Created in Rennes in 2015, the company Unseenlabs quickly attracted the attention of the Directorate General of Armaments [DGA] with its project to develop a maritime surveillance capacity based on radio frequency detection by satellite. Thanks in part to this support, it was able to obtain financing from Definvest, the fund managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, and raise 20 million euros from several investors.
From now on, Unseenlabs operates a constellation of 13 “nanosatellites” [d’une masse de 10 kg] in order to detect and locate any vessel with extreme precision thanks to its electromagnetic wave emissions. Which means that a civilian boat having turned off its automatic identification system [AIS – Automatic Identification System] because he engages in illegal activities [trafics, pêche non autorisée, espionnage, etc.] is likely to be spotted. This also applies to warships. [qui ne sont pas tenus d’utiliser l’AIS].
Unseenlabs technology has also been selected by the Defense Innovation Agency [AID] for the FLORE project [pour Flight Demonstration of RoEm], which should lead to a demonstrator of a radio spectrum observation service from space. The Breton company was thus tasked with developing a payload to be installed on board a mini-satellite supplied by U-Space.
But there is no question of stopping there. Building on the success of its constellation of nanosatellites dedicated to maritime surveillance, Unseenlabs intends, from 2026, to “expand its surveillance capabilities to the terrestrial and space domains” with a fleet of new generation 150 kg satellites.
“Unseenlabs’ unique RF single-satellite technology sets itself apart from competitive tri-satellite systems. Indeed, its innovative approach allows a single satellite to collect RF intelligence independently of the others. This technological advantage ensures constant global coverage and continuous operation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whatever the weather conditions,” explains the company, via a press release released on April 30.
When it comes to terrestrial surveillance, the new constellation “will track strategic RF emissions from devices such as satellite phones and jammers, while further enhancing existing maritime surveillance capacity,” it said. In the space domain, it will be supposed to avoid collisions and make it possible to assess “the health of space assets”.
The solution proposed by Unseenlabs will be “interoperable” with other earth observation systems while promising “sub-kilometer precision”.
“The launch of our next-generation satellite constellation represents a crucial step in our journey. This expansion into terrestrial and space surveillance illustrates our commitment to innovation in global surveillance solutions. We’re not just expanding our reach; we are redefining industry standards,” summarized Clément Cadic, CEO and co-founder of Unseenlabs.
