SAPIENT FAQs

SAPIENT is an open standard that lets different devices, called edge nodes, connect through plug-and-play interfaces to a single endpoint, called a fusion node. The current version is BSI Flex 335 v2.0. SAPIENT is used mainly in counter-UAS systems, but nothing technical limits it to them.

Edge nodes are sensors and effectors such as radars, cameras and jammers. NATO STANREC 4869 builds on SAPIENT. Cambridge Pixel's SPx Server, SPx Fusion Server, SPx Track Manager and VSD-C2 support SAPIENT; see Counter-UAS.

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The plug-and-play nature of SAPIENT means no prior knowledge of the specific devices serving as edge nodes is needed, and the mechanism for control and information gathering is the same across device types, enabling faster, easier system setup.

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No. NATO STANREC 4869 is built on the current version of SAPIENT but adds recommendations on how to implement the standard, making it more specific. A system compliant with STANREC 4869 is compliant with SAPIENT, but a SAPIENT-compliant system may not be fully compliant with STANREC 4869.

VSD-C2 lists support for SAPIENT as BSI Flex 335 v2.0 and NATO STANREC/AEDP-4869.

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A SAPIENT edge node can be any device that acts as a sensor, an effector or both, including:

• Radars
• Lidars
• RF detectors
• Acoustic sensors
• Jammers
• Cameras
• Laser rangefinders

Other SAPIENT device types supported by VSD-C2 include acoustic direction finders, radio direction finders and ESM systems, video tracking systems and AI-based classifiers, acoustic hailing devices and laser dazzlers. A SAPIENT fusion node can also connect to a higher-level fusion node as an edge node.

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A SAPIENT fusion node is the endpoint of a SAPIENT system. The fusion node processes the information received from the edge nodes connected to it, sends tasking to those nodes, and normally either feeds a display application directly or is integrated into one.

In Cambridge Pixel's range, SPx Track Manager can be configured to perform as a SAPIENT fusion node.

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Yes. A SAPIENT fusion node can act as a child of another fusion node, connecting to it as an edge node would. This lets a larger system be built as a hierarchy, with several fusion nodes feeding a higher-level fusion node.

Information collected by the child fusion nodes is processed and passed upwards. Control from the higher-level fusion node comes down to the relevant child fusion nodes, which process it and pass it on to the relevant edge nodes.

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SPx Server, SPx Fusion Server, SPx Track Manager and VSD-C2 support SAPIENT. SPx Server outputs radar tracks in SAPIENT format, SPx Fusion Server accepts SAPIENT sensor sources, SPx Track Manager converts to SAPIENT and can act as a fusion node, and VSD-C2 displays and controls SAPIENT sensors and effectors.

• SPx Server outputs tracks in SAPIENT and TAK formats for interoperability with modern C2 systems.
• SPx Fusion Server accepts SAPIENT sensor sources as inputs to multi-sensor fusion.
• SPx Track Manager encodes and outputs SAPIENT BSI Flex 335 among its standard formats, converts from other track formats, and can be configured to perform as a SAPIENT fusion node.
• VSD-C2 supports SAPIENT (BSI Flex 335 v2.0, NATO STANREC/AEDP-4869) radars, cameras, video tracking systems and AI-based classifiers, acoustic and radio direction finders, ESM systems, laser rangefinders, acoustic hailing devices, laser dazzlers and RF jammers.

Cambridge Pixel has demonstrated SAPIENT-compliant radar processing at a NATO counter-UAS exercise. For details of supported SAPIENT message types, contact us.

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Use Cambridge Pixel software to translate. SPx Server can process the radar's video into tracks and output them in SAPIENT format, and SPx Track Manager can convert many radar plot and track formats into SAPIENT. Analogue radars connect to SPx Server through HPx radar interface hardware.

• Radar video: SPx Server accepts network radar video (ASTERIX CAT-240 and formats from Terma, Simrad, Navtech, Furuno, Raymarine, Garmin and others) or analogue video through HPx interface hardware, extracts plots, tracks targets and outputs the tracks in SAPIENT format.
• Plots or tracks: SPx Track Manager converts between formats. Its inputs include ASTERIX and proprietary formats such as Echodyne EchoGuard and EchoShield, Robin Radar, BlighterNexus and Leonardo DRS RADA, and its outputs include SAPIENT BSI Flex 335.
• 3D or e-scan radars: SPx Tracker-3D outputs ASTERIX CAT-48 tracks, which SPx Track Manager can convert to SAPIENT.

See Supported Radars, or contact us about a radar format that is not listed.

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