Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) and Viasat Inc. are announcing the launch of the first Real-Time Earth (RTE) facility in Africa. The partnership hopes to bring new space opportunities and jobs to the region. And expand Viasat’s ability to deliver critical earth observation and remote sensing data on-demand around the world.
Viasat’s RTE satellite ground station facility is co-located at the Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory, Kuntunse. It includes a Viasat full-motion 7.3M S/X/Ka-band antenna and associated infrastructure. The antenna is currently ready to provide global satellite operators with the ability to perform Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) capabilities as well as rapidly download, stream and/or disseminate valuable satellite-based data in a timely and secure manner.
Viasat worked in partnership with the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI), a government-based institution under Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), focused on coordinating all space, science, technology and related activities in Ghana. The new facility hopes to contribute to Africa’s Technology and Space Growth Initiatives. By promoting new space opportunities and local job creation through ongoing site management and maintenance. With this new station, Viasat’s RTE global network is now active in five continents.
Eric Aggrey, research scientist and project manager of Ghana Radio Astronomy Project, GSSTI said, “The development of Viasat’s new antenna site has been an extremely positive opportunity for the people and economy of Ghana. We have positively grown our presence in the global space and technology sector and look forward to expanding our relationship with Viasat to bring additional new space opportunities, technologies and skillsets to Africa.”
“We knew we wanted to grow the network to cover Western Africa, and it was clear right away GSSTI was the best partner for us. It is a very professional organization that brings years of experience and expertise in antenna systems. We were evaluating several different locations in Ghana because it was an area that our customers identified as a gap in coverage — not just for RTE but for almost every ground-service provider. The Ghana site provides equatorial coverage and fills that gap in coverage for satellite operators looking to downlink imagery in a timely manner in this critical region of the world.”
Aaron Hawkins, Viasat RTE business manager
Viasat RTE provides Ground-Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) capabilities in support of environmental, insurance, shipping, energy and government operations. It is a fully-managed, affordable ground network that supports next-generation and legacy geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO), medium earth orbit (MEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites using the S-, X-, and Ka-bands, enabling operators to meet current and future data requirements.
“The new RTE ground station, located in Ghana, is part of Viasat’s strategic growth plan for a global RTE ground service network, with prior operations already located in North America, South America, Australia and Europe,” said John Williams, vice president, Real-Time Earth at Viasat. “By working in partnership with GSSTI, we have opened a state-of-the-art RTE facility, bringing jobs and economic growth to the region, while further differentiating Viasat’s service through our ability to provide satellite operators access to world-class antenna systems for high-speed RTE connectivity of payload data across a secure network.”
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Ten teams from across the globe are winners of the first Imagine Cup Junior AI for Good Challenge. The competition is an extension of the Microsoft Imagine Cup and targets secondary school students. Thousands of students, aged 13 through 18, participated in this year’s competition to come up with ideas to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges using the power of artificial intelligence (AI).
What I love most about Imagine Cup Junior is seeing educators embrace new technologies like AI and machine learning and then provide these experiences to their students, says Anthony Salcito, VP, of Education. Not only do students get the opportunity to learn about Microsoft’s AI for Good initiatives. But they also further develop and practise 21st-century skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, he adds.
Despite the uncertainty during a global pandemic and adjusting to remote and hybrid learning, students found creative ways to bring their teams together, innovate, and learn about AI along the way. From hardships experienced by friends or family to issues, they have read about in the news, or their determination to preserve the earth and create a better world for future generations. The standard of the student submissions was truly awe-inspiring. Every student who took part brought their heart to their projects, which really came through to all the judges.
Imagine Cup Junior AI for Good Challenge winners
The top 10 global winners recognized this year and their concepts are:
“Here to Hear” from Western Canada High School in Canada: A language-learning tool that supports children with hearing impairments, helping to support inclusiveness in education for the DHH community.
“Sense and Save” from Daffodils Foundation for Learning in India: An AI-powered, bio-resistive graphene sensor for real-time amniotic fluid monitoring in pregnant women, supporting those who do not have regular or easy access to healthcare.
“Gaia Eye 80 degrees” from Beijing No. 80 High School in China: A global environmental diversity and anomaly discovery sharing platform, empowering people to report environmental concerns and observations and get feedback powered by AI.
“CORRA” from St Aloysius College in Australia: The “Companion Obedient Response Robot,” designed to interact with and support children with autism in the form of a robot doll that can be with them at all times.
“Titans” from Maharaja Agrasen Model School in India: A scan and check app for consumers to detect counterfeit medicine packaging, to help reduce the growing issues with counterfeit medicines being sold in India.
“HygieneNET” from Jesuit High School in Oregon, US: A deep learning and sensor-based system for enforcing hand hygiene compliance in healthcare facilities.
“Imagineering” from Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore: An AI-powered app that identifies any anomalies in a baby’s faecal matter to support and guide new parents and provide early diagnoses of any diseases.
“Ying Wa Crazy” from Ying Wa College in Hong Kong: Designed to bring Chinese medicine to a digital platform, embracing the major principles of Chinese medicine and building those into an app to increase the speed of diagnosis.
“G Force” from On My Own Technology in India: A non-invasive pressure mapping method to screen skin cancer and enable earlier detection.
“SMSR” from Hurlstone Agriculture High School in Australia: The “Smart Mobile Sanitizing Robot” to supply and clean feminine products to support period poverty and efficient waste management.
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What is Microsoft AI for Good? It is Microsoft’s philanthropic initiative to empower people and organizations working around the world to protect cultural heritage, solve humanitarian issues and create a more sustainable and accessible world.
Mike Yeh, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft Middle East and Africa speaks to Shalewa Williams, TechCity Nigeria about the initiative. He notes that the initiative is Microsoft funding people, companies with ideas that address global issues.
He sheds light on the Microsoft AI for Good initiative. Expounding on the various pillars; Sustainability, Accessibility, Earth and Cultural Heritage. Mike Yeh also shares the important details of how African organizations can apply for grants under this initiative.
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Microsoft
and Ministry of Agriculture sign MOU to help farmers in Kenya solve key
challenges
As part of its ongoing investment into agriculture for social good and AI, Microsoft announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives (MALFC) to collaborate in accelerating innovation in the agricultural sector in Kenya.
The
Memorandum of Understanding will enable the Government of Kenya, through MALFC,
to tap into Microsoft technology to accelerate the aspirations of achieving
100% food and nutrition security in the country as part of the Government’s Big Four programme. This is
an accelerated five-year development plan designed to fast-track the
realisation of Kenya’s Vision 2030 programme through four key pillars,
including food security.
“To
ensure that we achieve our Food Security goal, we are striving for a 34 percent
increase in the daily average income of farmers, a 47 percent reduction in the
cost of food as a percentage of income, a 50 percent reduction in the number of
food-insecure Kenyans and to create 1,000 Agro-SMEs and 600,000 new jobs. Microsoft’s
technology will enable us to find innovative solutions that drive progress in
agriculture and support our 2030 vision,” says Principal Secretary for
Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Proff. Hamadi Boga.
Microsoft
aims to support digital transformation in agriculture in order to drive
economic growth. Microsoft is deeply
engaged with finding innovative agri-tech solutions for African agricultural
problems, and has previously partnered with the World Bank through its One
Million Farmers Platform, and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
(AGRA), to co-create technology solutions in Africa.
As a
partner to MALFC, Microsoft will design, pilot and launch a programme to drive
agricultural solutions innovation that addresses key challenges facing the
agricultural sector such as pests and disease control, sustainable agricultural
resource management, agri-weather data, and others.
“Microsoft
believes that adoption and integration of technologies such as the cloud, AI
and more, into the agricultural space will bring about this transformation in
the form of precision. Microsoft wants to enable agricultural firms to become
thriving digital businesses that provide sustainable food and nutrition to the
world,” says Microsoft Kenya Country Manager Kendi Nderitu.
Microsoft
will leverage its Open Data Platform and Azure Chatbot services to help farmers
with agricultural pest control diagnostics. Microsoft 4Afrika will also co-host
workshops involving a wide range of agri-tech stakeholders including the World
Bank Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Kenya Agriculture Livestock and Research
Organisation (KALRO), AGRA and others, to address issues in Kenya’s
agricultural data ecosystem.
In addition to its partnerships with AGRA and the
World Bank, Microsoft’s investments in agriculture include its FarmBeats project,
which is using is low-cost sensors, drones and machine learning algorithms to
support data-driven, precision farming. Previous winners of its AI for Earth
grants in Africa include SunCulture, DHI Group and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, who are all using artificial intelligence to
address food security and nutrition in Africa.
Through
its 4Afrika initiative, Microsoft will also partner with MALFC to recruit,
train and place interns through its Interns4Afrika
programme. This initiative seeks to offer young graduates the chance to grow
their careers through six-month placements in Microsoft partner organisations.
The programme helps bridge the gap between graduate skills and the skills set
employers are looking for, while providing graduates with real-world, hands-on
job experience to assist them in moving from learning to earning. By having
access to Microsoft trained and certified interns, Interns4Afrika partners can
extend their talent pipeline and retain strong talent.
“Agriculture is a priority area of investment for
us, not only because of the enormous number of livelihoods it supports and the
economic growth it drives, but also because it has a high potential to be a
data-driven sector,” says Amrote Abdella, Regional Director of Microsoft
4Afrika. “We’re fully committed to supporting agricultural transformation
starting in Kenya – and the rest of Africa – and more critically, the
innovators who are key drivers of this digital transformation.”
Microsoft 4Afrika has previously collaborated with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to co-create technology solutions in Africa. The partnership explores the uses of big data and AI in enabling data-driven, precision farming that increases farm productivity and profitability, and supports AGRA’s digital transformation as it works to improve food security for 30 million farming households across 11 countries by 2021.
The partnership is demonstrative of Microsoft’s ongoing investment in agri-tech across the continent, which also features partnerships with Twiga Foods, a mobile-based business-to-business food supply platform that links smallholder farmers in rural Kenya to informal retail vendors in cities.
Microsoft will support fourteen Kenyan innovators as part of its pledge to the World Bank’s One Million Farmers Platform initiative.
The software company through its 4Afrika engine will provide technical and business assistance to fourteen agritech kenyan innovators. Through mentorship in business development, technology architecture and go-to-market strategies.
Kenya has the highest AgriTech intensity in Africa
The selected fourteen innovators displayed promising ideas during a two day disruptive agricultural technology challenge organized by the World Bank. Through those ideas they will build technology solutions for the One Million Farmers platform.
The World Bank shares that ” Kenya has the highest AgriTech intensity in Africa. With approximately 30 percent of AgriTech start-ups in Africa operating in Kenya.”
The One Million Farmers Platform initiative will address some of the challenges faced in Kenyan agriculture. Which include access to extension, financial services, markets and data-driven applications. With the aim of improving productivity, profitability and resilience through disruptive agricultural technologies. The platform will target reaching one million small holder Kenyan farmers in the next three years.
Committed to supporting agricultural transformation in Africa
As part of the partnership, Microsoft will also empower participating Kenyan government ministries with technical skills development. Both through workshops and by skilled resources through its programmes.
Agriculture … has a high potential to be a data driven sector
Amrote Abdella, Regional Director of Microsoft 4Afrika shares that Microsoft is “fully committed to supporting agricultural transformation in Africa“.
“Agriculture is a priority area of investment for us. Not only because of the enormous number of livelihoods it supports and the economic growth it drives. But also because it has a high potential to be a data driven sector”, she notes.
“With an expanding population, there’s an opportunity to use technology to improve farm productivity, optimise resource use and increase crop yields to combat rising food insecurity. We’re fully committed to supporting agricultural transformation starting in Kenya – and the rest of Africa – and more critically, the innovators who are key drivers of this digital transformation.”
