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Magic Fly (RAVEN)

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The Company &
the Product

Rafael is a global leader in advanced defense systems and combat technologies, developing solutions across air defense, active protection, intelligence, cyber, naval, aerial, and laser-based systems.

The product is an AI-based system for urban combat, designed to reduce soldiers’ exposure to dangerous areas by enabling remote intelligence gathering and operation of drones and ground robots.

Project Goal

To design an AI-based system that enables a single soldier to manage a multi-platform combat event – including drones and ground robots – while reducing the need for soldiers to enter dangerous areas and providing an accurate intelligence picture that supports life-saving decisions.

The challenges

Designed for Different Infantry Users

The system needed to serve soldiers from different infantry units, with varying levels of experience, technical confidence, and familiarity with operating drones and robotic tools.

The challenge was to make the interface simple enough for a soldier to operate after basic training, while still powerful enough to manage a highly complex technological environment in real time.

Urban Combat: Extreme Operating Conditions

Urban combat is a complex, high-risk environment where civilians may be present, requiring extreme caution and responsible decision-making.

The system needed to support building scanning and mapping, identify people and potential threats, and provide reliable information for life-or-death decisions.

At the same time, the interface had to remain clear and usable in the field, under pressure, on a 10-inch tablet, with glove support and limited mission time.

Autonomy vs. human control

The system needed to allow one operator to manage multiple autonomous tools – drones and ground robots – as part of one mission, rather than controlling each tool separately.

Each tool has its own status, location, capabilities, and real-time data, but the operator needs to stay focused on the mission as a whole. The challenge was to create an interface that brings all this information together clearly, supports trust in AI-driven autonomy, and still keeps final control and situational awareness in human hands.

Executive Solution Summary

Executive Solution Summary

Mission-Centric Command Interface

Our Process

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Design Sprint Workshop

We started with an intensive Design Sprint workshop together with the Rafael team and potential users.

During the workshop, we analyzed the operational challenges and product goals, defined success criteria, and shaped a shared operating concept. We mapped the operator’s cognitive needs at each stage of the mission, identifying what must be visible immediately and what can wait.

We also visited Rafael’s Makers Lab, observed the researchers and technology in action, and asked critical questions that helped ground the concept in real operational constraints.

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Usability Testing with Operational Users

During the usability testing phase, we conducted sessions with drone operators from different units and with team leaders, in order to validate the operating concept defined during the workshop.

The tests helped us understand what worked, what created friction, and what users truly needed in the field. These insights deepened our understanding of the operational context and helped us improve the solution.

Refining the UX Concept

Based on the usability testing insights, we refined the operating concept and updated the interface accordingly.

The revised UX concept focused on improving flow, simplifying operation, and supporting mission management rather than tool management. The result was a more flexible and realistic experience, better suited to real user needs and adaptable to a wide range of operational scenarios

03

Our Solution

Mission-Centric Interface

Mission-Centric Interface

We placed the mission at the center – not the individual tools.

The interface presents a clear real-time operational picture, including map progress, coverage percentage, marked findings such as people, weapons, explosive materials, and inaccessible areas, as well as the overall mission status.

This allows the operator to understand the mission’s progress at a glance, access information about each tool’s detections, monitor autonomous activity, and override or take control at any moment.

Autonomy with Human Control

Autonomy with Human Control

The system supports a seamless transition between 2D and 3D views: a 2D map for quick orientation and a 3D view for deeper spatial understanding.

AI-based capabilities help detect and classify findings in the environment, while the interface presents the information in a clear visual format, with the ability to review raw images and perform deeper analysis when needed.

At the same time, we preserved the Human in the Loop principle. The system can provide AI-based recommendations and support decision-making, but the critical decisions remain in the hands of the operator, with full situational awareness and control.

Real-Time Investigation

Real-Time Investigation

The system enables real-time investigation while the mission continues.

Operators can go back in time, review what happened, capture and analyze a specific image, or inspect the raw visuals behind a detection – all without stopping the autonomous tools from continuing their mission.

This allows users to investigate, validate, and understand findings in context, while maintaining operational continuity.

Designed for Extreme Field Conditions

Designed for Extreme Field Conditions

The interface was designed for a 10-inch tablet used in demanding field conditions.

We created an operating concept suited for two-handed use, with critical controls positioned under the thumbs, support for glove interaction, and a layout built for high-pressure environments with many distractions.

Every interaction was adapted to an operator working in the field, where clarity, speed, and control are essential.