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Anomalies in Outer Space

Our Mission: The goal of this project was to develop an AI module capable of performing anomaly detection from telemetry data from space missions using state-of-the-art deep learning techniques.

Meet the Team

Team Photo

Thilo Schild, Heyun Yang, Long Phil Chau, Niklas Mohler, Nizar Bikti

Affiliations

Telespazio is an aerospace leader in consulting, technology and engineering services.


Beyond the Horizon

Spacecrafts, the marvels of human ingenuity, are not just intricate machines but lifelines in the boundless expanse of space. With thousands of telemetry channels meticulously recording data - from thermal conditions to computational dynamics - the essence of their operations is complexity personified. In the realm of the cosmos, where the cost of failure is astronomical, the vigilance over these channels becomes the linchpin of mission success.

Enter our alliance with Telespazio Germany, a synergy of vision and expertise aimed at the heart of this challenge. Our endeavor is not merely technical; it's a pledge to the safety and longevity of space exploration. By harnessing cutting-edge anomaly detection technologies, we're setting our sights on preempting the unforeseen - the glitches and the quirks that could jeopardize these celestial odysseys.

Our solution is designed to be the sentinel of space missions, a guardian that never sleeps. By analyzing the myriad data streams, it will discern the regular pulse of normal operations from the faint whispers of anomalies. This is more than just fault detection; it's about creating a smart, responsive system that can alert human overseers at the slightest hint of deviation, ensuring that corrective measures are not just timely but predictive.

This initiative is a testament to our commitment to the safety and success of space missions. It's not just about avoiding loss; it's about ensuring that every spacecraft entrusted to the void is watched over, protected, and understood. With Telespazio Germany by our side, we're not just looking towards the stars; we're ensuring that our journey among them is as secure as it is boundless.

Stellar Insights


Resource Planning and Computational Requirements

In our project, we encountered significant computational demands due to the extensive data processing required for training AI models. Initially, our existing computational resources were insufficient for some of the more demanding models, necessitating requests for additional resources. This process was time-con ing and highlighted the importance of incorporating resource availability into the project's planning phase. Future projects should conduct a thorough assessment of computational requirements and align them with available resources from the outset to minimize delays.

API Integration and Customization

Our approach initially involved leveraging an existing API, which proved effective in the early stages. However, as the project evolved, we identified gaps in the API's functionality that were critical to our objectives. This realization led to the development of a custom API, a process that required additional time and resources. For future initiatives, a detailed analysis of preexisting APIs' capabilities relative to project requirements is advisable. Should gaps be identified, consider the feasibility of custom API development early in the project timeline.

Tool Access and Administrative Coordination

The project's execution involved using specific tools and accessing particular datasets, which necessitated administrative setup and permissions. The setup process was more time-consuming than anticipated, primarily due to delays in administrative responses. To mitigate such issues in future projects, it is recommended to engage in proactive communication with all stakeholders to clearly identify necessary tools, datasets, and permissions at the project's inception. Early engagement and clear communication with the administrative teams can streamline the setup process and reduce project delays.

Tech Constellations

Our project was a convergence of diverse technologies, each playing a crucial role in the realization of our objectives. From development tools to data science frameworks, our tech constellations were the guiding stars of our journey. Here's a glimpse of the technologies that illuminated our path:


Development Tools

In our project, GitLab served as the central repository and version control system, enabling our team to collaborate efficiently on code changes, merge requests, and issue tracking. Jira was indispensable for project management; it helped us organize tasks, sprints, and track progress, ensuring that our development milestones were met on time. Lastly, PyCharm was the preferred Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for our Python developers, offering powerful coding assistance, debugging, and testing features that significantly enhanced our productivity and code quality.

Data Science

MLflow was crucial for tracking experiments, managing the model lifecycle, and facilitating the reproducibility of our models. NumPy provided the foundational array and numerical operations that allowed for efficient data manipulation and transformation, which was essential for preprocessing our datasets. Pandas was used extensively for data analysis and manipulation, making it easier to handle and explore large datasets, and prepare them for training. PyTorch offered a dynamic and intuitive framework for building and training our autoencoder, thanks to its flexible architecture and robust GPU support, which accelerated the model's learning process. Finally, SHAP was instrumental in explaining the predictions of our models, providing valuable insights into the features driving the anomaly detection process.

Web & Containers

In the web and containers aspect of our project, we utilized Angular to create a high-fidelity mockup of our front-end application. Although it wasn't developed into a full-fledged application, Angular's framework provided the necessary tools to design a responsive and interactive user interface that demonstrated the potential integration of our backend services. Docker played a pivotal role in containerizing our application components, ensuring consistent environments across development, testing, and production, and simplifying deployment and scaling processes. For the backend, FastAPI was chosen for its performance and ease of use in building APIs; it enabled us to quickly develop and deploy a high-performance API that interfaced with our anomaly detection service, providing a seamless connection between our data processing backend and the front-end mockup.