As part of an ESA Business Applications project, the TeleRetail delivery robot to make elevator maintenance in cities quicker and more efficient

The robot, presented as a benchmark product for autonomous driving at a US Senate Field Hearing on January 24th, was on display at the Washington Auto Show.

Self-driving vehicles already play a major role in the future of urban logistics – not in the shape of cars commuting people, but also in the shape of robots carrying and delivering goods. In collaboration with software developer TeleRetail, thyssenkrupp Elevator launched a pilot project in which delivery robots transport spare parts and other material to maintenance job sites. Perfect for maintaining elevators in a contemporary way, the robots represent the future of smart maintenance logistics, reinforcing thyssenkrupp Elevator’s position as a future-oriented mobility provider.

Read more about the project here: https://business.esa.int/projects/teleretail-delivery-robot

Rezatec, a Harwell, Oxfordshire, UK-based provider of geospatial data analytics to the Infrastructure, Forestry and Agribusiness sectors, completed a second phase of a £2m financing round. Caphaven Partners led completion of the two-stage round with support from existing investors Run Capital and new investor Newable Private Investing, through its Scale Up Fund 1.

The capital will be used for continued expansion of its commercial customer base in its target markets.

Led by CEO Patrick Newton, Rezatec provides a geospatial data analytics platform for the Infrastructure, Forestry and Agribusiness sectors. Its proprietary algorithms process data inputs from satellite, airborne and ground sensors to predict outcomes for key assets across a range of industry verticals.

The company’s analytics target critical commercial needs such as commodity crop yield optimization, forest inventory management and identification and prediction of pipeline network leakage.

Users include major utilities, agribusinesses, large forestry groups, consulting partners and governments worldwide.

AGU Fall Conference, New Orleans, Satavia announced its partnership with Orbital Micro Systems Ltd. (OMS), a leader in space system applications and advanced instrumentation for small satellite missions. The announcement took place at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Conference in New Orleans. Satavia will utilize the high temporal resolution weather data provided by OMS to enhance its solutions which allow aircraft original equipment manufacturers and operators to minimize unscheduled aircraft maintenance caused by environmental factors.

“Satavia supported the OMS In Orbit Demosntration project proposal and is preparing to be an early adopter of OMS data for operational atmospheric environmental modelling,” said Adam Durant, chief executive officer of Satavia. “Unscheduled maintenance of aircraft is disruptive and costly for airline operators. With OMS datasets, we can enhance our observational capability to identify and predict in-flight encounters with high-altitude icing, and other environment-related factors that can impact maintenance planning. Access to the enhanced atmospheric data from OMS satellites will enable operators to proactively schedule maintenance, and reduce costs and operational disruption.”

OMS chief executive officer William Hosack noted: “Satavia has been an excellent partner and advisor throughout the development of the GEMS program, providing feedback and insight for addressing the commercial aspects of space-based weather data applications. Satavia’s digital environmental intelligence application is one of many critical use cases in airline operations made possible by more accurate and timely weather data such as providing near real-time severe weather warnings that can help pilots and flight planners avoid costly turbulence and storms. We look forward to a mutually beneficial engagement with Satavia that will benefit all stakeholders in the aviation sector.”

Do you have ideas for improving airplanes and airport safety and efficiency? We offer funding and support with SPACE-BASED SERVICES FOR SMART AIRPORTS.

About Satavia 

Satavia Ltd. is located in Cambridge, UK, and offers aircraft engine manufacturers and airlines digital environmental intelligence on atmospheric contaminants to improve the safety, performance and operating costs of aviation. Satavia aggregates cutting-edge software technologies developed in Atmospheric Science with Artificial Intelligence and offers data solutions to engineering problems affecting the aviation industry. Satavia recently appeared in the 2017 Tällt Ventures Disrupt 100 list of businesses with the most potential to influence, change or create new global markets. For more information about Satavia, please visit www.satavia.com.

Farmers manage almost half of all European land area, making agriculture a dominant industry in Europe. A wave of the AgTech startups, initiated by the acquisition of Climate Crop by Monsanto in 2013, has reached Europe, where a startup activity is growing in the AgTech domain during last 3–4 years. Three of them are powered by Space at ESA Business Applications:

HummingBird Technologies, UK (total funding — NA) — HummingBird Tech is a company that uses drones with customized sensors and satellite to gather data and imagery to be used for precision agriculture. They make use of advanced machine learning algorithms and computer vision to provide insights on crop health. Their products include detection of crop diseases, nutrient optimization and more.

Gamaya, Switzerland (total funding USD 7.4M) — Through drone-based hyperspectral imaging, satellite data and artificial intelligence, along with the weather information, Gamaya helps to improve the efficiency and sustainability of farming businesses. They focus on delivering various crop and region-specific agronomy solutions like planting efficiency analysis, yield forecasting, weeds detection, detection of nutrients, and more.

AgriCircle, Switzerland (total funding — NA) — With a focus on maximizing yields, AgriCircle gives farmers an end-to-end software system that covers things from variable rate applications of herbicides and seeds, all the way to field history, data analytics, and emissions. Germany is the main market for the Company.

Do you also have an idea for business in AgTec? We offer funding and support for Organic Best Practice.