Armada, a leader in mobile edge computing, and Sophia Space are joining forces to build a comprehensive and scalable computing infrastructure that bridges the gap between Earth and space. Their objective is to develop a unified edge-computing network, seamlessly connecting remote terrestrial locations with space-based computing resources.
This innovative collaboration will offer significant advantages. For instance, in the realm of drone warfare, Sophia Space can rapidly integrate satellite observations with ground-based data sources, as explained by Brian Monnin, Sophia's co-founder and chief growth officer: "For drone warfare, for example, Sophia can quickly fuse satellite observations with terrestrial data sources."
Furthermore, the integration of computing resources in low-Earth orbit provides crucial redundancy, surge capacity, and emergency restoration capabilities for Armada Galleons – robust terrestrial data centers forming part of the Armada Edge Platform. This platform is specifically designed for AI applications. The partnership will connect Armada Galleons with Sophia Space's TILE orbital compute modules and the Sophia Orbital Operating System.
TILE, a platform engineered for low-latency, energy-efficient AI processing, serves as the bedrock of Sophia’s scalable infrastructure. Dan Wright, Armada's CEO, highlighted the significance of this collaboration: “This partnership extends the edge into space, enabling real-time operations anywhere they’re needed — on Earth and beyond.”
Rob DeMillo, CEO of Sophia Space, envisions a future where this partnership creates “a fully autonomous, on and off planet compute fabric that thinks, adapts and acts in real time.”
The adoption of space-based edge processing is rapidly expanding, yet until now, terrestrial and orbital edge nodes have been developed separately, leading to inefficiencies. Monnin notes: “Until now, the terrestrial and orbital edge nodes have been established separately, making it “time-consuming and expensive” to make them work together, Armada and Sophia will be seamlessly integrated, saving developers time with new applications.”
The resulting edge processing infrastructure will leverage AI processing and adaptive learning for continuous improvement. The system will dynamically manage data routing to minimize latency and optimize computing power based on environmental needs. Security is addressed through optical communications, end-to-end encryption, and a zero-trust framework.