來源:
https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-esa-launch-ai-satellite-phisat-1-2020-10
原文節錄:
The first satellite with AI onboard is now in orbit, and its tech could
completely change how we respond to wildfires
Isobel Asher Hamilton 7 hours ago
Intel AI Satellite 5
Researchers inspect the computing and camera assembly of the FSSCat/Phi-sat-1
satellite. Tim Herman/Intel Corporation
This week the European Space Agency (ESA) and Intel announced they had
successfully put the first satellite with on-board AI-processing into space,
PhiSat-1.
The PhiSat-1 uses Intel's Movidius Myriad 2 chip, which was not originally
designed for space travel.
PhiSat-1's on-board AI is able to select and automatically delete photos of
Earth if they are too obscured by cloud.
AI has become mainstream on Earth, but getting it onto satellites has been a
huge challenge, and PhiSat-1 could pave the way for innovations in how
satellites detect natural disasters, or even how we communicate with Mars
rovers.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On September 2, a satellite the size of a cereal box took off for space.
Names PhiSat-1, its mission was to monitor polar ice and soil moisture,
making it — at least superficially — a fairly unglamorous piece of kit.
But for the satellite's creators — the European Space Agency (ESA), chip
giant Intel, and Irish robotics company Ubotica — this launch represented
months of work, and had been postponed by a failed rocket launch, two natural
disasters, and a global pandemic.
It was also a huge technological leap forward.
PhiSat-1 is the first satellite to make it into orbit with AI onboard — and
the tech could transform the way we respond to disasters, such as oil spills
and wildfires.
Why has it taken so long to get AI into space?
Gianluca Furano of the ESA told Business Insider that although AI was popular
for building products on Earth, getting the tech onto satellites has been a
massive challenge.
"To use AI in a data-critical application is not straightforward even on
Earth," he said. Flying an AI-powered chip like the one onboard PhiSat-1, 329
miles above the planet, means any repair, software patches, or upgrades will
be that much more difficult.
"The complexity simply explodes," Furano said.
On top of that, radiation in outer space makes it hard to build an AI chip
that can withstand being in orbit.
"Whatever has silicon inside is disturbed by ionizing radiation," Furano
said. This means computer chips that would function perfectly on Earth would
have unworkably high error rates, and could even catch fire if sent into
outer space without shielding or modifications.
But while lots of satellites carry custom-built spaceworthy chips, PhiSat-1
uses Intel's Myriad 2 chip, a commercially available chip found in a handful
of commercial drones — and even the headset for Magic Leap's AR goggles.
Intel AI Satellite 3
PhiSat-1 processing unit, pictured here, uses Intel's Myriad 2 chip. Tim
Herman/Intel Corporation
Ubotica took the Myriad 2, adjusted its software, and built some electronics
capable of shutting it down if it looks likely to overheat. Researchers
tested it by taking it to the largest particle accelerator on Earth at CERN
in Switzerland.
By May 2019, the satellite was ready, but it took longer than planned to make
it into space. The original launch was scheduled for September 2019, but the
rocket meant to take PhiSat-1 failed to launch, prompting an enquiry.
While that was ongoing, the coronavirus pandemic set in — and to top it off,
two hurricanes hit the launch complex in French Guiana and a ground station
in South Korea.
On September 2, PhiSat-1 finally made it into space, and has been
successfully orbiting ever since, putting its AI into practice.
PhiSat-1's AI lets it ignore clouds — which is a lot more impressive than it
sounds
Like the satellite itself, the function of PhiSat-1's on-board AI doesn't
seem glamorous at first, as it essentially auto-deletes photos of Earth it
deems too cloudy.
Before PhiSat-1 sends pictures back, its AI decides whether they are free
enough of cloud cover. If the AI decides more than 70% of a photo is obscured
by cloud, it automatically scraps that image.
This is useful because it saves Phisat-1 a lot of energy. Ubotica Chief
Technology Officer Aubrey Dunne told Business Insider about 67% of the
Earth's surface is normally covered by clouds, so this means the AI is
cutting a lot of images straight away, rather than using processing power
sending useless images back to scientists.
"The cloud detection is about data reduction," he said.
心得:
AMD讓黑暗籠罩地球表面
我大i皇將光明帶入太空照亮整個地球
C52:intel果然穩，連宇宙輻射都沒在怕~~
不過話說回來，可以預見這幾年A和I的大戰，將使終端AI更快進入大眾視野