Dalek: the intelligent eye that never loses sight of UFOs.
While the mystery of 'UAPs' (unidentified aerial phenomena) remains unsolved, a new approach is making waves in scientific circles.
Dalek is an autonomous, intelligent camera designed to observe the sky 24 hours a day without bias or imagination.
The name was not chosen at random: like the robotic enemies of the Doctor Who series, the Daleks, this surveillance device draws inspiration from science fiction to emphasise its scientific nature.
But don't worry — there's no hunting for aliens here. The project is based on a subtle balance between technological innovation, methodological rigour and caution when interpreting results.
A 'sky sentinel'
The Dalek system, developed by researchers at the Galileo Project (Harvard), resembles a hemisphere covered in lenses. Eight infrared cameras mounted in a hemisphere scan the sky in all directions, while a ninth camera films in visible light. Installed at the Whitin Observatory in Massachusetts, the Dalek system has a simple goal: to see everything, all the time, without blinking. It transmits what it sees to an onboard artificial intelligence that automatically detects, tracks, and classifies each object.
AI at the service of the scientific method
Dalek's algorithm is trained to recognise known targets — aircraft, drones, birds and satellites — and then report any trajectory or signature that falls outside these categories. During five months of testing, over 500,000 trajectories were recorded, of which 16% were classified as atypical. After human review, 144 cases remained uncategorised.
Towards a global observation network
Two new Daleks are soon to join the Massachusetts prototype, one in Pennsylvania and the other in Nevada. By triangulating their trajectories, it will be possible to accurately estimate the size, speed, and altitude of objects. Ultimately, Dalek could be integrated into a multisensory study station (sound, radio, visible spectrum), forming an open platform for scientific surveillance of the sky.
Innovation in the service of knowledge
Dalek is not seeking to confirm theories about extraterrestrial life: it aims to make the unknown measurable. By combining thermal sensors, AI, and big data, the project offers a rigorous method for identifying things that don't match anything known. And if a truly inexplicable object does one day appear, science will have the data it needs to study it—without believing, but with understanding.
The Dalek project perfectly illustrates the alliance between instrumental innovation, rigorous scientific method, and interpretative caution. By deploying wide-field infrared sensors and cutting-edge AI algorithms, it shows that it is possible to observe the sky with unprecedented accuracy and without human bias. However, far from any sensationalist quest, Dalek relies on strict protocols: every anomaly is systematically verified, all data is accessible, and conclusions are only drawn after in-depth analysis. This research model, focused on measurement and reproducibility, lays the foundation for a serious study of UAPs, where phenomena are only interpreted after they have been carefully quantified and validated.
«Observe first, interpret later: that is the motto of the Galileo Project.»
— Avi Loeb, astrophysicien, Galileo Project
