Earlier this year, Taiwan’s Defence Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung said the military planned to develop a prototype artificial intelligence satellite imagery recognition system. The plan has since become a contract awarded by the Defence Ministry’s Communication Development Office, or CDO, its primary military intelligence unit, to ThinkTron.
ThinkTron is a Taiwan-Japan joint venture specialising in artificial intelligence, geospatial information systems and monitoring technology. Its contract took effect on September 25 and is worth NT$46.55 million (US$1.45 million).
The system is intended to identify People’s Liberation Army ships, aircraft and missile launchers from satellite imagery. It will be able to detect ships more than 10 metres long, along with aircraft, missile launchers and radar vehicles.
The CDO processes satellite images of military bases and areas near Taiwan in its search for enemy forces and activity. The new technology is meant to speed that work, rapidly identifying forces and activity at bases and elsewhere near Taiwan.
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ThinkTron’s system will use artificial intelligence to analyse images covering 100 square kilometres within minutes. It could also examine several 10 kilometre by 10 kilometre areas within minutes.
It will compare fresh images with historical data and flag changes for intelligence analysts. The software sits at the end of the intelligence pipeline, screening large volumes of imagery that would otherwise require labour-intensive work by human intelligence officers.
The CDO does not operate the military-grade imagery satellites that supply the data. The system will instead serve as an analytical layer for imagery obtained from other sources.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of April. Its stated purpose is to strengthen strategic early warning and inform combat-readiness decisions.
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