KSAT, Kongsberg Satellite Services, a world-leading provider of satellite ground networks and Earth Observation services has acquired a majority stake of 70 percent of VAKE, a Norwegian space–startup that delivers maritime domain awareness by using satellite data combined with machine learning, according to the company's release.
Since 2018, VAKE has been working on applying Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI) to satellite images to detect and analyse the behaviour of vessels, including ships that choose to hide their position, identity, and activity at sea. They have developed strong Machine Learning (ML) capabilities for several maritime applications which started off by leveraging open data from the European Space Agency and the Copernicus program, and now also offer integration of commercial satellite data into their products and services. KSAT has followed the development of VAKE since the company was founded and sees great opportunities in joining forces with VAKE to solve the future challenges in maritime domain awareness, offshore asset protection and shipping activity tracking.
VAKE and KSAT are joint in their view of the importance of AI and ML for satellite imagery analysis and data fusion for future Earth Observation services.
KSAT has perfected the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in combination with other satellite-based data sources, for maritime monitoring services like oil spill detection and vessel detection. KSAT draws from an extensive portfolio of satellites and the company's services are used for decision support by authorities, coastguards, energy companies and other end users worldwide. Information is provided in near-real time via KSATs worldwide ground network consisting of 300+ antennas spread over 28 locations.
While KSAT holds majority ownership, VAKE remains as an independent company with the same team, continuing to provide its offerings to the market, but now with the possibility of being integrated into KSAT's deliveries as well.