{
  "id": 1732895,
  "title": "Bengaluru space start-up unveils AI-powered optical sensor network for monitoring objects in Low Earth Orbit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/bengaluru-space-start-up-unveils-ai-powered-optical-sensor-network",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-18T14:58:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bengaluru-space-start-up-unveils-ai-powered-optical-sensor-network-for-monitoring-objects-in-low-earth-orbit/article71360586.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bengaluru-based space intelligence firm Digantara has introduced MOSAIC, an AI-driven optical sensor network designed for continuous monitoring of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) objects. The real-time surveillance system aims to decrease India's dependency on foreign commercial providers for critical orbital tracking. The initial deployment consists of five interconnected nodes, each equipped with a self-contained electro-optical sensor system (Optical Head Unit) and an autonomous processing unit (Electronics Head Unit), powered by solar energy with backup batteries for extended operation.\n\nMOSAIC's hardware architecture achieves a balance between sensitivity and a broad field of view, enabling it to detect faint Resident Space Objects (RSOs) across vast sections of the sky. The system employs AI/ML-based techniques to differentiate celestial bodies and RSOs, including the faintest targets, followed by a Lost-in-Space attitude estimation approach that determines RSO positions without prior information or cues. This capability can also be applied to alternative navigation scenarios, such as celestial navigation in GPS-denied environments.\n\nDigantara highlighted the use of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) assets and commercial imagery from a U.S. company during Operation Sindoor, which involved targeted strikes on terror camps. The integration of domestic and commercial data played a crucial role in post-strike damage assessment and overall target validation. The company emphasized that MOSAIC represents a domestically built platform that reduces India's reliance on foreign players in national security operations.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Press Journal",
        "title": "After Operation Sindoor, Indian Startup Digantara Unveils AI-Powered MOSAIC Space Surveillance Network | VIDEO",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/after-operation-sindoor-indian-startup-digantara-unveils-ai-powered",
        "published": "2026-08-18T12:13:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}