5G from Space, Industry 4.0 on Water: The Internet of Things via Satellite
Akkodis Denmark specializes in providing experts to tech companies in need of embedded developers. That may seem a niche business in the engineering consultancy domain–and it is–but embedded experts are in high demand, now more than ever.
Akkodis specialists have long been working alongside Cobham Satcom’s own engineers, providing expert knowledge in hardware design, RF antenna technology, software and more. They have helped strengthen Cobham Satcom’s position as a global leader in satellite communications.
Complete Satcom Chain
Cobham Satcom is unique in developing and producing equipment for the complete satcom chain. The only exception is the satellites themselves, which are built by Boeing, Airbus and others.
Cobham Satcom builds the ground stations that connect the satellites to the public internet and to cellular networks as well as the terminals connecting directly to satellites, custom built for planes, ships, and vehicles. Every application has different requirements. A satellite terminal on a ship, for example, needs to have a moveable antenna that can point very precisely to a satellite, even in high seas and rough weather.
Current trends in the satcom industry are driven by the same trend that has transformed your mobile phone into so much more than just a device for making phone calls. It’s about constant access to the internet, about transfer of large amounts of data, connected devices, IoT and everything else that makes up today’s connected, always-on world.
Low Earth Orbit
It’s all happening in the satcom world, and Akkodis specialists are playing their part in pushing the envelope of satcom tech. The most spectacular and heavily hyped newcomers are the LEO (Low Earth Orbit) constellations, backed by tech celebrities such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. These swarms of small satellites will be circling the earth at about 800 km, while conventional satellites are much farther away, 36,000 km from the earth’s surface. Conventional satellites are geosynchronous, meaning they follow the earth’s rotation, while LEO-satellites are crisscrossing above us. The LEO vision promises high throughput, low latency, global coverage, and disruptive pricing. However, LEOs are still in their infancy, and although they are in the spotlight, other exciting developments are taking place within conventional satellite systems. These are becoming more powerful and efficient and thereby lowering the price for connectivity and opening up new market segments for the satcom industry.Maritime Satcom
The maritime industry is an ideal example of why and how satellite communications are changing and evolving.
Increasing amounts of data are being transmitted back and forth between ships and land-based control centers. Automation, decision support, remote monitoring of engines and more are becoming integral parts of shipping. Some people call it “Industry 4.0 on water”. Previously only crew welfare services such as video streaming needed powerful satellite links but now ships are integrated into a wealth of digital systems including for coordinating traffic in harbors and channels and customs clearance.
Large control centers onshore handle more and more operations, processing data from the ships and helping the crew to run them as efficiently as possible, for instance by optimizing fuel consumption. Instead of taking time off when the ship is on the open sea, the crew can also now take care of administrative tasks remotely with a computer and internet access.
300 Ships
Cobham Satcom is a world leader in maritime satcom, equipping thousands of ships with antenna systems over the years. Satcom connectivity has become mission critical in the shipping business and customers are seeking more powerful antennas and higher throughput through single or dual antenna setup.
To meet this new need for powerful connectivity, satcom providers such as Cobham are strengthening their products, including through the use of higher transmission frequencies that allow for a larger transmission load. However, these frequencies are more vulnerable to interference caused by rain, fog, or stormy weather.
Making that work is just one of the challenges for Cobham Satcom developers and the expert consultants helping them.
0.1% Accuracy
Developing new types of antennas is another challenge. Cobham Satcom is building parabolic antennas that can point to a satellite with 0.1-degree accuracy, even when the antenna is on a ship moving back and forth in high seas. Typically, two connected antennas are used to secure the connection.
All this requires expert knowledge in mechanics, control technology and software, including everything that goes into state-of-the-art embedded solutions, such as GPIO pins, embedded and real-time Linux and protocol handling.
The emerging LEO constellations add an extra level of complexity. Instead of pointing to one geosynchronous satellite, LEO terminals must choose which LEO satellite to connect to, follow it while it’s in range, and then jump to the next … and the next.
5G and New Markets
While satellite communication is becoming increasingly powerful, it is beginning to take on new roles in the communication infrastructure covering the globe. Cobham Satcom is preparing to map the current population of geostationary satellites into the emerging 5G infrastructure, opening new business opportunities for satcom service providers.
While the traditional users of satcom–government agencies and businesses–have a growing need for powerful connectivity, new users and applications are coming. New markets open up, as the capabilities increase and the price per bit goes down.
Satellite communications are changing fast and specialists from Akkodis Denmark are helping one of the global satcom leaders stay ahead of the competition.