'Don't try this at home' (named after one of the AI ships from I.Banks Culture series) is a concept demonstrating the benefits of having a cognitive cloud computing infrastructure in space. Such an infrastructure will provide a comprehensive and scalable set of commercial services to EO sensors and space-based data providers. It enables several applications by efficiently collecting and fusing information on target objects from observations of different platforms at various wavelengths, resolutions, and times. As a result, it leads to timely, precise information. In addition, it optimises usage of EO data acquisition, storage, processing and downlink resources in space.

A pilot application was proposed to demonstrate the power of the concept. This pilot is based on the critical maritime domain need for EO data-derived information to detect and characterise artificial, natural, and anomalous floating objects and their behaviours. These results are achieved by fusing synthetic aperture radar data, with AIS and MSSI data and weather forecasts to provide near real-time reports/alerts for non-collaborative objects on their route to ships or anomalous behaviours to the appropriate local authorities. This application scenario aims to consolidate the design of the infrastructure that leverages the technologies required for edge computing, tip and cue and data fusion between different satellite systems. The final goal will be to optimise information gathered from various platforms, with different resolution sensors, and at different frequencies. The expected outcomes are a preliminary 3CS architecture, the identification of its technological nodes and the quantitative evaluation of the value it provides to users. As a final result, this activity will define the model for the commercial services 3CS would enable and the path of a possible technically and commercially viable implementation roadmap.