Last month the TIDE (Think-Tank for Information DEcision Superiority) Hackathon, an annual event organized by NATO Allied Command Transformation, showcased rapid demonstrations of solutions to Command and Control challenges within the framework of federated interoperability, which is the ability of different nations’ military forces and their respective command and control systems to cooperate effectively, share information, and coordinate actions.
There were 32 teams, comprised of 120 people total, who participated. The Defence Digital Team, made up of young professionals from the United Kingdom and Hungary, won the Noisy Speech to Text challenge.
In military operations, critical intelligence is often gathered from voice conversations. To effectively analyse this information, it needs to be transcribed into text. However, audio recordings in these scenarios are typically far from ideal, often containing background noise, radio feedback, and multiple speakers talking simultaneously.
The Noisy Speech to Text challenge aimed to develop a robust Speech-to-Text system capable of accurately transcribing such noisy communications. This system must be designed to handle various types of noise pollution commonly encountered in military settings, ensuring that important information is accurately captured and can be effectively analysed.
The Defence Digital Team’s solution involved developing a user interface that allows the upload of a noisy audio file in various formats. The converted .wav file is then treated separately with two noise reduction techniques: DeepFilterNet3, an AI noise reduction tool that employs convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and noisereduce 3.0.0, which uses spectral gating. The user also has the ability to navigate to specific parts of the audio by word and translate the text into many other languages.
The team used a variety of open-source AI solutions, including OpenAI’s Whisper, Meta’s NLLB (No Language Left Behind), and DeepFilterNet3, to ensure accuracy and efficiency. They also utilized the NATO Software Factory, which provided them with access to virtual machines with large GPUs, allowing for higher accuracy and efficiency in running models.
Megan Jones, one of the team members, explained their motivation for choosing the Noisy Speech to Text challenge: “The three of us come from backgrounds in maths, engineering, and physics, and this challenge seemed like the perfect intersection of the three subjects. It also seemed like a challenge that had many different elements to get working together, such as noise reduction, transcribing, and speech diarization, among others. It felt like a puzzle to get all the different components working together smoothly.”
Participating in the hackathon provided valuable insights for the team. Megan reflected, “It’s okay to make loads of mistakes and ask lots of questions. The Subject Matter Experts and challenge setters were so ready to help and listen to all the questions we had. For most of us, this was our first hackathon, and having such great support from everyone around us was something that we really appreciated.”
Tamas Horvath, another team member, shared that Hackathons are “a great chance to get out of my comfort zone, daily routines, and experience something else… it was fascinating to see what others can build and how motivated they are to do so.”
Looking ahead, the team aims to continue improving their solution. They hope to reach a point where it can consistently and reliably be used for intelligence purposes, thus enhancing NATO’s capabilities in gathering and analysing critical intelligence from voice communications in noisy environments.
Outside of the hackathon, team members shared insights into their career aspirations and personal growth. Jess Winterborne, who learned programming during her maths degree, expressed her desire to explore coding/software engineering as a career choice. Beth Padbury, currently focusing on enterprise architecture, hopes to develop her career into technical architecture with an interest in implementing technical solutions for tangible benefits. Megan, part of a data architecture team, emphasizes the importance of interoperability in her work.
Tamas said that he has “always dreamt of making something impactful that society can benefit from.” He continued by saying that he was recently asked to be involved with an early-stage medical technology startup where he is “eager to find out how state-of-the-art advancements in technology can revolutionize” things and that he’s “on the lookout for the latest innovation in this fast-paced field.”
Jess shared a significant moment in her career leading up to the hackathon: “While I am learning a lot in my current graduate scheme, this has been the first time I’ve been able to see a project all the way through from start to end; from back end to front end. It’s also been very liberating being able to have such an impact and so much freedom to choose how we wanted to make the solution, and what we wanted to include. I’ve managed to learn and test so many new skills, and I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to be involved.”
Beth highlighted the transition she made during her Physics degree, which led her from an interest in pure science to a career in applied science and technology, ultimately landing her at the start of a career in defence. She emphasized the importance of work-based experience in shaping her career path.
When asked about advice for young professionals interested in pursuing a career in technology, Megan encouraged seizing opportunities and diving into learning experiences. Jess emphasized the importance of continuous learning and not being intimidated by the unknown, as everyone starts as a beginner.
The TIDE Hackathon not only provided a platform for developing innovative solutions to military challenges but also served as a catalyst for personal and professional growth for the Defence Digital Team members, highlighting the value of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning in the field of technology and engineering.