BAJA DESERT — General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) is testing its AI-enabled Project Celerity platform during the Baja 1000 off-road race to simulate military operations in remote, communications-denied environments. The platform, developed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), aims to manage energy and data flow for electric vehicles and robotic systems under extreme conditions.
GDIT’s Defense Operations Grid-Mesh Accelerator, or DOGMA, plays a central role in the demonstration by fusing sensor data and transmitting it to operators despite disrupted communications, such as those caused by enemy jamming. The company has built three versions of DOGMA: one for data fusion, another for running autonomous systems, and a third called WorldView, described as a cognitive layer that delivers a common operating picture.
The race team will use electrically powered motorcycles similar to those employed by special operations forces. These bikes offer quieter operation than traditional motorbikes, and their large batteries can power sensors and communications equipment. GDIT did not disclose which specific team is using its AI tools in the race.
Brandon Bean, GDIT’s vice president for artificial intelligence and machine learning, said, “This is a proxy for contested logistics. The Baja Desert provides us with adverse terrain topography and weather; it also provides us a dynamic [operational tempo] so we can't pre-predict or plan anything.” He added, “All the telemetry that's coming from the rider and from the motorcycle will go to AWS servers. Then we're going to provide predictive analytics on when and where the rider needs to pit and where we need to replace the batteries.”
Shannon Judd, director of global defense partners at AWS, said in an email that military applications for Project Celerity include supporting teams conducting patrols or surveillance in remote areas, special operations forces needing to make rapid decisions without full communications access, and disaster or humanitarian missions.
GDIT may eventually integrate additional telemetry tools, such as a rider-health monitor designed for environments where standard fitness trackers fail. The company unveiled this health tool alongside DOGMA WorldView at the SOF Week event in Tampa, Florida. Bean said, “What we did was we built a round-loop workflow where we collected all this telemetry data off of these devices, [and] we're able to work and pull this data into our DOGMA WorldView and be able to do pattern of life on these individuals. So we could tell, based on the telemetry data on the phone, whether they've [encountered] elevated terrain or whether they stopped for periods of time. The next step of that is to actually tap into the microphone and the camera on the phone, so that we can identify if there's hostile control [of the] device.”
No independent assessment was available for this report.