Satellite edge computing solutions are promising to usher in a new era of efficiency and versatility onboard spacecraft of all sizes.
In this article we take a closer look at how edge computing in space systems works and share details of suppliers, hardware, and software products on the global marketplace for space.
If you’re familiar with the technology you can use the links below to skip straight to the sections you are most interested in.
Contents
- What is satellite edge computing?
- Commercial space edge computing providers
- Satellite edge computing hardware
- Satellite edge computing software
- Share your requirements
What is satellite edge computing?
Edge computing is the practice of integrating data analysis and processing resources in distributed, physical locations where they can be most beneficial. In space, this has some obvious practical benefits.
You can think of satellite edge computing as a collection of processes, capabilities, and protocols that provide computing resources and data processing capabilities adjacent to data collection payloads – i.e. onboard the satellite.
This approach aims to address the latency, bandwidth, and connectivity challenges that the space environment presents. Broadly, there are two main aspects of space edge computing:
Onboard data processing (OBDP)
Satellites can be equipped with specialized hardware and software that allows them to process data directly on the satellite. This reduces the need to transmit raw data back to Earth.
This can be particularly useful for applications such as Earth Observation, space weather monitoring, and satellite-based internet services.
OBDP approaches can significantly improve the versatility and efficiency of satellites, and even open up new concepts such as hub and spoke constellation models (in which multiple satellites collect data and transmit to a hub satellite, with greater resources and a better orbital position, for processing and downlinking).
Ground-based edge computing
In this approach, satellite data is transmitted to strategically located edge computing facilities closer to end-users or data sources. Such facilities can process and analyze the data before sending it to the central cloud infrastructure or other location, reducing latency and bandwidth requirements.
By combining these two approaches, satellite edge computing can enable more efficient data processing, reduced latency, and improved overall performance for various space applications.
Commercial providers of satellite edge computing products and services
Satellite edge computing products and services are coming to market from suppliers all around the world – here are a range of companies offering hardware or software. You can see more information about the individual products and services below.
Satellite edge computing hardware products
In this section you can find details of specialized hardware to enable edge computing in space. You can click on any of the links below to find out more about the equipment and the manufacturers on each product page.
From the product pages you can submit free requests for further information, quotes, documents, or whatever else you might need for your procurement or trade study processes.
Alternatively, to quickly send out a free and no-obligation request for quote or proposal to all of these companies, click here and share your requirements with us.
Please note that a wide variety of satellite computing hardware that could potentially perform edge processes, so this list primarily includes systems from suppliers who are specifically focussing on edge applications. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.
Radiation-tolerant EDGE payload processors provide on-board processing power ranging from 300 GFLOPS to >1 TFLOPS. Available in 1U and 3U form factors, and featuring 4 ARM cores with up to 2 GHz clock speed and 256 GPU cores with up to xyz clock speed.
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The Ibeos EDGE-X Payload Processor is a radiation-tolerant system providing on-board processing power ranging from 300 GFLOPS to >1 TFLOPS. A mix of serial interfaces, for communicating with different bus and payload assemblies, are available along with a range of custom configurations.
A CubeSat standard-compliant Data Processing Unit (DPU) designed for the application of AI solutions in space. Leopard uses Deep Neural Networks to process data on-board and features FPGA to implement deep learning algorithms. The system has a throughput of up to 3 Tera Operations per second.
The OBC combines a Telemetry, Tracking & Command (TT&C) module & a Data Processing Unit (DPU). The TT&C unit features a TMS570 Hercules microcontroller, including a dual 300 MHz ARM Cortex-R5F with FPU in lock-step. The DPU is equipped with a Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC including FPGA for customization.
The KP Labs' Lion is a data processing unit for advanced operations with the use of artificial intelligence and on-board data processing. The Lion DPU is dedicated to micro and small satellites weighing between 50 and 500kg.
KP Labs’ The Herd - AI-powered algorithms for Earth Observation (EO) - is a set of AI-powered algorithms designed for EO data analysis.
The SkyLabs NANOhpc-obc is designed for most demanding LEO satellite applications with very high-performance needs, featuring fault tolerant 64-bit high-performance multicore RISC-V cluster enhanced with AI accelerators such as Intel® Movidius™ and MicorChip VectorBlox™. This offers a superior AI embedded computer solution for the most challenging applications, that does not take radiation resistance as an option.
SpaceCloud provides a software framework for information storage and processing, utilizing flexible and reusable compute nodes in a distributed network in space as well as on ground.
The Unibap iX5100 is a SpaceCloud® computer solution featuring an embedded, x86-compatible, and AMD® G-series SOC product from the 1st, 2nd, & LX families. The SOC is paired with a powerful Microsemi® SmartFusion2™ FPGA, which provides IO extension and board supervisory management.
The Optimized Development Unit (ODE) for iX5100 computer solutions is a mini-ITX compatible, rapid engineering platform for the e2000 and e2100 reliable, heterogeneous compute products. The ODE provides flexible software development based on the SpaceCloud software framework.
The Spiral Blue Space Edge Computer (SE-1) is an onboard computer system designed for Earth observation satellites. It allows Earth observation satellites to process captured images on the satellite itself. The product utilizes NVIDIA Jetson series modules, maximizing processing power while keeping power draw manageable. It also consists of polymer shielding to protect against Single Event Effects and additional software and hardware mitigations.
The Amazon Web Services AWS Snowcone is a rugged and highly portable system designed for edge computing and data transfer in extreme environments.
The Exo-Space FeatherBox is a compact Data Processing Unit for artificial intelligence applications on orbit. FeatherBox comprises a powerful AI computing module integrated with Exo-Space’s rad-tolerant motherboard. The device is a fully-integrated Linux system, designed to accelerate machine learning algorithms, and capable of performing 4 trillion operations per second (4 TOPS).
The Exo-Space FeatherWare is an intelligent flight software for data processing on-orbit. It is an ultra light-weight, hardware agnostic, intelligent middleware for hosting machine learning applications and analytics on-orbit. FeatherWare’s intelligent message passing interface specification allows for a unified control flow for host applications to run across all programs, integrating multiple data sources for more consistent, accurate, and relevant customer data.
The Exo-Space FeatherApps are custom-trained machine learning algorithms for spaced-based applications. The algorithms are designed to function on-orbit and run on AI computing hardware. The algorithms can be trained to support a range of applications, including tracking a satellite docking feature using machine vision; detecting and locating nearly space objects; performing object detection on Earth observation images in real-time; etc.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's compact HPE Edgeline systems are designed to offer rugged enterprise edge computing performance in harsh conditions.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's HPE ProLiant Servers are designed to optimize data analysis and simplify computing operations in a various applications.
The OrbitsEdge SatFrame™ model 445 LE is a satellite platform designed for enhanced protection of sensitive hardware in LEO applications.
The Ramon.Space NuBox - Space Computing Platform is a modular computing system for space data handling.
The Ramon.Space NuStream - Space Computer Storage System is a rad-hard, high-density storage system with parallel multi-sensor recording.
Resilient Computing's RadPC - Radiation Tolerant Computing system is a space computer that uses COTS FPGA tech for in-built failure recovery.
The Skudo Ultimate FPGA Board is a fully functional HSM designed for high-end space and military/defense drone applications.
Spacechips offers a range of re-configurable, multi-band, high-throughput on-board processing transponders and computing systems for edge computing.
The Ubotica CogniSAT-XE1 On-Board AI Payload Processor is a PC/104 form factor system offering computer vision & AI compute acceleration.
The Ubotica CogniSAT-XE2 On-Board AI Payload Processor offers Computer Vision and AI acceleration for CubeSats and smallsats.
The Ubotica CogniSAT-CRC Cloud Removal & Compression Solution is an on-board data processing system for cloud detection and removal.
The Zephyr Kestrel is a data processing system for CubeSats and smallsats, based on a General Purpose GPU (GPGPU).
Space edge computing software
In the list below you can software tools, packages, and services for edge computing applications and equipment. You can click on any of the links below to find out more about the system and the supplier.
From the product pages that open you can then submit free requests for quotes, documents, further details, or whatever else you might need for procurement or trade study processes.
Alternatively, to quickly send out a 100% free and no-obligation request for quote or proposal to all of these companies, click here and share your requirements with us.
The AIKO cloudy_CHARLES is an onboard imagery processing software for cloud segmentation. With CHARLES, the quality of data is assessed directly onboard and only the relevant frames are sent to the ground.
The AIKO orbital_OLIVER is a software solution to enable autonomous spacecraft operations onboard the satellite thereby improving its performance.
The AIKO speedy_SKYLAR is a software tool that enables optimal routing for communications within a satellite constellation. SKYLAR helps in finding a path to send the satellite data back to Earth, even when there is no direct contact with the ground stations.
Edgise's edge AI technologies are designed to bring the power of AI onboard space assets to enhance performance and versatility of the system locally.
IBM Edge is a custom edge computing solution designed to bring autonomous decision-making and data analysis to space applications.
Klepsydra Technologies' Klepsydra AI system is an inference engine designed to run pre-trained AI models on edge devices for real-time applications.
LEOcloud's ground-based edge computing services are designed to provide crucial insights, with low latency, co-located with critical mission data.
Little Place Labs' Space Edge Computing solutions consist of software applications using machine learning techniques for remote sensing satellites.
Palantir's Edge AI software is designed to offer a lightweight and low-power system to run autonomous decision-making on satellites and other assets.
The Red Hat OpenShift® platform is a single solution designed to enables developers to build, package, and run machine learning (ML) models in space.
Zaitra's AI-powered Onboard Data Processing (OBDP) System is designed to provide insights and data from edge-based systems and processes.
SkyServe's Satellite Operator Edge Computing service is designed to provide insights as a service from Edge-based systems.
Nearby Computing's NearbyOne Platform offers end-to-end, cross-domain orchestration capabilities for space edge computing and other applications.
Share your requirements with satsearch
We offer expert procurement support and advice that is 100% free, and no-obligation, for engineers and mission designers across the world.
If you are searching for edge computing capabilities, or are interested in whether the technology can benefit your mission, we can help you refine your needs and contact suppliers across the global market on your behalf.
Our dedicated procurement team is experienced in getting quotes, further information, proposals, documents, or whatever else might be needed to facilitate a new transaction or trade study (for any kind of space-related hardware, software, or service) – typically getting supplier responses in a matter of days rather than weeks.
We can handle multi-vendor conversations and collate all the information in order to share the relevant details with your team. We then hand over the discussion to you to finalize a purchase.
To get started, simply click here and share your requirements with us today. We look forward to hearing from you!