Smart Satellite Sets Its Own Priorities

Roland Piquepaille writes "Currently, satellites take pictures of whatever is in front of their cameras. But hydrologists from the University of Arizona (UA), working with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are creating spacecraft that think for themselves. Their smart software, which is tested on NASA's EO-1 satellite, can be used on all kinds of spacecraft. This software has three components: an image formation module, a science algorithm module, and a continuous planning module. This onboard planner reschedules what to film in conjunction with what the scientific algorithms have detected. This software has already detected floods in Australia and will be adapted to also detect volcano eruptions and changes in ice fields. More details and references are available in this overview, including images of the flood detected by this smart software."

Comments

First post!! haha

[tyrnight]

First posters are lame... LOL

military/intelligence applications?

[exhilaration]

Thought it's probably easier to "spot" climactic or geological events (which are usually massive) how could this be used in spy satellites?

Just wonderin'.