Aechelon Technology has unveiled Project Orbion, an ambitious initiative aimed at building a live, real-time Digital Twin of the entire Earth. The project brings together leading edge geospatial simulation, satellite imagery, radar intelligence, video photogrammetry and artificial intelligence, fusing these into what Aechelon calls a fully immersive Synthetic Reality (SR). Positioned as the next frontier in virtual and augmented reality, Synthetic Reality blends artificial intelligence and machine learning to craft adaptive, evolving worlds.
At its core, Project Orbion seeks to provide a dynamic 3D reconstruction of the planet that updates in real time. It is designed to support decision making in both civilian and defense contexts – from tracking wildfires and floods to monitoring troop movements, shipping routes and disaster zones. Unlike traditional simulation environments, Orbion’s data foundation draws on real world, ground truth conditions, giving both humans and AI systems the most accurate possible situational awareness.
Aechelon’s Synthetic Reality data is also intended to train advanced defense and corporate AI models. Because Orbion’s platform can penetrate darkness, clouds and smoke, it promises an unprecedented level of continuity in high risk environments. “This is the Earth’s true Digital Twin – perceived by AI and protected by human natural perception,” the company said.
One of the partnership’s goals is to integrate Niantic Spatial’s forthcoming Visual Positioning System (VPS) into Aechelon’s simulation systems. In GPS-denied environments, VPS could allow ground teams to achieve centimeter level localization and navigation – a critical capability for time sensitive search and rescue missions.
Nacho Sanz-Pastor, Aechelon’s co-founder and CTO, said the company has spent decades creating ultra realistic environments for mission critical defense training. He noted that Project Orbion aims to keep pace with the rapidly changing physical world while training both humans and autonomous systems on real time global information.
