The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the Φsat-2 on August 16, 2024. The satellite represents a new approach to Earth observation and aims to change how the planet is monitored through advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence.
The primary objectives of Φsat-2 include improving data acquisition and processing capabilities directly on the satellite. Using AI techniques, Φsat-2 will optimise data transfer, reduce costs, and significantly shorten the time required to deliver actionable information to Earth. This mission is designed to extract valuable knowledge from raw data, providing rapid insights critical for effective decision-making in various domains.
Additionally, Φsat-2 aims to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of processing data on-board to reduce the raw data that needs to be transmitted back to Earth, thereby accelerating the entire data analysis process and allowing for quicker responses to observed events.
The mission is a collaborative effort involving a consortium of industry and research institutions involved in Earth observation. The consortium led by Open Cosmos includes Ubotica, GGI, CEiiA, GEO-K, KP Labs, and SIMERA. Polish-based company KP Labs has played a significant role in this mission, contributing their expertise in AI-powered solutions.
KP Labs was instrumental in developing the Cloud Detection Application component of the Φsat-2 mission. This app will preprocess satellite images by identifying and removing cloud-covered areas, ensuring that only precise, valuable data is processed further. By eliminating cloud interference, the Cloud Detection App will improve the accuracy and efficiency of subsequent AI applications onboard, leading to more reliable and timely insights. This feature is an important part of the satellite mission, as clouds can obscure essential features in satellite images, making it challenging to analyse environmental changes accurately. The cloud detection process will help filter out unusable data, optimise the use of satellite resources, and improve the quality of the information gathered.
“Our involvement in the Φsat-2 mission underscores our commitment to advancing onboard processing in space,” said COO of KP Labs Michal Zachara. “By developing the Cloud Detection App and algorithms, we address critical challenges in satellite data processing, enabling more efficient and accurate Earth observation. We are proud to be a part of this mission and look forward to seeing the results.”
KP Labs’ contribution helps address the challenges of high-dimensional data analysis, transfer, and storage, which are often bottlenecks in deploying multi and hyperspectral imaging systems. By processing data on board, KP Labs’ technology reduces the need for extensive data transfer to Earth, thereby saving time and resources. This approach optimises the satellite’s overall efficiency and ensures that critical information is available more quickly for the various applications.
The Φsat-2 mission is expected to deliver its first data set shortly. This data will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the onboard AI applications and their impact on Earth observation capabilities. The early data will be critical in fine-tuning the AI models and improving the overall performance of the satellite’s data processing capabilities.
