China prepares for real life Star Wars, now has AI capable of capturing enemies' satellites

It appears that China is preparing for a possible Star Wars like situation. A research team in China have claimed that they have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) technology that is capable of hunting and capturing satellites. But that’s not all. This particular AI tech has mastered the art of deception. While it may not look like a big deal, this is a scientific breakthrough in AI training, provided it is real. This technology can enable China in executing inch-perfect captures of an enemy satellite. So, how does this technology really work and what’s the purpose for China to develop such capability? Read on to find out.

China develops AI technology that can hunt and capture satellites

The study was published in the Chinese peer-reviewed journal Aerospace Shanghai on April 25. In the AI experiment, an AI technology took charge of three small satellites and proceeded to hunt and capture targets. The experiment has been repeated thousands of times, according to The Eurasian Times. While this in itself would be incredible, the AI was also able to abandon pursuit mid-mission and re-targeting the object almost instantly, displaying deception capabilities according to the study. The combination of the two make this technology extremely advanced.

Citing such an incident from the study, Eurasian Times explains that in one of the experiments, the satellites rerouted themselves mid capture, giving the impression of leaving the target satellite alone, and within a distance of less than 10 meters, one of the hunter satellites changed direction and captured the target. This AI caliber is nothing short of Star Wars like chase sequence.

“This is spectacular,” said lead scientist Dang Zhaohui, professor of astronautics from Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an, in the study.

The research team also explained that chasing and capturing a target in space is not as easy as many believe. Many previous researchers believed the process to be about mathematical equation and not a strategy as the targets were assumed to be large, dumb and blind, added the report.

However, as most nations protect their valuable surveillance and security satellites with warning sensors and AI technology, the space war could literally look like a cat and mouse chase. The study also noted that attacking other satellites, and specifically early-warning satellites, is often believed to be a precursor to nuclear wars.

Whether this technology will be used as a defense mechanism or an aggressor is not known at the moment. But this can be said, if the study is to be believed, the world is fast moving in a direction where a Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader space hide and seek type of terror can become reality.