Ubotica will deploy and operate AI models directly in orbit using Novi’s smart-satellite constellation.
Dublin-based NASA and European Space Agency collaborator Ubotica is partnering with Texas’s Novi Space to deliver real-time intelligence from the Earth’s orbit.
Novi provides computing technology for spacecraft, alongside a constellation of multi-sensor edge-processing satellites linked to an intelligence management platform.
The open-access platform allows companies to build AI-powered applications in space, including improving Earth observation, geospatial intelligence and autonomy.
The collaboration will integrate Ubotica’s AI platform with Novi’s ‘Genie’ smart-satellite constellation and platform to enable Earth observation data to be processed directly onboard satellites, unlike traditional systems that transfer data to Earth before analysis.
Through the partnership, Ubotica will deploy and operate AI models directly in orbit through the Genie multi-sensor satellite platform.
The Dublin start-up’s ‘Space:AI’ platform generates analysis within 90 seconds of when it begins processing, it said, resulting in lower latency and bandwidth costs translating to savings.
According to the company, in a single observation of a Singapore port, the platform processed hundreds of vessels and detected those operating ‘dark’ in under two minutes. The company has deployed its AI capabilities on numerous missions, including its own CogniSAT-6 satellite.
“Our collaboration with Novi brings more AI-enabled Earth observation capacity into orbit. By combining Space:AI with Genie’s onboard compute, we’re shifting satellites from data collectors to intelligent agents, delivering insights in minutes rather than days,” said Ubotica co-founder and chief technology officer Dr Aubrey Dunne.
“That capability underpins our live maritime intelligence service and unlocks new operational models for time-critical surveillance.” The start-up won the SpaceNews Icon Award for Space AI Partnership last December, alongside NASA JPL and Open Cosmos.
Michael Bartholomeusz, the CEO of Novi Space, added: “Partnering with Ubotica allows us to demonstrate the full potential of Genie – delivering real-time intelligence from orbit, not just data. This is a fundamental shift in how space-based systems create value.”
Ubotica and NASA announced a partnership last month to use the start-up’s AI platforms in a test mission to demonstrate autonomous intelligent satellite networks. In February, the company was among the first chosen for involvement in Ireland’s European Space Agency Phi-Lab at Irish Manufacturing Research.
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