Satellites have been around for quite some time, delivering services for a variety of communication purposes. However, there has been a recent resurgence of activity in the space industry, driven by advances in miniaturization of electronics. Soon Earth will be surrounded by a constellation of nanosatellites delivering low-cost communication backhaul services for just about everything.
Forecasts for the number of “things” that will be connected to the internet over the next few decades are in the order of 80 billion by 2025. Everything from your refrigerator to farm animals, shipping containers to parking spots, and bridge components to automotive parts.
In Australia, the Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) recently took a $10 million stake in Internet of Things (IoT) company Thinxtra, which is rolling out the proprietary French owned Sigfox solution. All of the major telcos have trials underway and are expected to roll out solutions as part of their 5G infrastructure rollouts.
Flavia Tata Nardini, Fleet Space Technology CEO, is excited by the possibilities being created by new space technologies and, in June, called on the Federal Government to commit to a dedicated Australian Space Agency. In an open letter, she points to the once in a generation opportunity being afforded by Space 2.0.
A major challenge for global supply chains is monitoring equipment across remote locations or wide geographical areas, which is increasingly the case with global supply chains. Nanosatellite technology provides an elegant solution, with eyes in the sky providing global coverage at low cost. A number of Australian companies are active in using nanosatellite technology to connect terrestrial sensors and actuators, including Fleet Space Technologies and Myriota.
Next year, Fleet will be launching the first of two nano satellite constellations of 100 nanosatellites, after receiving $5 million in Series A funding in April.
Tata Nardini, said nanosatellite technology will provide a disruptive new option for ubiquitous internet connectivity.
“We will connect all corners of the globe to create a digital nervous system of devices,” she said.
Initially, the few nanosatellites in place will have only a small number passes every day but will provide more than enough opportunity for most current IoT applications to communicate their data.
When the full constellation is deployed the latency will drop to minutes or even seconds, with much higher reliability that patchy reception afforded by many terrestrial systems and without the high cost of mobile connection. “The next industrial revolution is going to start in space. Emerging space technologies and the data they return will usher in mass-scale efficiencies here on earth, shifting industries like mining, logistics, technology, farming, mobility, connectivity, and environmental care, for good,” she said.
Flavia will be giving a webinar on 12 September, as part of the activities of Engineers Australia’s Applied Internet of Things Engineering Community. In her presentation, she will not only cover the miniaturisation of satellite technology but discuss the practical applications and how to connect the IoT systems engineers will need to create to realise the opportunities nano satellites bring.