New milestone as BSI publishes updated SAPIENT standard

Sensing for Asset Protection with Integrated Electronic Networked Technology (SAPIENT) was developed by Dstl and first published as a British Standards Institute (BSI) standard in July 2023.

Significant new features have been incorporated in the second version of the SAPIENT standard, published by the BSI as BSI Flex 335 V2.0 on 31 March 2024.

This latest update (sponsored by UK Strategic Command and written by Dstl) is a significant milestone in its development and exploitation journey, which enables AI and autonomy in networked multi-sensor systems in security and defence.

The first version of this free-to-download standard defines the messages that can link sensor edge nodes, effector nodes and fusion nodes in an intelligent network. Version 2.0 now enables a hierarchical architecture of networked nodes, fitting military command and control structures, and extends to edge nodes and effectors on movable platforms. Version 2.0 also allows for run-time defined taxonomies. This means AI-enabled sensor edge nodes from any domain, from CBRN to underwater to space, can transmit information via the SAPIENT standard and have it fused by a fusion node.

While SAPIENT is a generic standard, it has seen strong adoption in the counter uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) area. In this, and many other domains, standardisation of the messaging structure has important benefits for defence:

• enables autonomy
• reduces system integration time
• lowers user cognitive burden
• strongly encourages component modularity, creating a competitive supplier ecosystem for the components (which lowers cost for the Ministry of Defence (MOD))