Proliferation of commercial use cases for AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has, thanks to its impressive capabilities that include offering enhanced decision-making and productivity gains, become one of the fastest growing of all technology sectors. According to GlobalData’s 2023 TMT Predictions, the AI industry will be worth $93bn in 2023, up 12% from 2022. Commercial uses of AI are proliferating in advanced and emerging
markets alike, with highly successful examples of implementation in the healthcare (diagnosis and drug discovery), manufacturing (predictive maintenance) and energy (power transmission optimisation) industries.
The complexity that characterises the space sector environment is a very significant driver when it comes to the penetration of AI in the space industry. A number of applications of AI for space are either being thoroughly investigated or have been successfully implemented in order to respond to both upstream and downstream needs.
The AI Special Interest Group Dedicated to Space and Related Sciences created by ESA and the Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe (CLAIRE) in September 2019 is carrying out investigations in this area. So too is ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team (ACT), which is very active in deep learning research, and the first ESA Φ-lab in Italy, which has been
promoting the development of AI on board Earth observation missions.
In addition, the Software Systems Division of ESA’s Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality has been investigating onboard AI solutions and natural language processing applications in the space sector.
Find out more on the added value of space and ESA’s support programmes in the latest mini report “Artificial Intelligence for Space: use cases and commercial opportunities“.
Download the full report