Calling all space tech innovators: take-off for global Deloitte's GRAVITY Challenge 05

 A call is going out to the global space innovation community to help solve a range of real world challenges with potentially world-changing solutions using space-enabled data, capability and technology.

Deloitte's GRAVITY Challenge 05, a global technology innovation program, launches today with registrations now open. The program brings business challenges together with innovators who can help solve those challenges. This year’s challenges range from using cloud technologies to monitor and intercept potential threats to space missions, to applying space data to monitor wetland health, and vineyard quality yields.

The GRAVITY Challenge brings end-users, data providers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups, and innovators together to solve some of the most pressing economic, social and environmental problems we’re facing on earth today. From improving response times to natural disasters, to establishing more sustainable agriculture practices, to minimising vessel strikes on marine wildlife, the applications of space technology are limitless.

Space tech enthusiasts from Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Luxemburg, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic are invited to participate.

Deloitte Global Lead Partner for GRAVITY Challenge, Byron Riessen, said: “As space has no real boundaries, neither does the potential for space technologies to be applied to a huge range of real-world issues and challenges – and, as the name implies, this is what the GRAVITY Challenge is all about.

“Challenge organisations are increasingly seeing the value that can be realised from working with the space technology sector, and the GRAVITY journey is about the future and making possible what might otherwise seem impossible.

“For example, according to the Global Climate Observing System, more than 50% of the essential climate variables, providing critical insights into the Earth’s health, can only be tracked by satellites. In commercial terms, while that may translate to billions of dollars of value, more importantly, it’s the opportunity to help our planet that gets me excited.”

“It was great to see GRAVITY challenge highlighted when Deloitte was recognised as the fourth Most Innovative Professional Services Firm by The Australian Financial Review, the sixth consecutive year Deloitte has been awarded for our innovations.”

AWS has been supporting the GRAVITY Challenge community since the program launched in 2019.

AWS Chief Technologist for Worldwide Public Sector in Australia and New Zealand, Simon Elisha, said using space data to innovate and reimagine ways to make life better on earth needs to be a priority.

“Operating in space offers many opportunities to help solve some of Earth’s greatest challenges. As the pace of space-based missions increases, and our world becomes ever more interconnected, satellite operators, and government and commercial space organisations alike need to address the best ways to keep their networks secure.

“With our reliable global infrastructure, and unmatched portfolio of cloud services, AWS helps start-ups, commercial and government customers build satellites that can process and transform space collections into data, make that data actionable and accessible to customers around the globe, and redefine how organisations transform the space market segment.”

“We’re delighted to collaborate with the Deloitte's GRAVITY Challenge program, and help the space ecosystem to innovate and reimagine how the value of space data today can be used to make life on earth better – from global climate monitoring and wildlife protection to disaster response, food security, and broadband accessibility.”

To register for Deloitte's GRAVITY Challenge 05: gravitychallenge.space/register. Applications close on 1 November, 2022. Successful teams will work on their solutions and with challenger organisations until 3 March, 2023. This round’s Challenge Champions – who will move into scaling conversations with organisations – will be announced 28 March 2023.

The GRAVITY 05 Challenges are: 

Organisation   Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Geography      Australia

Challenge        Using cloud technologies to monitor and intercept maliciousactivity in development and operations in space launch,communications, and operational missions

Organisation     Treasury Wine Estates (TWE)

Geography          Australia

Challenge            Integrating satellite technology and data with TWE’s existingmoisture monitoring and irrigation capabilities to improvevineyard quality and yield requirements

Organisation       Saber Astronautics

Geography         Australia

Challenge            Develop an innovative approach to partially automate theidentification, characterisation, and monitoring of spacecraftfor intelligent in-orbit operations/exploration

Organisation       Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust(WWT)

Geography          UK

Challenge           Unlock new wetland monitoring techniques using remotesensing, increasing information available on the state of, andpressures on, wetlands at large-scale

Organisation      Experian

Geography         UK

Challenge           Obtaining better crop data and models to unlock access toagrifinancing in Brazil

Organisation     Deloitte Canada

Geography         Canada

Challenge           Help predict economic activity and behaviour by detecting andquantifying the number of cars in a parking lot

GRAVITY Challenge is supported and sponsored by:

• The South Australian Government (SASIC)
• Investment NSW
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Australian Space Agency
• Agrifutures
• Geoscience Australia
• Stone & Chalk
• Airbus
• Spire
• Saber Astronautics
• Satellite Applications Catapault
• Southern Launch
• SmartsatCRC