Ubotica’s CogniSat-6 launch to transform Earth Observation

Ubotica, the leading developer of autonomous SPACE:AI-enabled satellite technology, is set to launch its groundbreaking Live Earth Intelligence mission, CogniSAT-6, in early March. Launching onboard SpaceX’s Transporter 10, it will be among the most intelligent and connected missions ever sent to space, featuring breakthrough AI-powered Live Earth Intelligence capabilities for real-time, actionable decision-making. The announcement was made earlier today at AI Tribes, in Trinity College Dublin, an event hosted by Dublin Tech Summit.

Ubotica’s Mission: Live Earth Intelligence

The limitation of traditional Earth Observation (EO) lies in its name – observation alone. Images are captured and sent back to Earth, where processing can take days. This delay costs us valuable time and opportunities.

The upcoming launch of CogniSAT-6 marks a revolution in Earth Observation. With onboard AI and real-time communications, CogniSAT-6 delivers Live Earth Intelligence directly to users, unlocking multiple applications such as precision agriculture to provide farmers with real-time crop health intelligence for optimized irrigation, fertilization, and yield maximization. Ubotica’s mission goes beyond delivering images – we deliver actionable insights for a better planet.

Fintan Buckley, CEO at Ubotica commented on the launch: “This will be one of the most intelligent and connected missions ever sent to space. CogniSAT-6 marks a revolution in Earth Observation by combining onboard SPACE:AI, continuous real-time communications with the satellite, and dynamic observing strategies to deliver Live Earth Intelligence directly to users on Earth.”

Open Cosmos Partnership

This mission leverages Ubotica’s partnership with Open Cosmos, who designed and built the satellite platform. Sharing a vision for the disruptive potential of Space 4.0, this mission marks another successful collaboration between the two companies. The satellite, named HAMMER (Hyperspectral AI for Marine Monitoring and Emergency Response), will acquire, process, compress, store, and forward medium-resolution hyperspectral imagery specifically focused on the Atlantic coastal and maritime areas.

Ubotica has three objectives for the CogniSAT-6 mission:

1. To deliver Live Earth Intelligence insights directly to users, providing immediate, actionable data for a wide range of applications.

2. To autonomously schedule observations using onboard AI-driven decision-making, optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of satellite operations.

3. To enable direct interaction between end-users and the spacecraft through a mobile app, facilitating real-time communication and data exchange.

Revolutionising Earth Observation: Unlocking AI’s Potential in Space

Earth Observation (EO) plays a critical role in life on Earth. However, traditional ‘bent-pipe’ EO operations – where ground commands dictate every action and data is returned for delayed processing – create expensive bottlenecks and deliver outdated insights. Ubotica is ushering in a new era with AI-powered satellites that transform this paradigm, generating insights in real-time onboard.

SPACE:AI combines with two additional innovations onboard the satellite to deliver an end-to-end solution. A compact yet high resolution onboard hyperspectral camera opens a new dimension of vision, revealing not just the appearance of objects, but also their chemical composition. The insights generated from the hyperspectral images can be delivered directly to users on Earth in under five minutes over an Inter-Satellite Links network, which provides a continuous two-way data connection with the satellite.

Autonomous Observations

CogniSAT-6 will uniquely feature intelligent, autonomous scheduling. For instance, in environmental protection efforts, should initial observations indicate a potential oil spill at sea, CogniSAT-6 could autonomously task following satellites to swarm the area and conduct deeper analysis.

Interactive Satellites

Moreover, CogniSAT-6 will be the first satellite to enable direct interaction with Earth users via a mobile app. In scenarios such as ship detection, CogniSAT-6 will message end-users with a list of identified ships in a designated area of interest. Users can then request additional information and insights about specific ships, which the satellite delivers directly. Interactive Satellites transform Earth Observation into a real-time conversation with our planet.

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