This project involves the design and development of a low-cost, remote surveillance and satellite communications (SATCOM) terminal to support International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) implementation of safeguards under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the IAEA safeguards system as defined in INFCIRC/66. This system will enable remote monitoring of containment and surveillance measures that are part of safeguards measures at nuclear fuel cycle facilities. A satellite communications link will allow collected data to be passed frequently to IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria and improve detection timeliness. Modular design will result in a terminal that is inexpensive to procure and operate. It will effectively reduce the number of required routine inspections and thereby free up expensive IAEA inspection resources to address more critical special inspections. Phase I will focus on identifying and evaluating implementation alternatives for the remote SATCOM terminal, and a demonstration of the feasibility of the concept.Anticipated Results /Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee:This effort will result in a low-cost, modular, remote data acquisition and control SATCOM terminal that can be configured to support a range of data collection and control applications. Low unit cost will make multiterminal access from different sites feasible. Its remote access feature will enable real-time control, monitoring, and reconfiguration of processes. Additional applications include mobile computer networks, military telecommunications networks, wildlife and resource monitoring, and managing widely dispersed systems such as pipeline networks.
