AURORA

The Satellite Applications Catapult Newsletter

Transcript

1. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora continued The Satellite Applications Catapult officially launched on 4 April 2013. Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme Welcome from Stuart Martin (CEO) Welcome to the first edition of Aurora, the new name for the Newsletter of the Satellite Applications Catapult. It’s been a busy and eventful four months since I joined as CEO in January 2013. During this time the Catapult has made a lot of progress, culminating in a flurry of activity at the end of March. Firstly, on Monday 25 March we completed the merger of the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) and the Satellite Applications Catapult. Having been a founding member of ISIC with my previous company Logica, I am extremely proud of what ISIC achieved and grateful to everyone who worked so hard to make it a success. That we now have a Catapult is in no small part due to that success, and with the increased resources we can now bring to bear, the ISIC vision will continue long into the future. I’d particularly like to thank the ISIC membership for the role they played and for the confidence they have shown in the Catapult as the right vehicle to move the vision forward. Later that same week, after months of effort in the preparation, we met with the Technology Strategy Board’s Governing Board to present our plans for the Catapult for the next five years. Unsurprisingly, this was a stimulating discussion with lots of useful outputs. We’ll be sharing the results of that with you over the coming weeks and months. Also in March, we made three appoint- ments to the Catapult’s Executive Team: Mark Hampson as Chief Innovation Officer, Paul Febvre as Chief Technology Officer, and Antonia Jenkinson as Chief Financial Officer. All three have now come on board and I’m really pleased they have decided to join us. Together they form a strong team providing breadth and depth, and I look forward to working with them to build the Catapult. A warm welcome to Mark, Paul and Antonia and also to everyone else who has joined us recently! That’s enough from me for now, but please do enjoy the first edition of Aurora. If you have any comments, do let us know. Stuart Martin As this is my first edition of the Catapult newsletter, I would like to take this opportunity to provide a little information about me, and the structure and function of the Satellite Applications Catapult Board which is currently in formation. Introducing the Chair and the Board Aurora | May 2013 | Page 1
2. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 2 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme The Board structure is proposed as follows: l  Non-Executive Chairman – myself (Tim Sherwood). I have no previous experience of the space industry – by training I am an accountant with over 25 years of business experience, ranging from Vodafone to bank turnarounds. I have been a Non-Executive Director for more than seven years and a chairman of three companies. In addition to my role at the Catapult, I am a Non-Executive of an NHS Foundation Trust Hospital and a Trustee of the Sandhurst Foundation. l  Two members from the Satellite Applications Catapult Executive Team – these are Stuart Martin (CEO) and Antonia Jenkinson (CFO). l  Two members from government agencies: Tim Just (Technology Strategy Board) and Catherine Mealing-Jones (UK Space Agency). l  There will be four additional appointed Non-Executive Directors to bring us to a Board of nine people. Three of the Non-Executives have been appointed: l Ruy Pinto, Group Chief  Technology Officer at Inmarsat. Ruy brings excellent knowledge of the satellite communications and downstream sector industry knowledge. He is also the Chairman of the UKspace Trade Association. l Sue Hunt, Non-Executive   Director at NHS Direct, CfBT Trust, and a Board Member of the Notting Hill Housing Trust. Sue qualified as an accountant at KPMG and worked there until 2006. She has well developed financial and functional skills including strategy development, governance, risk management, performance monitoring, change management and transactions due-diligence. l Lynne Patmore, Director of   Corporate Finance at TBG Management in Monaco. Lynn also has extensive experience in the Technology, Media and Communications (TMT) space having worked previously at Vodafone, Colt and Skype, as well as a partner in professional services heading up a TMT sector. Lynne is a qualified accountant and has specialised in taxation and corporate finance, and provides a good understanding of what SMEs are looking for, and possible sources of funding. The Board’s function will be to promote the company, develop its strategy and to scrutinise the decisions of the Manage- ment Team. We intend to build on and harness their knowledge to ensure the continued growth and development of our company. Tim Sherwood The Satellite Applications Catapult has been running a series of sector-specific workshops to engage potential customers, introducing them to the benefits space technologies and data can offer. In turn, delegates discuss their business needs. The resulting output of these workshops identifies a series of ideas which have the potential to progress into funded projects. Recent workshops include: l  Space & the Life Sciences l  Space & Road Network Management l  Maritime Applications of Remote Sensing l  Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing continued Ensuring the continued growth and development of our organisation. Building and harnessing knowledge. Engaging Our Customers
3. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 3 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme continued l  Cooperative Positioning and M2M Communication for Navigation Workshops form a critical component of the Catapult’s engagement process with customers. Leveraging the outputs and conclusions of these workshops is crucial to delivering the projects which will drive innovation in the area of satellite applications. Case Study: Water Industry Workshops A number of water industry workshops were run in conjunction with the Water Industry Forum, a trusted and respected industry liaison. Engagement with this industry partner was critical as they brought together the key industry leaders and highlighted some challenges and potential collaborative ideas which had been identified at previous discussions. The Catapult’s focus for these workshops, which took place in Leeds and London, was to develop and progress the ideas and help turn them into real projects. The first workshop was focused on how satellite data could support the The creation of the Satellite Applications Catapult represents a very exciting moment in the history of the UK space industry. The first steps in the creation of the Catapult have been the redesign and refurbishment of the building to allow for increased interaction and more creative spaces to stimulate and facilitate innovation. The additional changes taking place are crucial to the success of the Catapult, with the facilities that were management of infrastructure for the water industry. The second workshop was more focused on catchment management. The workshops began by the water industry delegates providing an understanding of their key challenges. Catapult representatives then outlined the possibility and potential solutions satellite data could offer, both now and in the future. This fuelled a round-table discussion where new commercially- focused ideas were generated. The group was then split into smaller teams to develop the final four ideas further, with the resulting project summaries being developed and companies at the workshop being assigned. Additional workshops are planned for the future. Please see the ‘Events’ section on Page 8 of the newsletter for more detailed information. Corinne Green Stimulating and facilitating innovation. Enhancing Our Facilities A new era of satellite enabled business starts here.
4. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 4 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme initially introduced into International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) being enhanced further. One of the main purposes of the Catapult is to support and accelerate the commercialisation of innovation, from the initial spark of a creative idea, through to the process of refinement, development and validation of a project or programme, hence, this is being reflected in the changes to the infrastructure. An example of this is the UK’s Climate and Environmental Monitoring System (CEMS) which: l  Has been extended and enhanced with increased processing-power and storage l  Delivers improved integration between the high-performance computing resources in both sites l  Provides an enhanced cloud-based virtualisation framework for customer access It is intended that future data-sets will be adapted on-demand, depending upon the needs of the application. These data-sets and libraries are being made available on a free licence basis for the purpose of the trials. The high-powered distributed- graphics processing used for visualisation on the Videowall are being integrated in the CEMS environment, with new software tools being developed to simplify the utilisation of the facility and allow enhanced collaborative working. The Operations Centre is being brought up-to-date in readiness for the TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) mission later this year. In addition, the Operations Centre will be redesigned to allow it to operate as a platform for the pre-operational trial phase of services and applications developed by SMEs. Connectivity to other UK operational and data-processing and storage sites using high-capacity fibre- optic links are being introduced as the next steps towards the creation of a UK collaborative ground segment, to be led by the UK Space Agency. The UK ground segment for the European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS) is being introduced within Harwell, with direct operational support by the Catapult. To ensure that Catapult systems have sufficient availability to meet the demands of customers during development and pre-operational phases, increased redundancy of both power and cooling systems is being introduced. Additional high-speed internet connectivity, supported by multiple providers, is being integrated into the building for both office and project activities. The Catapult has supported the UK Space Agency in the creation of a roadmap for the introduction of the Galileo Public Regulated Services (PRS) to stimulate innovation and export-potential for the UK industries. The first infrastructure for development of a PRS simulation and application test framework has been acquired. It is expected that PRS will be the first real use for the Security and Resilience Centre (SRC) in the Catapult, with current security policies, procedures and tools across the organisation being improved. A new laboratory facility for satellite communications and navigation systems is being introduced, with an antenna-farm being installed on the roof and new test-tools being deployed. The lab will continued Improving and accelerating the commercialisation of innovation. Reducing satellite application development times. Galileo PRS – stimulating innovation and export potential for UK companies.
5. The WeatherSafe team was the winner of the ISIC/Satellite Applications Catapults’ Space Solutions Hackathon that took place in December 2012. The WeatherSafe solution was aimed to deliver tangible benefits for Rwandan coffee farmers by providing – via smartphone app, SMS service, and satellite-based data – practical and targeted suggestions on how to protect and strengthen their coffee plants. After winning the Hackathon event, the WeatherSafe team was offered Catapult support towards the development of the project. Catapult Support Since January 2013, the WeatherSafe team has been progressing towards its initial exploration stage. To date, the engagement with academic and business experts, and the in-depth analysis of the market conditions and key issues in the coffee sector have helped WeatherSafe define a much clearer project to address the key issues. In particular, they held a Catapult solutions workshop – a full-immersive day of work with relevant experts providing the WeatherSafe team with information and directions to further develop the project. This is an important milestone for WeatherSafe which has enabled them to: l  Meet local coffee farmers and researchers who have experienced the sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 5 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme provide access to multiple antenna, modems, machine-to-machine appliances and devices, with both local and remote access and the opportunity for organisations to borrow equipment for development or trial. The Satellite Applications Catapult will be negotiating with suppliers to provide support mechanisms and, where appropriate, a limited amount of satellite time. Experiments will take place using virtualisation techniques which will improve the flexibility and utility of the lab environment. Paul Febvre problems affecting coffee production l  Assist in the post-harvesting quality assessments l  Gather fundamental insights for the projects growth Being part of an exciting project I joined the Satellite Applications Catapult in January 2013, in the two-fold role of WeatherSafe Project Manager/Research Analyst and Consultant for the Catapult. My time spent here has been productive and enjoyable. I have experienced the excitement of being part of an organisation in its continuous development towards the achievement of an inspirational goal – promoting and helping the development and commercialisation of new satellite applications and other space-based technologies. This friendly environment has helped me to quickly integrate into the organisation and to effectively work to strengthen the processes of supporting SMEs in the space industry. One of the key activities I am directly involved in is the setup of the first Satellite Applications Catapult ‘Hackathon’ in June. The work has already started and I am very excited to have the opportunity to shape this event, especially after having enjoyed it so much when I was one of the participants in December 2012. Francesco Liucci WeatherSafe, winners of the Satellite Applications Hackathon Challenge, December 2012. Delivering tangible benefits for Rwandan coffee farmers. Driving Innovation Francesco Liucci
6. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 6 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme Closing the gap between research and commercialisation. Supporting SMEs is central to the role of the Satellite Applications Catapult. The Climate and Environmental Monitoring from Space (CEMS) facility continues to develop under its new parent, the Satellite Applications Catapult. This purpose-built facility offers space- based climate change and Earth Observation (EO) data and services. It gives users access to extensive data holdings and a range of applications, tools and services that help analyse data more effectively. A number of projects have been enabled on the CEMS infrastructure involving CEMS Update Working with SMEs satellite observation scheduling information and measurement of albedo parameters for climate monitoring. Example projects include: l  Magellium, an image processing and geomatics SME based in Harwell, using the CEMS infrastructure to support an R&D project co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board. The Hosted Processing for Exploitation of Large Datasets (HPFELD) project created a framework to allow users to discover Support of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is central to the role of the Satellite Applications Catapult, and the organisation is now beginning to build up its capability to achieve this. The Catapult will ensure that its services are relevant to, and informed by, the most innovative and promising small companies through the use of dedicated ‘SME Champions’ who will each act as a mentor and constant point of contact throughout a company’s interactions with the Catapult. The Catapult will provide investor readiness and business planning support, alongside access to facilities and expertise that will lower the barriers of cost and learning in developing new applications. It will also provide membership/hot-desking options and sign-posting to a range of other elements of support including access to finance, intellectual property and other business support. Recently, the Catapult has been supporting WeatherSafe (see page 5), an early-stage SME, and working with them to develop Catapult’s own processes, including solutions-workshops, intensive sessions where Catapult experts support development of business plans and prototypes over the period of a few days. The Catapult has also been working with applicants for the Technology Strategy Board Harwell Space Launchpad competition to establish how it can support them. This initiative is also looking at how, along with the Technology Strategy Board, it can establish the Catapult centre as part of the network of finance and business support around Harwell. Relationships are being established with organisations such as the European Space Agency (ESA) Business Incubator, the Harwell Campus, Venturefest, and Oxford Innovation as this network for supporting SMEs is developed. If you are an SME or just have a concept that you might want to explore or develop, then please contact us by email at: info@sa.catapult.org.uk Sam Adlen continued
7. data and process it in the cloud. A test environment was created on the CEMS infrastructure to allow Magellium to deploy two demonstration applications using the prototype HPFELD framework. The Centre for Environmental Data Archival (CEDA) team in STFC and another Harwell- based SME, Terradue, were partners in the project. l The University of Leicester is involved with the Advanced Along- Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR)* Land Surface Temperature (LST) project which is comprised of a set of 12 sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 7 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme virtual machines, enabling monthly data-sets to be processed in parallel for fast re-processing of the entire mission. Specifically, CEMS provides a central repository for large volumes of EO data whereby the data and the computer nodes are connected via a high- bandwidth and low-latency network, to minimise the overheads of data- transfer. This architecture will provide support for future dissemination and the provision of visualisation tools to aid users of LST-data in their applications. Corinne Green From 11-13 March, the Satellite Applications Catapult exhibited at Innovate, the UK’s leading innovation and trade event. It was an excellent opportunity to identify innovative opportunities where the Catapult can help. Innovate was also an ideal platform to promote the mission and vision of the Catapult and to and make connections with a range of important downstream sectors. The Secretary of State of Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable, and Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts, both gave strong messages about the importance of the network of Catapult centres in driving innovation and economic growth. As the Catapult ramps up its capability, this was very timely for promoting the centre to those that might benefit from engaging. We were able to have many conversations with users and other industry sectors. From strengthened links with off-shore renewable companies to opportunities to protect nuclear power stations from jellyfish, the potential for collaboration and commercialisation of new applications was clear. Innovate also allowed the Catapult to promote some of our initial programmes and projects such as TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) and Climate and Environmental Monitoring from Space (CEMS). Stuart Martin (CEO) and Paul Febvre (CTO) took centre stage in sessions on in-orbit demonstration, the global space opportunity and space applications. The in-orbit demonstration session highlighted the importance of enabling the proof of space heritage and some of the new directions and opportunities that satellite platforms might progress toward as they meet changing demands in communications and Earth observation. The opportunities that the satellite applications sector exposes were emphasised in the other sessions, along with the applicability of satellite solutions continued * The AATSR is a space-borne instrument which makes the most precise measurements of global Sea Surface Temperature (SST) that are now achieved from space (0.3 K accuracy). The purpose is to provide the high levels of accuracy and stability required for climate research and modelling. AATSR SST data is also used increasingly for SST analyses, for operational oceanography and for weather forecasting. Further information can be found at: http://www.leos.le.ac.uk/aatsr/whatis/index.html Feedback from InnovateUK Identifying innovative opportunities where the Catapult can help. The potential for collaboration and commercialisation of new applications is clear. CEMS enables businesses to use EO data more efficiently and reliably.
8. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 8 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme Events Overview Since early Phase 2 activities, the Catapult has been involved in a number of events and workshops to demonstrate how satellite applications and technologies can help a wide range of market sectors, e.g. emergencies services, farming, agriculture, insurance, maritime, etc. Past Events Over the past few months we have supported and sponsored several successful events such as the London Satellite Finance Network workshop which took place in London in February; the GNSS Vulnerability event which took place in London in March; Spacetech 13 which took place in Durham in March; the Edinburgh Building Geospatial Data Ecosystem; and Innovate 13 (please see article page 7). As detailed in the article ‘Engaging the Customer’ (page 2), the Catapult is hosting a number of sector-specific workshops to help identify how satellite applications can help their businesses, and where possible, provide solutions to unsolved problems. Several of these workshops are detailed below. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing In spite of the best efforts of governments and international organisations, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing remains a serious problem for the marine environment, local communities and the international fishing industry. The purpose of the workshop was to gather a small number of experts from key fields to encourage original and inventive thinking on these issues and to develop effective responses. Cooperative Positioning and M2M Communication for Navigation This workshop looked at opportunities made possible when mobile devices share information to derive or enhance positioning and navigation solutions, either in real time or via a common database. Delegates included leading researchers covering the state-of-the-art activities and technologies in this field. Future Workshops & Events 14 May – Satellite Applications Catapult Launch The Satellite Applications Catapult will be hosting its official launch event on Tuesday 14 May. The event, which will be held at our Harwell offices, will be attended by David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, Jean Jacques Dordain, Director General for ESA, and other senior officials from Government. This event is by invitation only. 6 June – Space Applications for Efficient Maritime Logistics This workshop seeks to understand the maritime logistics user perspective for utilising satellite applications. The workshop will look at assessing the problems and opportunities of logistics in the martime sector and how the Catapult can develop and improve services and applications. continued across a range of sectors and their importance to society. The importance of the Catapult in supporting the commercialisation of new satellite applications and as part of the space community was clear, with strong engagement from current industry players and businesses, academics and SMEs from other sectors that the Catapult can help. Sam Adlen Getting the most out of Satellite-derived data to help resolve industry problems. ...Emergency services, agriculture, insurance, maritime, security, energy management and more. Satellite applications and technologies can help with a wide variety of market sectors such as...
9. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 9 Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme Technology Development Hackathon - 8-9 June 2013 Board at the biennial UK Space Conference taking place in Glasgow on 16-17 June. The UK Space Conference is the focal event for the UK space industry. If you are interested in attending one of our workshops or meeting with us at one of the external events, please contact info@sa.catapult.org.uk Promoting SME Events 20 May 2013 – Increasing Quality of Space-based Forest Carbon Data, Harwell A one-day workshop bringing together stakeholders, policy makers and technical experts from the carbon auditing sector to explore and discuss the issues around the quality and uncertainty of satellite-derived measurements of global forest carbon stocks. This workshop, hosted by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), CGI and Rezatec, will bring together all interested parties to highlight and discuss the issue of quality for carbon estimates. The morning sessions will focus on the political and commercial impact of the issue, whereas the afternoon session will focus on technical solutions to the issue. To register, please contact: philip.briscoe@rezatec.com Lorrie Fry 8-9 June – Hackathon, Harwell and London Following on from the successful ISIC initiative, the Catapult is hosting a two-day technology development Hackathon on 8-9 June. The objective of a Hackathon is to enable groups of people to work together to solve a set of challenges derived by specific communities, organisations or individuals. If you are interested in taking part, sponsoring or providing a challenge, please contact info@sa.catapult.org.uk. 18 June – VentureFest, Oxford VentureFest (VF) is a business creation networking event taking place at the Saïd Business School in Oxford on 18 June. This year it is being supported by four of Oxfordshire’s science clusters; Space, Automotive and Precision Engineering, Cryogenics, and Bioscience. As part of the Space Cluster, the Catapult will contribute to help make people aware of recent major developments and provide incentives for significant private investment, as well as opportunities to bid for the business that those developments have generated. 16-17 July – UK Space Conference, Glasgow The Catapult has taken a 4x6m stand, sharing with the Technology Strategy Catapult Supports Training Course IET Satellite Communication Systems Course 15-20 September 2013 Milton Hill House, Abingdon, Oxfordshire IET Satellite Communications Systems Course - 15-20 September 2013 Increasing Quality of Space-based Forest Carbon Data – 20 May 2013 continued This intensive, interactive course will equip you with the technical knowledge and capabilities to progress your expertise in satellite communications systems. Including a choice of topical project work, you can rehearse the skills and knowledge you’ve gained during the week, under the expert supervision of your course speakers. New for 2013 - located close to the Satellite Applications Catapult in
10. sa.catapult.org.uk Aurora | May 2013 | Page 10 Contact Us The Catapult is here to help develop technologies, drive innovation and facilitate collaboration. If you want to get involved with the Catapult; believe it can help your organisation; are interested in helping to shape the our programmes and projects, or take part in one of our workshops, please contact: info@sa.catapult.org.uk Electron Building Fermi Avenue Harwell Oxford Didcot Oxfordshire, OX11 0QR T +44 (0)1235 567 999 For more information: Website: sa.catapult.org.uk Email: info@sa.catapult.org.uk The Satellite Applications Catapult is one of a network of elite technology and innovation centres established by the Technology Strategy Board, as a long-term investment in the UK’s economic capability. Applying business-led research, Catapults help businesses transform great ideas into valuable products and services to compete in the global markets of tomorrow. The Satellite Applications Catapult is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with company number 07964746. Registered office: First floor, St. James House, St. James Square, Cheltenham, GL50 3PR. Careers Be part of an exciting challenge! The Satellite Applications Catapult is an elite UK technology and innovation centre focused on UK space satellites and their related research, development and commercialisation. Our vision is to drive and exploit innovation in the UK’s satellite industry by bringing its academic, industrial and research establishments together. The Satellite Applications Catapult will engage with SMEs, big- industry, academia, centres of excellence, knowledge transfer networks (KTN’s), funders and end-users to help in the commercialisation of new satellite technologies. Join our team! The Satellite Applications Catapult looks to recruit individuals who would like to work in an evolving, innovative and forward-thinking organisation. Our organisation offers boundless career potential for those who want to succeed, and the opportunity to help shape the organisation’s ethos and culture. We are looking for people to help us become a world-leader in our industry. Each Satellite Applications Catapult employee knows the value of their contribution to our business. Throughout the company, you’ll find customer-focused employees who are results-driven and truly passionate about their roles. We look for innovative people to join them, who are ready to use their skills and experience to support our growth and business plans. Our open communication ensures that every employee has the opportunity for visibility and advancement on their chosen path, and we are committed to making working life at the Satellite Applications Catapult a positive and rewarding experience. Current Vacancies If you would like to work in an dynamic, innovative and forward-thinking organisation, with boundless career potential for those who want to succeed, the Satellite Applications Catapult could be the place for you. Current oppotunities include: l Financial Controller l  Programme Manager l IT Manager l Bid Manager l  CRM Administrator l Lead Designer l  HR Administrator l  Business Modeller / Analyst If you are interested in any of these positions, please visit sa.catapult.org.uk/ careers or forward a copy of your CV and cover letter to: careers@sa.catapult.org.uk Harwell, the course will include a tour of the centre and hands-on demonstrations of the facilities. For further information, please visit: www.theiet.org/satcoms