Space Force Space Systems Command Praises EdgeRunner AI’s Battle Buddy: A Revolutionary Air-Gapped Military Support System

August 07, 2024 at 13:07 PM EDT

EdgeRunner AI, a new startup building Generative AI for the edge, is thrilled to announce that the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC) has lauded EdgeRunner’s Battle Buddy, a groundbreaking offline AI platform designed to revolutionize military support. This cutting-edge system, which integrates seamlessly with any device—including laptops and smartphones—operates in fully air-gapped environments, bridging critical knowledge gaps between non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and Officers across all experience levels. The EdgeRunner Battle Buddy leverages the advanced EdgeRunner Tactical model, boasting 7 billion parameters that deliver performance on par with Meta's Llama 3-70B model, yet with significantly lower resource requirements.

The Battle Buddy is a revolutionary tool that can encapsulate over 20 years of military wisdom into a single, interactive assistant, envisioned as an "NCO in a bottle." It transforms legacy military data into an intelligent knowledge base, ensuring sensitive information remains secure within controlled environments without the need for cloud transfer.

The Battle Buddy features local data integration for precise, role-specific guidance based on current military practices and operates offline to ensure operational security by protecting sensitive data from cyber threats. It is customizable for various military roles, such as infantry or engineering, and includes built-in RAG capabilities for real-time, context-aware recommendations. The system uses custom adaptors (LoRAs) for task-specific enhancements and integrates advanced motion tracking and multi-language translation, among other features, to facilitate comprehensive support in diverse operational settings.

Lieutenant Devrin Chullanandana from the U.S, Air Force SSC, commented, "We took 10,000 documents and within a week, transformed it into an offline, localized 'Jarvis' for Space Operators to use in Mission Scheduling."

EdgeRunner and Space Force SSC showcased the Battle Buddy prototype at Stanford University where the system ingested 10,000 PDFs—equivalent to around 300 million tokens—and demonstrated superior performance compared to GPT-4o-mini, particularly in delivering accurate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for ground station satellite scheduling.

"We are incredibly proud of the EdgeRunner Battle Buddy's ability to operate independently in secure environments while offering the kind of tailored, real-time support that military personnel need in the field," said Tyler Xuan Saltsman, Co-Founder and CEO of EdgeRunner AI. "This recognition from the Space Force underscores the potential of our technology to make a real difference in military operations."

The Battle Buddy is set to transform how Warfighters and Operators receive support, embodying the ultimate vision of military assistance by providing instant access to critical doctrine and procedural knowledge. It offers enhanced decision-making, increased operational security, tailored support, efficient training, and improved situational awareness through real-time insights into movement and positioning. The Battle Buddy also overcomes language barriers with its advanced translation capabilities and adapts to the unique cultures, terminologies, and training methods of various military branches, ensuring highly relevant support.

This cutting-edge technology also minimizes reliance on traditional "death by PowerPoint" presentations, streamlining Warfighter training and accelerating readiness. It serves as an advanced educational tool, providing real-time support during both preparation and active missions.

For more information about EdgeRunner AI’s groundbreaking technology and partnership opportunities, please visit www.edgerunnerai.com.

About EdgeRunner AI

EdgeRunner AI is a transformative startup on a mission to build Generative AI for the edge that is safe, secure, and transparent. EdgeRunner AI develops small, task-specific Ultra-Efficient Language Models (UELMs) that operate without needing internet access, improving data privacy, security, and compliance. By providing Generative AI solutions that run locally on any device or hardware, EdgeRunner AI enables enterprises and organizations to leverage AI technology responsibly, without compromising performance or security. EdgeRunner AI is backed by a $5.5 million seed round led by Four Rivers Group with participation from Madrona Ventures and strategic angels.