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Ubotica Technologies has unveiled a new solution to help in make Earth observation (EO) more efficient. It announced March 7, that it will bring its CogniSAT-CRC solution to market with the aim of maximizing EO asset utilization. Using lossless image compression, and an AI-based Cloud Detection and Removal algorithm, CogniSAT-CRC aims to deliver at least a six-fold increase in useful data capture per orbit for EO satellites thereby maximizing the areas of interest scanned during each orbit.

As more complex EO sensors (multispectral, hyperspectral, etc.) produce more data and with more satellites flying, Ubotica believes there is now a data bottleneck in space. It believes the available downlink capacity is not keeping pace with the data generated and this results in the under-utilisation of these complex EO assets which reduces the system return on investment. Ubotica’s CogniSAT-CRC aims to directly address this challenge with an approach that can reduce downlink data costs by 80% while simultaneously trebling the amount of useful data gathered.

CogniSAT-CRC will be released this year as engineering and flight models. Satellite designers can also access Ubotica’s deep domain expertise to integrate their specific imager sensor with CogniSAT-CRC and to improve operational efficiency by fine tuning the space borne module.

“With an average of 50% cloud coverage across the Earth, it is a huge waste of valuable downlink budget to send cloudy images down to ground stations. Ubotica developed CogniSAT-CRC to address this opportunity for satellite operators to significantly increase the operational efficiency of their space assets. Our analysis shows satellites designed using CogniSAT-CRC can reduce downlink costs by up to 80%,” John Doody, VP of Product at Ubotica, said in a statement.