NOS Innovation is part of the European Neuroquad project, which aims to assess the aptitude of pilots with artificial intelligence and quantum computing, which will last three years and involve an investment of almost four million euros.
“We are a company with technology present in the European consortium of this defense project and a research project, in some way”, with “much more specific strong partners in the field that exists in helping pilots with in-flight monitoring and simulators”, said João Ferreira, director of NOS Innovation.
Neuroquad has an investment of 3.9 million euros, aims at better and deeper neural monitoring of military pilots, and is led by the French company Multiverse Computing, with NOS being the only Portuguese company.
The consortium also includes the Austrian G.Tec, the Spanish Oesia Networks, the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the Belgian Zabala Brusses and the Center for Aerospecial Medicine of the German Air Force.
“NOS is a partner that was also invited to participate and bring part of the technology, because we have been doing some work in these domain areas, therefore in the neurotechnology part, from the point of view of sensors, voice, ‘eye tracking’, therefore eye movements, brain and therefore we have done some research in this part”, pointed out the person in charge.
The project, which is funded by the European Commission under the European Defense Fund, combines advanced neurotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing to increase safety and operational effectiveness in aircraft.
“We are going to help put some of these technologies into practice, some of this ‘expertise’ that we have in an area that then always has what is called dual-use in the industry”, continued João Ferreira.
In this case, “more help to pilots, therefore in flight and if they have a problem, getting the systems to also react faster and more appropriately”, with “hyper customization”, but this “can also be applied to areas of other industries, be it medical industries, transport, air traffic, control”, said the director of NOS Innovation.
This project is the result of a “large partnership” with several European partners, that is, “a diversity of companies and this also helps us to have some research capacity in things that are very new” such as “the quantum part [computação quântica]on the neurotechnology side and on the AI side and how AI will evolve in the future”, he highlighted.
These are cutting-edge technologies and this “also helps us grow and forces us to investigate further and use these technologies later, in this particular case to solve one problem, but then for another”, he said.
The defense area is an application, but it also has dual uses, as is, for example, the case of Anthropic’s AI and the conflict with the Pentagon.
“Anthropic and others,” the official added, when asked to comment on the topic of “what strategic autonomy is, what these systems can and cannot do.”
I think “the scope and core of this project has a lot to do with humans too, so it’s the ‘human in control’ [humano no controlo] and how we can amplify our capabilities and our decision as humans more than machines making decisions for themselves”, he said.
Throughout the project, which lasts 36 months, NOS will have between three and five people involved, depending on the phases.
“We had the approval of the project relatively recently, we also had a ‘kick-off’ session”, he said.
João Ferreira expressed optimism about the project and is waiting to see how quantum computing and AI will evolve in the near future.
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