The world's first satellite using AI large-model technology is operating smoothly in space, with multiple tasks successfully completed, said its developer in Beijing.
The satellite was launched aboard a Smart Dragon-3 carrier rocket from the waters near the city of Haiyang in east China's Shandong Province on Sept. 24.
According to the research and development team, they have conducted in-orbit operational tests on the AI large-model satellite, tested operation condition in various temperatures, and completed various inference question-and-answer tasks with the satellite. All tasks have been successfully conducted so far.
"The technical staff has interacted with the satellite in this process. The remote sensing data on the satellite is huge and irregular. Thanks to the large model, we can carry out various tasks such as target recognition, feature extraction, and behavior prediction within a region. Accordingly, we can improve work efficiency in road evacuation, mineral resource discovery, and urban planning," said Wang Lei, CEO of ADA Space, a Chinese AI satellite internet technology company.
The large-model technology has allowed satellites to make decisions without transmitting data back to the ground, which has greatly enhancing the efficiency of satellite operations.
The development team overcame a series of technical challenges to transport AI computing power and systems from the ground to the sky.
"There were many challenges. It is relatively easy to control factors such as energy, building structure, temperature, humidity, weight and others on ground than in space. The selection of appropriate board and chip, unit interface, and protocol adaptation have presented a series of technical challenges for us," said Wang.
After moving the computing system to space, the team has set even bigger goals.
They have launched the "Star Computing Plan," which aims to build a global "mobile" computing network consisting of 2,800 computing satellites by 2030, enabling mankind to better utilize space resources.
"In the future, the advancement of AI technology and the evolution of large-model technology will greatly improve the performance of commercial spaceflight. This could even revolutionize the very concept of engineering design, fostering numerous new design perspectives. This will play a crucial role in promoting and driving innovation within the industry," said Wang.
World's first AI large-model satellite operates smoothly in space: developer
