Pioneering a Digital-First Approach, U.S. Army Contracts Digital Twin Simulation Company, Duality AI, for Development of AI-Based Anti-Drone System

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Pioneering a Digital-First Approach, U.S. Army Contracts Digital Twin Simulation Company, Duality AI, for Development of AI-Based Anti-Drone System

2025-04-10 23:01 Last Updated At：23:11

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 10, 2025--

Duality AI, the company behind the Falcon digital twin simulation platform, announced today a contract award from the XM30 Program Office, the U.S. Army’s team building the next generation successor to the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. In response to the escalating threat of drone warfare, the XM30 Advanced Capabilities team is developing a robust counter-drone AI Target Detection and Recognition (AiTDR) system to reliably safeguard personnel and troops aboard the vehicle. To achieve this goal, the Army’s Project Linchpin team for AI and Machine Learning capabilities, in coordination with the Army Research Lab (ARL), will leverage synthetic data generated in simulation from virtual sensors in Falcon. Working with Duality in a digital-first approach will streamline the development and tuning of the critical AiTDR model well in advance of the physical system coming online.

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Employing digital twin simulation at the earliest stages of the AiTDR project will enable the XM30 team to preemptively address major development challenges, leading to shorter timelines and lower costs of field deployment. With Falcon, the team will generate vast varieties of high-quality training data, determine optimal sensor configurations, and test model performance in high-fidelity simulated scenarios. Awarding this contract to Duality AI continues the digital-first approach announced at the program’s outset, and builds on the successful strategy of opening the door for industry teams that are not traditional U.S. combat vehicle prime contractors.

“Accomplishing these critical early steps with digital twins is vital for a viable future of field-deployable AI systems,” said Michael Taylor, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Duality AI. “Falcon’s complete control over simulation environments gives the Army ability to train and test the AiTDR model in complex conditions, explore varied drone detection scenarios, and validate potential solutions in simulation before the physical hardware is even ready for field testing.”

Entrusting mission-critical AI systems like the AiTDR with safeguarding soldiers’ lives demands consistent accuracy and reliability with little room for error. Delivering this level of performance requires high-quality training data in varieties and volumes that are simply not feasible to source in the physical world. Fortunately, Duality’s work across industry and government applications, including in the DARPA RACER challenge, is proving that digital twins are free of this limitation. Results from diverse customers are already showing that synthetic data from digital twin simulation is not only quicker and more cost-effective to generate but can also rival and improve the results obtained from real-world data.

With Falcon, the ARL team will be able to compose and simulate any scenarios they require — any drone, any environment, any visual conditions — and generate the needed data with any of Falcon’s virtual sensors. Using this data, the team will first deliver an AI model that functions while communicating with the Falcon simulator, and then continue to refine the performance of this first-generation algorithm by both improving the model and refining the simulation approach in collaboration with Duality’s AI engineering team. In the latter stages of the project, the team will assess broader applications of digital twin simulation in Falcon for addressing their expanding roster of AI/ML training data needs.

“We are thrilled to work with the Project Linchpin and ARL teams to push the possibilities of AI defense systems for the U.S. Army,” says Duality CEO and co-founder, Apurva Shah. “The XM30 digital-first approach to AI model deployment is farsighted and precisely the type of system development approach for which Falcon’s digital twin workflows have been designed. The XM30 program is transforming how tomorrow’s military technology is developed and we’re honored that Falcon is contributing to that future.”

To learn more about Duality AI and the full suite of Falcon products for digital twin simulation visit duality.ai, or sign up for FalconCloud today to directly experience the power of digital twin simulation from the web at falcon.duality.ai.

About Duality AI

Duality AI is a software company behind Falcon, the digital twin simulation platform. Organizations today are leveraging Falcon to help solve complex problems in AI and automation. By bringing high-fidelity digital twins of environments and robotic systems into Falcon, Duality’s customers generate accurate data and predictive behavior modeling that enables them to deploy automated systems robustly and at scale. Duality’s multidisciplinary team includes world-class engineers, simulation specialists, AI/ML experts and award-winning technical artists with over 70 patents across robotics, simulation, and visualization.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins a second 3-year term

2025-05-04 00:03 Last Updated At：00:10

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Anthony Albanese claimed victory as the first Australian prime minister to clinch a second consecutive term in 21 years on Saturday and suggested his government had increased its majority by not modeling itself on U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

“Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future,” Albanese told supporters in a victory speech in Sydney.

“We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people,” he added.

His center-left Labor Party had branded Albanese's rival Peter Dutton, the opposition leader, “DOGE-y Dutton” and accused his conservative Liberal Party of mimicking Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency.

Dutton had earlier conceded his alliance of conservative parties had been defeated at the election and that he had lost his own parliamentary seat that he had held for 24 years.

Dutton's plight parallels that of Canada's opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat after Trump declared economic war on the U.S. neighbor to the north. Poilievre had previously been regarded as a shoo-in to become Canada’s next prime minister and shepherd his Conservative Party back into power for the first time in a decade.

Analysts argue that mirroring Trump switched from a political positive for Australian conservatives to a negative after Trump imposed global tariffs.

Trumpet of Patriots, a minor party inspired by Trump policies with an advertising budget funded by mining magnate Clive Palmer that eclipsed the major parties, attracted only 2% of the vote.

Zareh Ghazarian, a lecturer in politics at Monash University, in Melbourne, questioned the significance of the “DOGE-y Dutton” lable in the election result.

“We won't know. But I'm not sure it had a massive impact,” Ghazarian said. “It is a huge win for Labor and it's a massive rebuke for the Liberal Party.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Albanese on his election to a second three-year term.

"Australia is a valued ally, partner, and friend of the United States. Our shared values and democratic traditions provide the bedrock for an enduring alliance and for the deep ties between our peoples,' Rubio said in a statement.

“The United States looks forward to deepening its relationship with Australia to advance our common interests and promote freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific and globally,” he added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a fellow center-left leader, congratulated Albanese on his victory.

“The U.K. and Australia are as close as ever – which goes to show that long-distance friendships can be the strongest,” Starmer said. “I know that we will continue to work together on our shared ambitions, including on trade, investment and energy, working towards a better life for working people in the U.K. and Australia."

Labor had held a narrow majority of 78 seats in the 151-seat house House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties form governments.

Australian governments are usually elected for at least a second term, but are expected to lose seats at the second election. But Labor is on track to increase its majority in its second term.

Energy policy and inflation have been major issues in the campaign, with both sides agreeing the country faces a cost of living crisis.

The Liberal Party blamed government waste for fueling inflation and increasing interest rates, and has pledged to ax more than one in five public service jobs to reduce government spending.

While both said the country should reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Dutton argues that relying on nuclear power instead of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind turbines would deliver less expensive electricity.

Labor argued Dutton’s administration would slash services to pay for its ambitions to build seven government-funded nuclear generators. Australia currently has no nuclear power.

Opposition senator Jacinta Nampijnpa Price would have been responsible for cutting 41,000 public service jobs in Dutton's administration. She attracted media attention last month when she told supporters her government would “make Australia great again.”

Price told reporters at the time she didn’t recall using the words reminiscent of the Republicans’ “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Price, who said she was photographed wearing a MAGA cap “in jest at Christmas time,” on Saturday blamed the news media for focusing on Trump in the election campaign.

“You made it all about Donald Trump,” Price told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “We really couldn’t care less about the way Donald Trump is governing for America. We were concerned with the way Australia is being governed under an Albanese government."

The election took place against a backdrop of what both sides of politics describe as a cost of living crisis.

Foodbank Australia, the nation’s largest food relief charity, reported 3.4 million households in the country of 27 million people experienced food insecurity last year. That meant Australians were skipping meals, eating less or worrying about running out of food before they could afford to buy more.

The central bank reduced its benchmark cash interest rate by a quarter percentage point in February to 4.1% in an indication that the worst of the financial hardship had passed. The rate is widely expected to be cut again at the bank’s next board meeting on May 20, this time to encourage investment amid the international economic uncertainty generated by Trump’s tariff policies.

Lavalette reported from Perth, Australia