03 — Deliver · Product group

IGNITE:AI

The intelligence layer

IGNITE:AI is the software layer between perception and action. It runs your trusted AI models at the edge — unchanged, in isolation — and delivers georeferenced findings straight into existing command systems. No retraining, no dataset sharing.

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TRACK 014TILED TO YOUR MODELTRACKS OUT, NOT VIDEO

See IGNITE’s features ↓

  • AI pluginDeploy your trusted models at scale — PyTorch, TensorFlow, ONNX or OpenCV DNN, converted to TensorRT and run unchanged in an isolated container.
  • Sized for the Jetson16 GB, shared between the pipeline and your model.
  • Precise georeferencingEvery finding placed on the ground using terrain and platform angles, held across frames.
  • EncryptedModel weights and mission data stay in the encrypted store on the platform. Zero Sapient access.
  • Open outputsFindings out as Cursor-on-Target (CoT) into ATAK, plus JSON detection reports and annotated JPEG crops — into existing C2 / C4, not video.

The intelligence layer

The Layer Between Perception and Action

ROOK or ECHO capture, FORGE computes, and IGNITE:AI runs your trusted model at the edge — unchanged, in isolation. Bring your own model, connect third-party sensors and external feeds, and run on our compute or yours.

IGNITE:AI platform architecture The IGNITE:AI framework at the core of the Sapient platform. AI models from three sources (your own, a partner's, or Sapient's) and sensor and data inputs (Sapient ROOK and ECHO cameras, third-party cameras, external feeds such as AIS) feed into IGNITE:AI, which runs on Sapient FORGE by default or the customer's own NVIDIA hardware as an option. SAPIENT PERCEPTION IGNITE:AI — PLATFORM ARCHITECTURE AI MODELS Bring your own, a partner's, or ours Your own model DEPLOYED BY YOU Partner model FROM A SOLUTION PARTNER Sapient model DEVELOPED BY SAPIENT SENSORS & DATA Connect & fuse multiple inputs Sapient cameras ROOK & ECHO · 10K OPTICS Third-party cameras MULTIPLE TYPES & MODALITIES External data feeds AIS & OTHER SOURCES IGNITE:AI The intelligence layer — your model runs unchanged, isolated & encrypted ONBOARD · AT THE EDGE · ZERO SAPIENT ACCESS RUNS ON DEFAULT Sapient FORGE EDGE COMPUTE · INCLUDED OPTIONAL Your NVIDIA hardware BRING YOUR OWN COMPUTE
  • Open at every edgeYour own model, a partner’s or ours; Sapient and third-party sensors; external feeds; FORGE or your own compute.
  • Secure at the coreModel weights and mission data stay in an encrypted store on the platform — onboard, at the edge.
  • Your IP, your controlSapient has zero visibility into your models, training data, or operational output.

How it works

One Frame in. Compliant Intelligence Out.

Three modules wrap your AI model: optimize each 10K frame for the model, run inference in an isolated container, and turn detections into usable, C2-ready products.

Input module

Optimize the data for the model

  • Prepare the raw 10K frame — normalization and calibration before inference.
  • Scale and tile to the model’s input size, GSD-optimized, so every model sees correctly-scaled data.

Inference module

Your trusted model, in a container

  • Runs unchanged in an isolated Docker container — framework-agnostic, no retraining, no dataset sharing.
  • Detection and classification on tiles (e.g. TensorRT) return classes and bounding boxes.
  • Update or swap models as a container swap, not a rebuild — run several in parallel.

Output module

Turn detections into usable products

  • Extract high-res crops — every detection delivered at full resolution, rendered for a human viewer.
  • Georeference and track — precise geolocation per finding from terrain and platform angles, IDs held across frames.
  • Conform to C2 — package as Cursor-on-Target (CoT) for ATAK and existing C2 / C4.

IGNITE:AI · Capabilities

Capture. Process. Deliver.

The software layer between perception and action. Core capabilities ship with every IGNITE:AI deployment; add-on modules extend it for specific interoperability and mission needs. Select a feature for detail.

Feature Core Add-on
01

Capture

Smart triggering — flight controller or time interval

Two trigger modes. Manual: the flight controller fires the camera, so capture follows the mission plan and autopilot logic already flying the aircraft. This is the mode most integrations use. Interval: the camera captures on a fixed time interval, independent of the autopilot.

Hybrid capture mode — H.265 video with detection-grade stills

Runs an H.265 video stream alongside full-resolution still capture at defined intervals. The model runs on the detection-grade stills and places its findings on the map, while the live video stream goes to the operator at the same time. Continuous video for the operator, detection-quality frames for the model.

Smart Sync — time-aligned multi-sensor capture

Synchronizes multiple Sapient sensors to a common time and frame reference for aligned multi-sensor capture.

Multi-region streaming — several regions at once

The whole scene stays covered while selected regions are worked simultaneously at full resolution, so distinct areas are handled at once without separate passes.

02

Process

Model-aware scaling & tiling — GSD-optimized input

Prepares the 10K stream to fit your model — normalization, calibration, and GSD-optimized tiling sized to the model's input — so inference runs on correctly scaled data.

Framework-agnostic inference — any framework, isolated container

Runs your model unchanged in an isolated container, independent of the AI framework it was built in. Updates are a container swap, not a rebuild.

Multi-model mode — parallel models, selectable in flight

Runs multiple models on one sensor stream in parallel — for example detection alongside vision-based navigation — with the active model selectable in flight. Swap or add models as threats and environments change.

Frame-to-frame tracking — persistent IDs across frames

Tracks unique findings across frames so a detection persists as a single object rather than re-reporting each frame.

Context-aware georeferencing — terrain and platform angles

Places findings on the ground using terrain, gimbal and platform angles, and related context, rather than a flat projection.

Geofencing — bound activity to an area of interest

Constrains capture, processing, and reporting to a defined geographic boundary — focus on an area of interest, or exclude sensitive and out-of-scope zones.

Model & data security — encrypted, isolated, zero Sapient access

Model weights and mission data are held in an encrypted store on the platform; inference runs in isolation. Both model and data are protected at rest, with zero Sapient visibility.

03

Deliver

Cursor-on-Target → ATAK — georeferenced findings into C2

Emits georeferenced findings as Cursor-on-Target messages into ATAK and existing C2 workflows — intelligence out, not video.

STANAG interoperability — conform findings to STANAG add-on

Conforms findings to STANAG for interoperability with existing C2/C4. Delivered as a paid add-on module.

Bring a Model. Leave With an Intelligence Pipeline.

We will walk your existing AI into the IGNITE:AI container format against a live 10K stream.

Request a briefing How to integrate