Aerospace and quantum-computing fields are considered to be representative future industries. It's also of high importance because it can affect a wide variety of fields. However, it is difficult for an ordinary company to start easily because it requires high technology and know-how.
The '2023 Startup Tech blaze', held by the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation in the second half of this year, is a program designed to find competent startups in the aerospace and quantum-computing fields and seek mutual growth in cooperation with leading industry companies. In fact, leading companies in aerospace and quantum-computing fields, including Hyundai Rotem, KAI(Korea Aerospace Industries), KANC(Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center), participated in this program.
On December 8, an award ceremony was held for six companies that were recognized for their excellence in business items among startups that participated in the 2023 Startup Tech Blaze. These companies will receive various support such as preferential treatment for moving into startup villages, linkage of investment attraction by Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, mentoring through Hyundai Rotem, KAI, and KANC.
In an interview with Lee Seung-chul, CEO of Stellarvision, who won the excellence award, we looked at the various sides of satellite big data-based business intelligence services they introduced and their challenging the aerospace field.
Lee Seung-chul, CEO of Stellarvision
- There are very large-scale projects in the aerospace field. The fact that a startup has entered this field means that it has that much determination and confidence, how did you start a Stellarvision?I was very interested in space. I graduated from Department of Earth Systems Science in Yonsei University and obtained a master's degree from Seoul National University through satellite-related research. Since then, I've been a researcher at Seoul National University, participating in the software development of the Korean satellite, 'Nuri'. More than 200 satellites will be launched in the future, and the related software industry is also expected to develop significantly, so it founded Stellarvision in July 2021.
- What is the solution of 'satellite big data-based business intelligence service' presented by Stellarvision? We wonder what kind of innovation we can expect by applying this. It is a service that has the meaning of the company's name 'Stellar (star)' + 'Vision (see)'. Although we can get news from all over the world through general media, the news that has been published is long overdue. On the other hand, if we use a satellite, we can see various information on the earth in almost real time. It even includes information that is difficult to access directly, such as the current state of war, and information from countries with severe information restraint.
Our business model is simply 'global scale CCTV using satellites', and the service name is 'Stellar Space Hub'. It collects various satellite images and provides them as solutions to demand companies. Our targets are companies that do global business, as well as national and public institutions.
Flood damage map from satellites / Stellarvision
For example, in the case of petrochemical companies, if operations in certain sections are suspended due to cold weather, they will suffer huge losses. The same goes for construction companies. However, if we can check these changes in the field in real time, we will be able to minimize the damage by responding quickly.
You can deploy surveillance personnel on the site, or you can use equipment such as cameras and drones. But it's so expensive and less convenient to manage. And these cannot be applied to sites that are too wide or inaccessible. So, if you use images taken from satellites, you can overcome these limitations. In particular, domestic companies will be able to overcome the weakness of overseas information power.
- There have been similar satellite-based services before. What is the difference between Stellarvision's solution and the existing one?We use an orbital satellite that can identify the entire Earth, not a geostationary satellite. Above all, the filming way is completely different. Existing optical satellites use visible light bands to film images, which are useless if there are obstacles such as clouds. This means that about 70% of the Earth's surface can not be identified.
So we use the SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite. It emits electromagnetic waves and creates images through the returning signal. It can also pass through clouds and can be used even in the middle of the night. I specialized in SAR during my master's degree and acquired a lot of related know-how and analysis techniques, and I can develop software that applies them.
- Has the product's performance or effectiveness been proven in practice? Do you have application examples?Currently, Stellar Space Hub is conducting an POC (Proof of Concept) through an open innovation program conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Korea Water Resources Corporation. Specifically, it is a monitoring project on the water site, which allows us to quickly identify issues that affect water resources. For example, if there is a problem in the water and sewage system, it is necessary to check and respond quickly, which can be hampered by illegal buildings, farming, and car parking.
Previously, the government had deployed personnel on water sites to monitor these issues, which cost 50 billion Won(USD 37 million dollars) a year to monitor 6,800 square kilometers of land with human resources. However, we are minimizing this problem by using our solution.
- How has the market responded? What's next?It is gradually getting recognition in the market by carrying out a number of demonstration projects. In particular, we're got a high attention in the defense industry, and in fact, we also carrying out accelerator programs with the Agency for Defense Development in Daejeon. Although it has not been commercialized yet, scales of 170 million Won to 80 million Won have been generated this year and investments worth 500 million Won have been attracted. In addition, we got a chance of the Deep Tech TIPS R & D program attracted a three-year 1.5 billion Won project. Through this two-track strategy, it is expected to be recognized not only domestically but also abroad.
- Stellarvision was selected as an excellent company in Startup Tech Blaze program of Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation. What effects do you expect from it?
We've been a member of the Startup Village of the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and this program has also been supported through this connection. During the program, we were able to hear presentations from various companies, including ours, which helped us build a network for competition and cooperation. Above all, it is a great achievement to have a relationship with industry leaders such as Hyundai Rotem and KAI. We're also looking forward to the mentorship program that will be offered to the winning companies.
The aerospace field is becoming our reality, not a story of the distant future. I hope that various people interested in aerospace will join us.
BY Kim Yong-Woo (pengo@itdonga.com)