Infinity Avionics to develop space camera system

Infinity Avionics will lead the development of a novel capability for the continuous and autonomous detection and identification of space objects – a project funded by SmartSat CRC and the ACT Government in collaboration with UNSW Canberra Space and Nominal Systems.

The local collaboration will bolster the knowledge-based economy, leadership and innovation the ACT region continues to provide for achieving space industry success.

In the course of this project, Infinity Avionics will develop a dual-head camera system, its parameters building on existing Infinity Avionics intelligent remote sensors and processors, undertake local manufacture, assembly, integration and test, and develop algorithms to couple the twin camera systems and turn gathered data into intelligence.

The dual-head camera system will use neuromorphic sensors, a novel sensor technology which only responds to changes with improved dynamic range.

“We are seeing a growing interest from overseas organisations and defence for such capability and this project is a major step towards on-orbit demonstration”, said CEO Igor Dimitrijevic.

Our domestic and international customers are having challenges in executing effective space domain awareness including accurate tracking and capturing of fast-moving objects, within the frame, and of sufficient resolution and image quality.

In certain scenarios high success rates and timely access to data is critical. All challenges which are addressed through this project.

“This is our second stage in developing this tech”, said CEO Igor Dimitrijevic, “initial conceptualisations commenced through our internal R&D funds, and additional funding through SmartSat CRC coupled with expertise from UNSW Canberra Space and Nominal Systems achieves a significant step towards achieving in-orbit demonstration.”

UNSW Canberra Space has already demonstrated on its M2 satellite mission, the capability for high-resolution optical imaging coupled with onboard artificial intelligence inferencing.

This project brings together Infinity Avionics’ sensor suite with the machine vision and AI algorithms to deliver state of the art space surveillance capabilities.

Leveraging Nominal Systems’ digital twinning capabilities enables the project’s rapid development by simulating the technologies concept of operations and validating system requirements.

This capability from Nominal Systems has been gaining traction globally, with the UK Space Command adopting it as the baseline modelling & simulation environment to support space mission design & operator training.

The rapid development and testing achieve a novel capability for the continuous and autonomous detection and identification of space objects in a region of interest, without creating unmanageable data and bandwidth challenges. To the best of our knowledge, such a capability does not currently exist worldwide.

For our customers this technology is key to augment and enhance their existing data feeds to understand the immediate environment around their assets as well as tracking debris and other assets of interest, for example their location, orientation, and configuration. Ground-based applications are also being put forward to monitor specific areas of the sky for planned and unplanned activities.

Infinity Avionics has established itself as a reputable exporter with 80 percent of its products successfully supporting overseas space missions, with this achievement celebrated through the ACT Chief Ministers 2023 Emerging Exporter of the Year award.

Picture: Infinity Avionics/space camera