Flavia Nardini says the future of data and connectivity is floating in space

Have you ever wondered how the Internet of Things (IoT) is supposed to work? Or how technology allows for mass-scale interconnection? One space technology entrepreneur says the future of connectivity is right above our heads. 

Presenting a keynote address at Ozwater’20 Online, Fleet Space Technologies CEO and co-founder Flavia Nardini has been working on making it faster and cheaper to connect the world utilising satellite devices in space. 

Based in Adelaide, Fleet Space Technologies is developing innovative technology to enable IoT and transform industries such as agriculture, logistics and mining with the help of a massive fleet of small, low cost satellites.

“I'm really inspired by big changes,” Nardini said.

“Nine billion people are going to join us in the coming years. This is an era of incredible consequences of climate change on earth. There is no way to hide from this. As a technology co-founder of a startup, these are the types of problems I wanted to solve.”

In terms of enabling IoT, Nardini said the future is already with us; it’s just a matter of time before the results of the current technological revolution become apparent. 

“There is a big revolution happening that is going to change the way we work and operate completely. While we have spent the past 20 years using computers to change the way industry works, something different is now happening,” she said.

“Digital fusion is the idea that sensors and the Internet of Things will actually rule our world.

“The Internet of Things is a global phenomenon. It's not really well understood, but some companies are really investing a lot of money to understand how it’s going to impact the way they operate.”

Nardini said industrial evolution always happens when technology booms, creating low-cost hardware and low-cost networks, but it’s also driven by connectivity. 

“Every big change in human history has been driven by connectivity. When you're able to connect and have access to information, then the change happens,” she said.

“You can have visibility, you can have massive efficiency gain. You can understand requirements you weren’t able to understand before or didn’t realise existed.”

And, according to Nardini, the technological boom the world is now experiencing is coupled perfectly with a connectivity disruption coming from space. 

“The disruption is happening from the top,” she said.  

“Satellites pass and gather data. It’s all happening right now. Amazon is deploying 10,000 of these units around the world because they know that most of the data stream and efficiency in industry comes from space. 

“Historically, the problem with utilising satellites has been the cost. But this is changing.”

Nardini said the future of IoT will see industry, including the likes of water sector infrastructure operations and monitoring, become automated. Using satellite-gathered data, and using satellites to strengthen connectivity, will see the industry transform.

“The Internet of Things now has the ability to completely change a company by automating everything,” she said. 

“Using satellite technologies, you can imagine networks on an incredibly big scale. You can have information on activities all over the world that are not yet monitored

“All of our clients and their worlds are changing because of these technologies.”

To learn more about Ozwater’20 Online and to register, click here.