Klepsydra successfully tests AI engine in orbit

(CONNECT) Zug-based Klepsydra Technologies AG, which develops patented Edge AI solutions directly on devices without resorting to central servers, has successfully conducted its first in-orbit demonstration (IoD) of its AI inference engine onboard a Spire Global satellite. During the demonstration, Klepsydra AI, a 4-megabyte software package, was integrated into the satellite's NVIDIA Jetson TX2i processor. The demonstration in space went smoothly, the company said in a statement. This proved the reliability of Klepsydra's technology under real space conditions, contributing significantly to the introduction of artificial intelligence in space operations.

“We successfully uploaded our software onto a satellite in space and were able to deliver excellent performance with only 4 megabytes of code,” said Pablo Ghiglino, CEO of Klepsydra Technologies. “This success confirms Klepsydra AI's ability to install ultra-efficient AI on space devices, even with severe resource constraints.” Additional tests were then carried out at the FlatSat ground station of the Spire satellite. There, extended Klepsydra AI functions that require a current Linus distribution were successfully tested.

Klepsydra AI is based on a state-of-the-art data pipelining framework with a lockless ring buffer design and enables the seamless integration of mathematical backends for AI inference. The product was originally developed for CPUs, but its successful demonstration extends its scope of application to GPU-based systems such as satellites, where AI can be used in the future. ce/ja