India's state-run defence technology behemoth Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) recently inked a deal to bolster the Indian Navy's maritime domain awareness.
The electronic tool dubbed "TRIDENT" is made by the private-sector firm Blurgs Innovations Private Limited, renowned as a leader in the cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the field of security in ocean waters.
This partnership is a key step forward in India's plans to secure its vast coastline with the help of AI amid newer challenges in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
"Partnering with the Indian Navy, Blurgs is securing maritime borders for India and friendly nations, enhancing regional security," Blurgs said in a post shared on LinkedIn.
"Their unique solution utilizes diverse data sources, advanced automation, and massive-scale machine intelligence in near real-time, offering swift integration of knowledge for enhanced domain monitoring," the company added.
According to the Bengaluru-based firm, TRIDENT is on course to transform the way the Indian Navy and the nation's maritime security agencies, including the Indian Coast Guard, keep watch on the coastlines.
Blurgs Innovations says that through the usage of advanced AI algorithms, TRIDENT can pick out suspicious activity and present important information about a danger zone or a situation.
The Indian Navy's shift from conventional methods of surveillance to cutting-edge AI would boost its coastline monitoring in three ways:
Augmented Situational Awareness: The TRIDENT has been developed to identify deviations in the marine environment, making it extremely useful for the authorities — especially in detecting and monitoring any kind of suspicious movement or activity in seawaters.
Improved Decision-Making: By gathering evidence through its AI-generated surveillance tools, TRIDENT will allow India's maritime security agencies to respond to threats on the country's coastlines much faster than at present and also reduce the possibility of large-scale damage to maritime assets.
Reduction in Human Monitoring of Coastlines: With the TRIDENT working on an AI-backed algorithm that can act as an ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) vehicle, it is expected to reduce a large contingent of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard's workforce employed for these purposes on the coastlines making them available for deployment elsewhere.