NEWS

The European Space Agency (ESA) is currently holding a series of Commercialisation Days. These events unite the space industry with organisations across other important sectors, such as health or transportation, in order to promote collaboration and innovation. Since the launch of the first artificial satellite in 1957, space-based innovations have become increasingly interwoven with life on Earth, and the space industry has important contributions to make in countless different areas. ESA’s Transportation Commercialisation Day is being held on 27 November 2023, addressing the potential that space holds for road, rail and maritime transportation. Darwin is looking forward to presenting its solutions at the event, from our work with autonomous vehicles to how we use satellites for ubiquitous coverage. As the date approaches, ESA is sharing the stories of startups preparing to demonstrate what they can offer at the Transportation Commercialisation Day. You can read the story of Darwin Innovation Group over here. Darwin Innovation Group is a UK-based company that provides services related to autonomous vehicles and communications. If you’re interested in working with us, take a look at our careers page. If you’d like to know how we can help your organisation make use of autonomous vehicles, contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

On 14 June 2023, Darwin and Cognizant collaborated to demonstrate remote operation of a self-driving vehicle: the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle. The demonstration took place as part of a summit hosted by Cognizant. From Cognizant’s Analyst Conference in London, commands were sent to the shuttle in Oxfordshire, allowing City analysts to see how the vehicle could be controlled remotely. The Darwin Autonomous Shuttle was located at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, with a trained safety operator present to oversee the demonstration. From 50 miles away, in London, Darwin’s co-founder Milos Petrovic sent remote instructions to the empty shuttle, such as commands for the vehicle to start, stop, open its doors or travel to the next stop on its route. Milos and the other attendees were able to see the shuttle carrying out instructions via a live video link. While autonomous vehicles are usually self-driving, being able to send instructions to these vehicles remotely is nonetheless valuable. For example: Autonomous public transport or taxi services could change their route based on remote requests from people who need the service. Similarly, autonomous pickup or delivery services could be remotely requested when required. Remotely operated vehicles could be used to scout, carry supplies into or carry people out of hazardous areas, allowing the operator to remain at a safe distance. UK law requires a safety operator to monitor the vehicle during autonomous vehicle trials, but the operator may monitor the vehicle remotely for greater flexibility, rather than being physically present aboard it. When commanding a vehicle remotely, connectivity is an important consideration. It’s essential to maintain a connection with the vehicle at all times, enabling the remote operator to stay aware of the vehicle’s position and react to developments. Darwin’s ubiquitous communications technology bolsters terrestrial networks with satellite telecommunications, helping to maintain a reliable connection even with a moving vehicle. It’s also important to take digital security measures, ensuring no unauthorised person can send their own instructions to the vehicle. In order to make sure the link between the remote operator and the vehicle remains secure, Darwin has been collaborating with Telefónica Tech’s security experts on connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) security. To learn more about Darwin’s work with Cognizant, take a look at our press release ‘Darwin collaborates with Cognizant to enable wider reach of CAV market’. Darwin Innovation Group is a UK-based company that provides services related to autonomous vehicles and communications. If you’re interested in working with us, take a look at our careers page. If you’d like to know how we can help your organisation make use of autonomous vehicles, contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

On Tuesday 11 July, the European Space Agency (ESA) opened the doors of its new UK conference centre at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. ESA is a strong supporter of innovation in Europe, and Darwin was pleased to attend the event as one of the organisations driving technology forward with ESA’s help. The Magali Vaissiere Conference Centre forms a new part of ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT), already established at Harwell. It will serve as a base for collaboration and innovation across the UK space sector. The building itself is a monument to collaboration, having been built with the help of funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA). Darwin was joined at the event by colleagues from Cognizant and Virgin Media O2, who, like ESA and UKSA, are longstanding supporters of Darwin’s work. ESA’s conference centre will be a new stop on the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle’s route. The Darwin Autonomous Shuttle is a self-driving transportation service that has been carrying passengers around Harwell Campus since late 2021, making it the longest-running autonomous public transport service in the UK. This service was made possible by the support of many organisations, including ESA, UKSA, Virgin Media O2, Cognizant, Aviva, Hispasat, Harwell Campus and STFC. Darwin’s co-founder Daniela Petrovic was present at the event and was impressed by the new building. ‘It was great to meet with colleagues and hear ESA’s plans for future moon and Mars missions,’ she said. Take a look at our photographs from the event below, featuring the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle: Darwin Innovation Group is a UK-based company that provides services related to autonomous vehicles and communications. If you’re interested in working with us, take a look at our careers page. If you’d like to know how we can help your organisation make use of autonomous vehicles, contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

The European Space Agency’s Space2Connect Conference is an annual opportunity to explore the opportunities and challenges surrounding satellite telecommunications, and Darwin’s co-founder Daniela Petrovic was delighted to be invited this year as a guest speaker. The conference took place from 7 to 9 June 2023 in the ancient and beautiful Italian city of Matera, home to the Italian Space Agency’s centre of operations. Satellite communications play a central role in Darwin’s work. Our ubiquitous communications technology harnesses both satellite and terrestrial telecommunications to keep vehicles connected to the internet while travelling, even in areas that have patchy 4G or 5G coverage. Many of Darwin’s achievements were made possible by our partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The conference included interesting discussions from all corners of the satellite communications industry. One major focus of the Space2Connect conference was sustainability: how space-based technology can support sustainability efforts on Earth, and how organisations can use space responsibly, minimising issues such as space debris. On the second day of the conference, Darwin took part in the round table discussion ‘Space for a Green Transition and Resilience to Climate Impact’, where Daniela and other industry experts talked about the role of space in sustainability and disaster management. Points that were raised in the discussion included: While there’s plenty of public awareness about the greenhouse gas emissions of certain industries, such as transportation and electricity production, there are less discussed areas that nonetheless contribute significantly to climate change. For example, agriculture, wastewater treatment and manufacturing all produce significant greenhouse gas emissions. Improvements that reduce greenhouse gas emissions across an industry can make a real difference, particularly in these high-emission industries. In many cases, it’s already possible to make changes that can reduce emissions. For example, governments can encourage the use of low-emission modes of transport such as cycling or public transport, or can create incentives to switch from petrol-powered cars to electric vehicles. However, it’s also worth investing in alternative options such as better fuels, as a lack of funds or infrastructure may prevent some from making fundamental changes to the way they travel. It’s also important to consider where there’s still room for improvement. For example, the emissions of electric vehicles could be further reduced by generating more electricity using clean methods, or by researching low-emission materials that could be used in vehicle construction, as the manufacturing of steel and plastic creates greenhouse gases in large quantities. Darwin is helping with its work on autonomous public transport services. Self-driving vehicles have sustainability advantages over traditional vehicles and can help to fill in gaps in public transportation, reducing reliance on single-occupant cars. We’ve also published articles to increase awareness of the capabilities and efficient use of electric vehicles; take a look at our articles on long-distance driving in an electric car or how to make your car battery last longer. You can see a few photographs from Daniela’s visit below: Darwin Innovation Group is a UK-based company that provides services related to autonomous vehicles and communications. If you’re interested in working with us, take a look at our careers page. If you’d like to know how we can help your organisation make use of autonomous vehicles, contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Artificial intelligence is an exciting and rapidly developing field, and Darwin’s work with autonomous vehicles means we have a particular interest in AI developments. We also make use of AI for image and text analysis at Darwin. Earlier this month, Darwin’s co-founder Daniela Petrovic and VP of sales Adnan Salkic attended the AI Summit London. The summit was held on 14 and 15 June at Wapping’s Tobacco Dock. We were honoured to attend the summit as guests of the High Commission of Canada in the UK. The country of Canada has played a huge role in shaping machine learning, with the work of pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio and Richard Sutton helping to form the backbone of modern AI. Canada has three national AI institutes and was the first country to implement a national AI strategy. The AI Summit London is an annual opportunity to learn about the direction of artificial intelligence, connect with other organisations in the industry and explore how AI is bringing practical benefits to real people today. It’s part of London Tech Week, a global celebration of technology held with the support of the UK government. By bringing together organisations with the ability to support each other, events like AI summits can help to push technology forward, creating benefits for everyone. Daniela and Adnan took the opportunity to learn, make connections and present Darwin’s solution to interested organisations. ‘We found the ideas at the summit hugely interesting,’ Daniela said. ‘We compared our research into satellite imaging aimed at insurance modelling with what IBM presented at the summit, and we found many common areas of opportunity and challenges. We also particularly liked how Spotify uses AI to suggest personality traits based on the music a person listens to.’ Take a look at some of our photographs from the summit below: Darwin Innovation Group is a UK-based company that provides services related to autonomous vehicles and communications. If you’re interested in working with us, take a look at our careers page. If you’d like to know how we can help your organisation make use of autonomous vehicles, contact us. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.