Automobile navigation, traffic management, precision agriculture or emergency services: GPS is omnipresent. But his data ages quickly and quickly becomes obsolete. “” Once you have captured an image, it is already exceeded “Explains Michael Wollersheim, analytical director at Iceye, one of the project partners.
When the GPS is no longer enough
The Orbion project wants to respond to this problem by bringing together multiple sources – radar satellites, high resolution imaging, drone scans – to refresh almost real -time data.
The principle is to establish a dynamic digital twin of the earth, capable of providing an instant and precise vision, including in contexts where GPS signals are absent or compromised. The designers are targeting uses both in the management of natural disasters and in safety, transport or agriculture.
The consortium brings together Aechelon Technology, Niantic Space, Iceye, Blacksky and Distance Technologies. Each brings a centerpiece: Aechelon provides photorealist synthetic environments which fill the areas where the images are lacking; Niantic Spatial uses smartphones and drones to provide useful rapid surveys to emergency and emergency interventions; Iceye implements its fleet of radar satellites, capable of penetrating clouds, smoke or rain to observe the earthly surface to the nearest centimeter.
Blacksky combines artificial intelligence and very high resolution imaging to deliver usable analyzes in real time; Finally, Distance Technologies develops 3D displays “Light Field” without a helmet, already applied to the automotive sector and aviation. By combining these technologies, Orbion wants to provide a lively three -dimensional cartography, with uses ranging from the prevention of forest fires to the monitoring of floods, including the surveillance of maritime roads or urban planning.
« The merger of our platforms provides rescue teams with the finest possible understanding of the environments where they operate “, Underlines Brian McClendon, technical director of Niantic Spatial. For its part, Blacksky sees in Orbion an opportunity to open an era where AI and cartography combine ” at the speed of machines ».
The project, still focused on professional, public and government uses, also seeks spread more widely. Its designers believe that it could constitute the next major evolution after the GPS, of which it takes up the course: first military tool, then technology made accessible to all.
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