Commercial Applications of Space-Enabled Robotics: Maritime and Marine

This Call for Proposals invites proposals for feasibility studies and demonstration projects for services that combine the use of satellite technologies and robotics in downstream services for Maritime and Marine applications.

‘Robotics’ is here defined to include physical robots, autonomous drones, machines and vehicles, and precursory solutions or those that enable these (e.g. perception and navigation systems for autonomous vehicle services, connectivity solutions to enable tele-operated robotics…).

Within the maritime and marine sectors, applications are foreseen related to port automation, offshore infrastructure operations, autonomous and teleoperated vessels, aquaculture, water quality and pollution monitoring, marine surveys, coastal surveillance, and further application areas identified within the maritime and marine domains.

Value of space

Satellite Positioning can provide coarse to high accuracy positioning information to autonomous vehicles, vessels and drones operating in outdoor spaces.

Satellite Communications provides data, video and voice communications and may add value to applications implemented in the following service provision scenarios:

• Environments that have inadequate, unreliable, compromised, or altogether absent mobile cellular connectivity.
• Mobile services that operate across regions with varying cellular connectivity quality (good in certain areas, poor in others…) and require continuous coverage and availability.
• Services that have high security, robustness and resilience requirements may benefit from satellite communications for redundancy in compromised or unforeseen circumstances.

Satellite Earth Observation. It is expected that satellite earth observation could support robotic solutions at the service level i.e., providing complementary or enabling datasets to support the activities of the autonomous systems. This could be through situational awareness data to support the navigation of a robot, or use of earth observation data to inform, initiate, or halt deployment of an autonomous system.

Spaceflight Technology. Spaceflight Technology Spin-Outs – applications of robotics developed for use in space (and other astronomical objects) that also have commercial applications on Earth, i.e. Spaceflight Spin-Outs, are also considered eligible. This could relate to tele-robotic solutions and algorithms (perception, planning, control…) developed for autonomy of space robotics that have applications on Earth, or otherwise.

ESA look for promising business ideas addressing topics of relevance or related areas that propose:

• Attractive market opportunities, identified customer needs and customer engagement
• Commercially-viable service concepts
• Technically feasible solutions
• Added value of space data or technology
• Motivated teams with business, technical, and financial expertise

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to companies that intend to develop space-enabled services and products related, but not restricted, to the topics of relevance outlined above. To be eligible for funding, your team must be based in an ESA member state (this includes the UK). Authorisation of Funding letters from the corresponding National Delegations are required as part of the application.

The initiative is open to the submission of proposals for Feasibility Studies and Demonstration Projects:

• Feasibility Studies – which provide the preparatory framework to identify, analyse and define new potentially sustainable services (maximum total cost €500,000)
• Demonstration Projects – dedicated to the implementation and demonstration of pre-operational services (costed on a case-by-case basis)

If you would like help to find a collaboration partner, contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Space or Robotics teams.