Quantum Computing announced that it has received a follow-on contract to its announced February 8, 2023 subcontract award to assist NASA in remote sensing and climate change monitoring.
In addition to testing its proprietary Quantum Photon System for Remote Sensing Applications (QLiDAR), QCI will also process satellite imagery using its photonic reservoir computing technology. This first test order is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.
dr William McGann, QCI’s Chief Technology Officer, commented, “Sunlight interference (noise) is a major problem in space-based LiDAR remote sensing. Signal integrity is compromised in daytime LiDAR measurements of the air and optically thin aerosols/clouds from space. Therefore, it is very difficult, if at all possible, to make good daytime LiDAR measurements from space with reasonable signal-to-noise ratios. In this extended project, we will investigate photonic computing of reservoirs to remove sunlight noise in LiDAR satellite imagery, thus enabling daytime operation of space-based LiDAR systems. Our current prototype systems have shown excellent performance in both pattern prediction and pattern recognition and have shown good potential for sunlight noise removal. Through this project, we hope to prove the concept and develop a roadmap for future large-scale deployment to help NASA and many other potential customers.”
QCI, through its wholly owned subsidiary QI Solutions, which focuses on federal government projects, will perform both the original quantum LiDAR work and use photonic computing capabilities to process the LiDAR data.
This is performed under a subcontract from Science Systems Applications, Inc. (SSAI), a leading provider of scientific, engineering and IT solutions. As part of the expanded subcontract, QCI will run the data from the QLiDAR system through the photonic reservoir computer to improve the calculation of the water level released from snowmelt.
Upon successful completion of the task under the new subcontract, follow-up options will be aerial testing and positioning of these devices along with the photon reservoir system to improve the signal integrity of the satellite imagery and establish a global snow depth monitoring network. This will promote a better understanding of climate change and provide accurate data for industry and agriculture.
“This expanded contract is a significant opportunity for QCI, the recognized world leader in space research and exploration excellence, to demonstrate and validate two distinct QCI technology offerings,” commented Sean Gabeler, President of Q1Solutions.
“QCI’s photonic LiDAR and reservoir photonic computing systems offer new measurement and data processing capabilities with single-photon sensitivity, strong noise reduction, and high spatial resolution and image fidelity over long distances in challenging environments such as snow, ice, and water night or day. Designed for easy, scalable, and versatile use, QCI systems feature affordable size, weight, performance, and cost combined with increased connectivity and capacity, reduced training distortion, and increased safety.”
