Leonardo, Telespazio (joint venture Leonardo 67%, Thales 33%) and e-GEOS (joint venture Telespazio 80%, Italian Space Agency 20%) have signed a collaboration agreement with Φ-lab, the research center of the European Space Agency (ESA) dedicated to the study of new technologies to accelerate Earth observation research.
Together to observe the Earth
The goal of the collaboration is to maximize the impact on the space sector of transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, high performance computing (HPC), quantum computing, big data and machine learning.
"Leonardo, as part of the signed letter of intent, will make use of the research facility "Space Technologies" Leonardo Lab in Rome – and more generally the Leonardo Labs network – which, together with ESA's Φ-lab, will contribute to studies on optimizing the use of space data for Earth observation”, explains the company in a note.
The projects involved in the joint collaboration include studies on neuromorphic networks, new artificial intelligence architectures that "mimic" the human brain and its neural networks to go beyond traditional deep learning by increasing the efficiency and speed of information processing. Also at the heart of the agreement new methods of AI able to use less data and computational resources and the so-called Explainable/Trusted AI, i.e. the need to increase confidence in machine learning models by leveraging predictability, robustness and explainability, i.e. the way in which AI arrived at the result .
Comments from managers
“The mission of the ɸ-lab at ESRIN-ESA is to understand how to overcome the current boundaries of Earth observation (EO), the way OT is conceived, designed and implemented”. explains Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programs at ESA and Head of ESRIN. The ultimate goal is to enhance the innovation component of this sector, to strengthen Europe's competitiveness worldwide both from a scientific and commercial point of view. When we first started interacting with what is now Leonardo Labs, we immediately recognized the potential synergies and complementarities that could greatly contribute to this vision. We are very pleased to have strengthened our relationship with these important industrial partners”.
"The Leonardo Group boasts a consolidated relationship with ESA, further strengthened by the agreement signed with Φ-lab", underlines Franco Ongaro, Leonardo's chief technology and innovation officer. “The agreement with ESA will allow us to pool our skills in areas such as AI, big data and quantum computing, combined with the computational capabilities of Leonardo's HPC infrastructure, davinci-1, to increase applications of innovative methodologies in the Earth observation and in the wider space context".
“The future of the Earth is increasingly linked to Space. Strengthening the ability to analyse, process and exploit data from observation satellites is essential for environmental sustainability, for the improvement of life on our planet and for its protection, as well as offering important opportunities in the Space Economy" he declared Luigi Pasquali, coordinator of Leonardo's space activities and CEO of Telespazio.
