As drones become ubiquitous on the modern battlefield, controlling them at scale without a one-operator-per-drone model is critical to maximizing their capabilities.
Palladyne AI’s SwarmOS software enables this by distributing intelligence across every drone in the swarm, drawing on the same principles that allow ants and bees to collaborate at scale. While humans remain in the loop to make final decisions, SwarmOS runs entirely on each drone at the edge — no cloud connection required — enabling real-time perception, reasoning, and action in GPS-denied and communications-contested environments.
Breaking Defense discussed the differences between automation and autonomy, swarm capabilities, and decentralized control with Palladyne AI President and CEO Ben Wolff.
Breaking Defense: Many companies are saying that they have swarm AI and autonomous drone capability, but what’s real and what’s marketing, and how does that translate into the field? What is the actual difference between autonomy and automation?
Ben Wolff, President and CEO, Palladyne AI
