SBIR-STTR Award

Data Link System for In-Situ Ocean Observing Platforms
Award last edited on: 4/14/2003

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
DOD : Navy
Total Award Amount
$1,139,302
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
N01-036
Principal Investigator
Ngoc T Hoang

Company Information

NAL Research Corporation

9385 Discovery Boulevard Suite 300
Manassas, VA 20109
   (703) 392-1136
   contact@nalresearch.com
   www.nalresearch.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 01
County: Prince Willim

Phase I

Contract Number: N00014-01-M-0153
Start Date: 4/4/2001    Completed: 10/4/2001
Phase I year
2001
Phase I Amount
$99,706
According to a report by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), knowledge of the ocean is demanded by many constituencies including climatologists, fishermen and fisheries managers, harbor pilots, coastal zone managers, Navy and Coast Guard commanders, Public Health Service officers, environmental protection professionals, commercial and recreational boat and ship operators, weather forecasters, and the offshore mining and oil industry. Many of these needs are being met by in-situ ocean observing platforms such as drifting surface buoys, moored buoys, floats, remotely operated vehicles and ships, just to name a few. For these platforms, the NOPP has placed a high priority on the development of technologies that disseminate data in a timely manner. A variety of commercially available low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems produced by the private sectors are now in, or will soon achieve, operational status. They have the potential to meet NOPP's requirements including two-way communications, real-time data transmission, global coverage, high data rate and reduced costs. As a result, NAL Research proposes to design and build a data link system utilizing LEO satellites to collect environmental parameters from ocean observing platforms and to deliver them to users worldwide in real-time.

Benefits:
Satellite data link system can be extremely useful in many applications. Ships, airplanes and trucks have relied on geostationary satellites to provide mobile satellite services for years. Now, LEO satellite data link system will soon make mobile satellite services available for individuals. Any type of transmission, internet connection, voice, fax, data or paging, will soon be able to reach its destination anywhere on the planet. The system will simplify communications for business professionals such as salespeople, field producers and reporters for television networks, construction engineers sending plan revisions, oil-company geologists uploading test results, just to name a few. People who live in thinly populated areas that will never be covered by regular cellular phone service, travelers, private pilots, yachtsmen and disaster relief teams will benefit from the LEO satellite-based data link system as well.

Keywords:
Satellite modem, Satellite transceiver, Ocean data link system, Low-Earth orbit satellites

Phase II

Contract Number: N00014-02-C-0260
Start Date: 5/13/2002    Completed: 5/12/2003
Phase II year
2002
Phase II Amount
$1,039,596
According to a report by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), knowledge of the ocean is demanded by many constituencies including climatologists, fishermen and fisheries managers, harbor pilots, coastal zone managers, Navy and Coast Guard commanders, Public Health Service officers, environmental protection professionals, commercial and recreational boat and ship operators, weather forecasters, and the offshore mining and oil industry. Many of these needs are being partially met by in-situ ocean observing platforms such as drifting surface buoys, moored buoys, floats, remotely operated vehicles and ships, just to name a few. For these platforms, the NOPP has placed a high priority on the development of technologies that disseminate data in a timely manner. As a result, NAL Research will design and manufacture the next generation satellite modems based on the Iridium 9505 board to collect environmental parameters from ocean observing platforms and to deliver them to users worldwide in real-time. Furthermore, a technique called soft-SIM will also be developed to replace both SIM card and SIM card reader and to eliminate or at least greatly minimize the risk of having SIM cards falling into the hands of unauthorized users