It is meant to boost New Zealand’s regional economies, contribute to space-based research and even bring high-capacity bandwidth to the Central Otago region. But it is also undeniably cool. Pam Jones finds out about the new-look Centre for Space Science Technology and asks where to from here.
It was pitched as a space research institute heralding a new frontier locally, nationally and internationally. But one of its very first products was all about a tractor.
Tasked with helping a vineyard manager improve crop predictions when he was often 30% out, Centre for Space Science Technology (CSST) chief executive Steve Cotter sent CSST software developer Sam Russell out among the grapes, where he realised drone sensor images being used at the vineyard were not cutting it and a camera attached to a tractor would be better.
Back at his computer, Mr Russell developed an algorithm for "applied computer vision technology’’ that accurately detected grape clusters, and the product could now be applied to other fruit such as kiwifruit and apples, Mr Cotter said.
It was a practical application that illustrated the philosophy of CSST and how its products and services could help the man on the street, vineyard or farm, he said.
It also showed how Central Otago could reap particular benefits from being the site of some of the trials for products Alexandra-based CSST developed, and how the local stage could be translated to an international arena.
"We want to solve locally, but think globally.’’
At first glance, the "camera on a tractor’’ work may not sound sexy or sophisticated.
But the brains behind CSST were some of the world’s best and things were only just beginning, Mr Cotter said.
Several research scientists are about to be appointed and other key staff are already in place, including director of research Dr Delwyn Moller and director of technical and commercial operations Rafael Kargren.
They are an award-winning former Nasa scientist and the former executive vice-president of the Swedish Space Corporation respectively, both recognised internationally for their intellect, experience and innovation.
What does their arrival in a Central Otago town of about 5000 people mean? And what will CSST end up looking like and doing?
The answer is something different from the original business case proposed, some significant changes having been made as CSST leaders turned the CSST concept into reality.
An announcement from CSST in February that it would probably no longer make the cube satellites it initially intended to was a significant signal to the public and science community that CSST was shifting in structure.
The CSST satellites would have been the first to be built in New Zealand, but CSST has now partnered with Spire Global Inc, "a leading space-to-cloud data analytics company’’, and will use Spire’s automatic identification system (AIS) data, collected from Spire’s constellation of satellites.
CSST could use the AIS data in a wide range of areas, including fishing, fleet monitoring and control, vessel tracking and collision avoidance, maritime security, cargo tracking, search and rescue operations and accident investigation.
Mr Cotter said it was "more economical and a better use of taxpayer funding’’ to partner with existing providers, rather than duplicate what was already available.
He said "a lot has changed’’ in the space industry since CSST’s proposal was submitted, and its business plan was being revisited.
More significant changes were announced in March.
The original CSST proposal was for up to 40 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, about half of whom would be based in Alexandra and the other half spread between offices in Dunedin, Lincoln and New Plymouth.
It was now anticipated 12-14 FTEs would be working for CSST by the end of this year, but it was uncertain if any more would be employed after that, Mr Cotter said.
As well, it was unlikely other offices would be opened.
CSST would always be based in Alexandra, but it would probably be the only physical office, Mr Cotter said.
He said the changes were necessary to make CSST work, as the budgets in the business plan had been "too optimistic’’.
There would not have been enough money to pay for 40 FTEs, and the original business plan had proposed multiple part-time positions, some as small as 0.05 FTE equivalents, and that much of the research work would be outsourced, Mr Cotter said.
Another significant and positive change was that now more CSST research staff would be based in Alexandra, instead of using scientists at city universities, he said.
The location of the CSST staff has caused some discussion in the Alexandra district.
Some members of the community have expressed concern to the Otago Daily Times about the number of staff based outside Alexandra and only commuting to Alexandra, although Mr Cotter said no feedback of that nature had been made to him.
But he said of the seven staff already at CSST, some were living in Alexandra, others worked remotely from the North Island but spent regular amounts of time there, and others wanted to move but would need their partners to be able to find work in the district before shifting.
And there was still a significant hurdle to being able to do all of CSST’s work from Alexandra, Mr Cotter said.
There were problems with getting affordable, high-performance bandwidth (the speed of internet) in the Central Otago network, and some CSST staff were sometimes having to go to Wellington to do tasks because they could not do CSST work in Alexandra.
CSST staff were working with "extremely large flows of data’’ and the CSST board had charged Mr Cotter with finding a solution to the bandwidth problem, he said.
He is "in discussions’’ with commercial providers and hoping to make a request for pricing (RFP) soon, a possible solution being for CSST to lay its own fibre to Cromwell and then connect to a network that already goes through there.
Mr Cotter said the CSST team was determined to build a dynamic culture and "make a difference’’, he said.
He said bringing people of the CSST staff’s calibre who were "at the cutting edge of IT as well as research’’ to New Zealand and Central Otago was exciting, and one of the aims of CSST was to reverse "the brain drain’’ of New Zealand to other countries.
Mr Cotter said CSST would continue to be "demand driven’’.
"We are out there talking to people around the country trying to understand what their problems are. This is such a new field that asking people what they need, a lot of times they don’t really know or they’re not aware what is possible. So we are sitting down with them asking what are your challenges. Then maybe there’s something we can do to solve that ... We want to solve problems for Kiwis that help them be better at their business, more efficient, more competitive globally.’’
If CSST comes up with applications that will work globally they will sell them, the board conscious of the need to be financially sustainable.
"We want something here for the next 20-30 years, not something that ends when the funding’s gone,’’ Mr Cotter said.
He said in three years’ time he wanted CSST "to have demonstrated to MBIE [Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment] and the community and the public at large that we’ve developed something of real value from the funding we received’’.
If CSST was not self-sustaining within three years, the Government had indicated CSST could possibly apply for more funding, Mr Cotter said.
He said CSST felt "a lot of responsibility’’ to the Alexandra and broader public "because of the public expectations, whether they’re realistic or not’’, and wanted to help people understand what CSST did by focusing on the solutions it could deliver.
Mr Cotter said the "real value’’ of CSST would come from combining satellite imagery with aerial drone and in situ data.
"It’s really the fusion of those data sets. If you want the full picture, you’ve got to get data from all of those sources.’’
A footnote to the CSST story, or in fact the beginning of it, is the contribution of Bodeker Scientific owner Greg Bodeker.
Dr Bodeker developed the CSST concept, leading the development of the business case and applying for the job of director of research, having proposed the position be 0.5 full-time equivalent.
Dr Bodeker’s application was unsuccessful; Mr Cotter said the board had already decided the role needed to be a full-time one.
Dr Bodeker now declines to comment on anything about CSST, saying Mr Cotter is the CSST spokesman.
When asked if he wanted to comment about Dr Bodeker, Mr Cotter said Dr Bodeker deserved significant credit for developing the concept for CSST, but it was now the CSST team’s job to turn the concept into reality.
At a glance
The Centre For Space Science Technology (CSST)
• Opened in Alexandra on July 1 last year after a six-month establishment phase and has $14.7 million of funding over three years from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
• Is a Regional Research Institute that will use Earth observation data to conduct research and develop new products and services to benefit New Zealand’s regional industries. For commercially available satellite data, CSST will act as a broker for the New Zealand market.
• As well as providing access to raw data to regional industries, the products and solutions CSST will develop from that data will be used in areas such as irrigation and agriculture, snow and ice, oceans and atmosphere, regional planning and hazard management, and forestry.
To date
Some of the things CSST has done so far. —
• Developed applied machine-learning techniques, combining pattern recognition and computational algorithms, to remotely identify the stages of maturation of fields of crops (such as wheat, maize) that can be used to optimise irrigation and fertiliser management.
• Developed applied computer vision technology to estimate crop yield for a Central Otago vineyard, which could also be applied to kiwifruit and other fruit crops.
• Has used composite satellite imagery and cloud computing to identify toxic algal blooms in New Zealand’s lakes and rivers.
• Is supporting a local business with high-volume processing of aerial imagery to increase productivity and reduce computing and storage costs, increasing profitability.
• Is providing satellite imagery to quickly identify damage from natural events such as floods, landslides and slips.
