South Australian artificial intelligence company AICRAFT has secured funding from the inaugural South Australian Space Collaboration and Innovation Fund to develop the smallest Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload with the fastest onboard data processing unit.
The SAR payload will be developed as part of the project called ‘Leoflect’ (short for Low Earth Orbit reflector antenna) and will combine AICRAFT’s miniature edge device with server-processing capacity and a lightweight, ultra-compact, reflector array antenna from India’s Guerin Technologies.
AICRAFT designs and manufactures onboard computing systems with artificial intelligence and machine learning capability for Big Data applications, while Guerin is a space tech startup based out of Bangalore that plans to revolutionise the satellite sub-systems using advanced materials and manufacturing techniques.
The SAR payload will use advanced AI models to deliver power-efficient, high-speed data processing and analysis on orbit – a solution that is light-years ahead of existing technologies. A special quality of SAR is that it can penetrate cloud cover, darkness, and weather, allowing a unique view of flood inundation, land cover changes, and modifications of Earth’s surface from landslides, earthquakes, and background tectonic motion.
“We have developed strong relationships with the Indian space ecosystem and are thrilled to partner with Guerin Technologies on our Leoflect project to harness the innovation in both our companies and deliver the most compact SAR antenna and most compact, low-power onboard computer on the market,” said AICRAFT’s CEO Tony Scoleri. “SAR data is critically important and can be used in applications such as agriculture, forestry, glacier monitoring, maritime surveillance and Defence intelligence. We are grateful to the South Australian Government for this funding support.”
“We are excited to collaborate with AICRAFT to develop extremely lightweight, compact SAR platforms with super-fast data processing for next-generation satellites,” said Guerin CEO Suhas Bannur. “Our revolutionary composite-based SAR antenna, along with AICRAFT’s cutting-edge data processing modules, will bring a paradigm shift in the SAR data processing landscape. We thank the South Australian government and the South Australian Space Collaboration and Innovation Fund for the opportunity to collaborate with AICRAFT to bring this unique solution to the market.”
