Phantom Space partners with Ubotica for space edge AI

Ubotica, a company based in Ireland, has secured a deal to provide cutting-edge edge AI technology for satellites being developed by Phantom Space in the United States. This partnership will enable Phantom Space to offer near-real-time analysis of images captured by Earth Observation satellites without the need to wait for processing on the ground.

Already a key player in the space technology sector, Ubotica currently supplies its CogniSAT-XE2 AI accelerator and CogniSAT-CRC compression system for nine active space missions in orbit. The CogniSAT-XE2 On-Board AI Payload Coprocessor, designed for SmallSat and CubeSat missions, is built around the Intel Movidius Myriad X CV and AI COTS Vision Processing Unit (VPU), boasting 16 vector cores and application-specific hard blocks that deliver high-performance parallel and hardware-accelerated compute within a 1W power envelope.

One notable aspect of this collaboration is that the first satellite to incorporate AI onboard will utilize an Intel chip. This allows for the use of common Neural Network (NN) frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Caffe for model development and training, with models compiled to target the Myriad 2 device using Intel’s OpenVINO toolkit.

The CogniSAT-TK package streamlines workflows, reducing errors in the process. The CogniSAT-XE2 leverages pre-qualified models and layers available within OpenVINO, enabling the use of pre-trained models with transfer learning or direct deployment on the board using the Host Control Software (HCS) included in the package.

By integrating AI into the spacecraft, data bottlenecks are significantly reduced, transmission costs are cut, and high-speed decision-making from orbit becomes possible. Fintan Buckley, CEO and Founder of Ubotica, expressed excitement about the collaboration, stating, “We’re bringing intelligence to the edge, literally. Our AI meets Phantom’s platform right where the action happens, unlocking a new class of agile, responsive satellites.”

Jim Cantrell, CEO and Co-founder of Phantom Space, also highlighted the significance of the partnership, noting, “Ubotica’s cutting-edge tech is a perfect fit for Phantom Cloud. Together, we’re creating a space ecosystem that thinks faster, costs less, and delivers the kind of real-time insight that makes a difference on the ground.” This collaboration not only benefits Phantom Space but also opens up opportunities for third-party satellite operators to access plug-and-play onboard processing, even for missions lacking native compute power, enabling applications such as wildfire detection, maritime vessel tracking, and global communications support.