Cloud computing, on Earth and in space

Onboard Apps

SpaceCloud® software can be run on our solutions and selected products and can easily be integrated into the space vehicles through the solutions. SpaceCloud® offers common types of cloud resources such as processors, GPU or dedicated AI accelerators, and in some cases optimized resources in FPGA technology. For storage, the S3 API is compatible with Amazon Web Services. Machine learning and inference can be done with TensorFlow, TVM, PlaidML, OpenVINO / OneAPI, among others.

Contact us for more information on how you can get computer clouds in space or develop Applications “Apps” that are compatible with the space cloud.

There are endless possibilities with SpaceCloud®, some examples of customer applications that can be placed in SpaceCloud® based on access to sensor data in the thermal area are given here as inspiration:

Examples of SpaceCloud® Apps for onboard information processing.

SpaceCloud® pro development unit

To develop Apps for SpaceCloud®, our SpaceCloud® SDK development environment is needed, which contains software for enhanced radiation tolerance according to the Unibaps SafetyChip and SafetyBoot functionality. SafetyChip and SafetyBoot are supported in Unibap’s computer hardware.

Unibap has developed a number of example Apps to show how SpaceCloud® can be used. The development environment is prepared with satellite image examples. Examples of applications can detect vehicles, ships or aircraft based on machine learning.

SpaceCloud® can display the results of Apps in demonstration mode. Unibap’s computer hardware has an HDMI output that can be connected to TVs or computer screens with up to full HD (1080p) resolution.

A demo video of three SpaceCloud® reference Apps is shown below. The demos are running on Unibap’s iX5100 solution configured with an Intel Movidius Myriad X accelerator in addition to the default CPU and GPU.

• Vehicle detection SpaceCloud® demo App
• Vessel detection SpaceCloud® demo App
• Aircraft detection SpaceCloud® demo App

Visual output of onboard SpaceCloud® App processing.

Unibap offers a high-end development environment (SpaceCloud® -PRO-DEV) that includes a lab variant (EM) of the iX5100 or iX10100. The development environment is a closed box to protect the electronics with the transition from flight contacts to normal computer contacts on the back to reduce wear and facilitate development.

The development environment supports gigabit Ethernet and can easily be connected to continuous integration (Continues Integration) against e.g. Gitlab for code verification. Unibap provides Docker containers for application development.