Microsoft Azure has announced several partnerships made to support the platform’s use for artificial intelligence and connectivity applications in space.
Tom Keane, corporate vice president for mission engineering at Microsoft Azure, wrote in a blog post published Monday that the company partnered with NASA and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to test how AI can support astronaut safety by detecting equipment damage.
NASA and HPE used Microsoft’s cloud computing technology to develop a computer vision system that works to report the status of space gloves. The application underwent testing with the HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 on the International Space Station.
Microsoft Azure has also teamed up with Thales Alenia Space, Loft Orbital and Ball Aerospace, which plans to test on-orbit satellites that accommodate the agile implementation of new, government-needed hardware and software.
Additionally, Blackshark.ai is offering geospatial models and analytics to detect objects and draw out attributes on vegetation, buildings and other future detection classes. Interested parties may access these models via Microsoft’s Azure Synapse Analytics service.