A dual-headed camera system for space-based space surveillance is being developed by Australian startup Infinity Avionics.
Canberra-based Infinity Avionics is collaborating with the University of New South Wales Canberra Space and Australian startup Nominal Systems to develop technology to autonomously detect space objects, with funding provided by the Australian government, the SmartSat CRC research consortium, and internal research funds totaling approximately one million Australian dollars ($660,00).
According to Igor Dimitrijevic, the CEO of Infinity Avionics, “we’re trying to detect pieces of debris which are too small for radars to pick up,” SpaceNews reported. “We can also observe other spacecraft where an anomaly requires more information or where they might be out of control.”
A wide-field of view event sensor built into the camera system detects changes in light but does not capture pictures.
According to Dimitrijevic, “it has a very high dynamic range compared to a normal image sensor.” “We can see very faint changes or very faint events.”
Advice and Input
The coaligned narrow field of view camera is tasked with gathering images when the event camera notices any changes or movement.
According to Dimitrijevic, “This allows us to detect events or movements that you would miss with a normal camera.” Additionally, using a regular camera requires you to continuously take frames, which produces massive amounts of data that you are never able to downlink. We are able to recognize or detect events with this dual-head camera system and record them by producing a small amount of data that is simple to handle in terms of downlink and processing.
Infinity Avionics is simulating the dual-headed camera system’s concept of operation and validating requirements with the aid of digital twinning technology from Canberra-based Nominal Systems.
“We are already providing cameras and sensors for similar applications for space-based space surveillance,” Infinity Avionics’ founder and managing director, Damith Abeywardana, stated. “This is an improved system to automate and add some smarts to the cameras.”
Spinoff from UNSW
Founded in 2020, Infinity Avionics is a spinoff of the University of New South Wales in Canberra. The startup offers engineering consulting services both directly and through international partners, in addition to producing optical sensors and computer processors.
Dimitrijevic led the University’s space group as the lead electronics engineer before helping to found the startup.
International organizations and the Australian Space Command are among the potential customers for the dual-headed camera system.