Webinar: Artificial Intelligence in Space

Artificial intelligence (AI) will soon become an essential aspect of all forms of space operations: from satellite services to space journeys involving astronauts. AI holds great potential in relation to numerous other aspects of space operations, including the control and locating of satellite mega-constellations, advanced telecommunications and end-of-life management.

This Volterra Fietta webinar addressed the challenges of the development of AI in space.

The distinguished panel of speakers were:

Dr Lorenzo Feruglio: Dr Lorenzo Feruglio is the founder and CEO of AIKO, a deep technology company that specialises in developing AI and automation technologies for spacecraft operations. Under his guidance, the company has grown to over 25 employees and has established itself as a leading company for upstream space AI applications. Mr Feruglio holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at Politecnico di Torino, Italy, with a thesis on Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Small Satellites Mission Autonomy (2017).

Dr Yang Gao: Dr Yang Gao is the Professor of Space Autonomous Systems and the Founding Head of STAR LAB at Surrey Space Centre within the University of Surrey.  She develops robotics for extreme environments, specializing in robotic perception and sensing and applications of artificial intelligence. Her work has been used for developing real-world space missions such as ExoMars, Proba3, MoonLITE and Moonraker. She is an elected fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institute of Engineering and Technology. She had been named by the Times Higher Education as one of ten young leading academics in the UK who are making a very significant contribution to their disciplines and also been awarded the Mulan Award for Contributions to Science, Technology and Engineering.

This webinar was moderated by Volterra Fietta Counsel, Mr Gunjan Sharma. Mr Sharma has been senior counsel in two of the three largest, multi-billion-dollar space disputes in the last decade. Mr Sharma also represents clients in major litigations and arbitrations and advises clients on complex aspects of public international law. Based on the recommendations of his clients and peers, Mr Sharma has been recognised as a “Rising Star” in public international law, “for sure”, by Legal500 and as a “Rising Star” in Commercial Arbitration by Euromoney.