Project Orbion’s launch sees a groundbreaking new initiative to integrate best-of-class technology solutions to create a live Digital Twin of the Earth, complete with accurate physics, real-time weather and more in what’s being termed Synthetic Reality.
Companies Aechelon, Niantic Spatial, ICEYE, BlackSky and Distance have debuted Project Orbion, billed as ‘the first AI-enabled Digital Twin of the Earth’, which combines real-time global synthesis of satellite vision, radar intelligence, photogrammetry and AI.
Synthetic Reality data supplied from Project Orbion is currently being used to train defense and corporate AI models with real-world data – not just human-generated data, but actual ground truth conditions data. It’s where cutting-edge AI is fused into a digital twin of the planet.
Case studies like the US Coastguard using it to train its pilots for landing at bases new to a crew have been highlighted, but with centimetre-level detail, you can imagine a future where products can also be tested in such environs.
“Aechelon has spent decades creating the most realistic synthetic environments for mission-critical defense training,” said Aechelon Technology CEO Nacho Sanz-Pastor. “The challenge has always been keeping pace with changes in the physical world and training humans and autonomous systems with realistic worldwide information.
“Our Skybeam product combines several innovative geospatial platforms with our own AI-driven, worldwide multi-sensor baseline to become a powerful new solution. The partnership with Niantic Spatial, ICEYE, BlackSky and Distance will enable Project Orbion (over the next months and years) to address dual-use, mission-critical applications that until now were just in the realm of science fiction.”
A goal of the collaboration is to explore integrating forthcoming versions of Niantic Spatial’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) with Aechelon’s simulation systems. In GPS-denied environments where satellite signals are unavailable or compromised, VPS will allow ground teams to achieve centimeter-level localization and navigation. This capability is critical for complex and time-sensitive search-and-rescue operations.
