Andrew Spence
CSIRO's investment will include the development of advanced Earth-based imaging from satellites, in addition to a leading-edge data science to support the growth of IA technology. .
Space technologies will receive $ 16 million to identify and develop the science needed to leapfrog traditional technologies and find new areas in which to work in Australian industry.
It will focus first on advanced earth observation technologies, and then tackle challenges such as tracking space objects, resource use in the area of the Earth. space and development of manufacturing systems and life support systems for missions on the Moon and Mars.
This funding is the latest in a number of positive developments for the small but growing Australian space sector and builds on the momentum generated by the Australian Capital Congress's organization of the International Astronautical Congress. , Adelaide, in September 2017.
At the congress, which attracted more than 4,400 industry delegates from around the world, the Australian government announced the creation of a national space agency to contribute to the development of domestic industry, worth $ 4 billion.
The heads of space agencies, from left to right, Robert Lightfoot, acting administrator of NASA, Igor Komarov, director of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the director general of the European Space Agency, Jan Woerner, Secretary General of the National Space Administration of China (CNSA), Tian Yulong, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) President Naoki Okumura at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia from South.
South Australia is a major player in the US space industry. It is home to leading defense companies and several new start-up space companies.
This includes Fleet Space Technologies, which opened a North Adelaide-based commercial tracking station to track and transmit data from nanosatellites into the global network of the Internet of Things in July. .
This month, Fleet hired Rocket Lab to launch two of its cubesats – Proxima I and II – from New Zealand. It was the first successful commercial launch of cubesat by an Australian company.
Two other satellites in the fleet will be launched in the coming weeks – Centauri I and II – on separate missions aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 and ISRO's PSLV C43. Satellites are part of Fleet's mission to bring some 75 billion devices online.
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CSIRO funding also includes $ 19 million to target AI-focused solutions in areas such as food safety and quality, health and well-being, sustainable energy and resources, resilient environments and valuable, as well as Australian and regional security.
This follows last month's announcement that Lockheed Martin Australia became the first founding partner of the new Australian Institute for Machine Learning at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. The strategic partnership will provide cutting-edge research on machine learning for national security, the space industry, businesses and the community at large.
Australia's new machine learning institute, based on decades of expertise in artificial intelligence and computer vision, will be based in the South Australian government's new Innovation Zone in Lot Fourteen, in the heart of the city.
The Lockheed Martin team will work with researchers from the University of Adelaide and AIML students on cutting-edge technologies, developing the capabilities needed to tackle complex and dynamic challenges in the areas of national security, including next-generation automatic reasoning for automated information processing and decision-making. support – and development of advanced algorithms for aerial, maritime, terrestrial, cybernetic and space systems.
Key areas of research include platforms to improve prediction and understanding of complex data; platforms to enable reliable inferences and risk-based decisions; and data systems that enable ethical, robust and scalable IA.
The investment of CSIRO is part of its portfolio of Future Scientific Platforms (FSP), which aims to dedicate research to new and emerging opportunities for Australia.
They aim to help reinvent old industries and create new industries, as well as to build the capacity of a new generation of researchers through specially created spaces for students in these "future" fields.
Space technology and artificial intelligence join eight other areas of future science, particularly in the areas of health and energy.
By 2022, the CSIRO Future Science Platforms program will have invested $ 205 million since its launch in 2016.
"Our future science platforms are intended to turn Australia's challenges into opportunities that allow the new science to overcome seemingly impossible hurdles to give Australia an unfair advantage on the world stage," said the Director General of Australia. CSIRO, Larry Marshall.
"Innovation requires close collaboration. Our FSPs bring together the country's international expertise in all areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to provide real-world solutions to real world problems. "
"CSIRO is here to solve Australia's biggest challenges with innovative science and technology. To do this, we must invest in deep thinking and breakthrough research that will keep us one step ahead.
The latest investment in space technologies builds on the launch of Australia's CSIRO Space Roadmap and supports the Australian Space Agency's new goal of tripling the size of the national space sector, which is expected to reach $ 10-12 billion by 2030.
