US soldiers to get mini surveillance drone in new $2.6m deal

The U.S. military has been looking to incorporate elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning into its drone program. Project Maven, as the effort is known, aims to provide some relief to military analysts who are part of the war against Islamic State. These analysts currently spend long hours staring at big screens reviewing video feeds from drones as part of the hunt for insurgents in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon is trying to develop algorithms that would sort through the material and alert analysts to important finds, according to Air Force Lieutenant General John N.T. 'Jack' Shanahan, director for defense intelligence for warfighting support. Military bosses say intelligence analysts are'overwhelmed' by the amount of video being recorded over the battlefield by drones with high resolution cameras'A lot of times these things are flying around(and)... there's nothing in the scene that's of interest,' he told Reuters.