Sentient Vision Systems

Sentient Vision Systems was founded by Dr. Paul Boxer in 2004 to develop computer vision products with a focus on moving target indication (MTI)^[buzzword] in video. In 2006, Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) awarded Sentient a Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD^[2][3]) program which supported development and demonstration of Kestrel Land MTI.^[4] A CTD extension and then support from Commercialisation Australia enabled further development and commercialisation, including Kestrel Maritime, an object detection product for maritime environments.^[4] Kestrel has been integrated on a range of manned and unmanned aircraft including the Wasp^{[citation needed]}, Raven^{[citation needed]} and Puma UAS's,^[5] US Navy Firescout,^[6][7] P3 Orion^{[citation needed]}, NPAS EC135^[8] and RAAF Heron.^[9]

Sentient's most recent product, ViDAR (Visual Detection and Ranging)^[buzzword], was launched in 2015. ViDAR provides visual wide area search capability acting as an optical radar. ViDAR has been deployed with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on a ScanEagle UAS^[10] and is in service with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) for search and rescue.^[11][12]

In 2016, Australia's Defence Minister, Christopher Pyne MP, congratulated Sentient for deployment of over 1,000 Kestrel systems worldwide.^[13] Sentient was also referenced in the Australian Governments 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement^[14]

In June 2017, The Australian government announced a $100m contract to supply the Army with Wasp AE small UAV's including Sentient's Kestrel.^[15][16]