UKSA funding projects that unlock benefits of satellite data and AI

The pilot projects, awarded grants of up to £400,000 each, will trial new solutions that use satellite data and services to support transport, logistics and financial services. 

The trials will combine terrestrial data and technology (including AI, quantum, machine learning and geospatial data) with satellite data and services, and provide deeper analysis to develop insights and present new solutions to UK customers.   

One project with Sports City Management Company aims to enhance visitor travel to the Etihad Campus, home to Manchester City Football Club’s Etihad Stadium and the Co-op Live arena, by reducing congestion and increasing the sustainability of travel to the venue.  

According to UKSA, the project will support the development of an AI-enabled travel demand solution, using satellite data from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Open Access Hub and Sentinel satellites, to predict patterns in the travel of music and sports fans at major events.

Coupled with machine learning, this provides transport operators and event planners with insight into congestion points, public transport requirements and crowd flow. This will be tested in a partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).