required.
For readers who’re unfamiliar with the time period prolonged actuality, may you outline what it’s and the way it differs from augmented or digital actuality?
We coined the phrase ‘extended reality’ to explain how XOS extends the chances of ‘human to machine’ interplay. Connecting individuals with machines in a brand new approach, by mixing the newest AR, VR, and robotics expertise with AI, to offer operators the power to be distant but current, regardless of whether or not they’re hundreds of miles or a number of ft away.
The expertise has the potential to avoid wasting lives, may you stroll by way of a few of these use instances?
Every day individuals are risking their lives to make our world safer. Our goal is to create a world the place people don’t should go the place they shouldn’t go. XOS is completely suited to working units in civilian situations, offering a brand new approach for people to work together with machines just about. Meaning a variety of complicated duties that require human to machine interplay may be carried out at a protected distance by first responders, inspectors, and safety professionals, who’re specialists of their area, fairly than professional pilots or drivers of the machine they’re utilizing. XOS is being utilized by a whole bunch of defence and safety personnel throughout the globe, enabling machines to go the place people shouldn’t.
XTEND Systems was lately awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to modernize their use of drone expertise. Could you share some particulars concerning this?
Yes, we had been lately awarded a $25M contract by Israel’s Ministry of Defence for the event and provide of a first-of-its-kind multi-drone working system.
The new joint mission with MAFAT, the Israeli Ministry of Directorate of Defence Research & Development, will see XOS allow the distant, protected, and intuitive operation of dozens of human-guided semi-autonomous drones concurrently, using the newest digital actuality, edge processing and AI expertise.
XOS will enable XTEND’s drones to be deployed remotely by navy items in varied situations exactly, intuitively, and immersively. The distinctive and ground-breaking joint initiative, which embodies the IDF and XTEND’s shared imaginative and prescient of enabling drones to change into extra than simply one other “eye in the sky”, will allow operators to regulate, work together, and run third occasion purposes on the drones remotely, conserving forces out of hazard, whereas fusing an operator’s experience with machine autonomy, VR and AI.
What are a few of the different use instances behind XTEND Systems?
After three years of reside operations, we’re increasing into new markets to make sure Remote Interactive Operations are accessible to everybody. Our goal has all the time been to make XOS the working system of alternative in a variety of situations, outdoors defence. Allowing a variety of pros to regulate remote-powered drones and sensible machines and perform complicated duties that require human interplay and decision-making remotely. We are presently driving purposes of XTEND’s expertise, and our scalable and infinitely versatile XOS working system, in public security, homeland safety, and inspection. Our goal is to start revolutionizing human and machine interactions in manufacturing, logistics, journey, leisure, and different civilian markets very quickly.
What is your imaginative and prescient for the way forward for prolonged actuality?
Our world doesn’t have sufficient assets or options to deal with our pressing wants.
We should discover new methods to increase our capabilities. Our mission is to create extensions to human-machine teaming. Where machines go the place individuals shouldn’t. And do what individuals shouldn’t.
The world doesn’t have sufficient individuals to maintain it protected. Until now.
Thank you for the good interview, readers who want to study extra ought to go to XTEND.