Frontiers of Brain-Inspired Autonomous Systems: How Does Defense R&D Drive the Innovations?

A brain-inspired intelligent adaptive system (IAS) framework is developed toward fundamental breakthroughs in the cognitive bottleneck of humans and the incompetence of artificial intelligence (AI) under indeterministic conditions or with insufficient data. IASs have led to defense science and technology innovations for interaction-centered design (ICD) methodologies, human–autonomy symbiosis initiatives, and a trust framework synergizing key strategies on intention, measurability, performance, adaptivity, communication, transparency, and security (IMPACTS) for trustworthy mission-critical autonomous systems. These paradigms of emerging technologies empower highly automated systems to think and behave like humans for generating collective intelligence. IAS-based technologies have not only fostered the development of a series of novel theories and methodologies, such as brain-inspired systems and the ICD approach, but also have paved unprecedented paths to innovative applications in the defense and general industries.