Over the Horizon Video Link to Connect Schools in a Large District

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目调查农村学校和学区低成本视频连接的可行性，方法是将以前的军事技术对流层散射无线电转换(由于最近的技术进步而现在是可以想象的)，用于在互动课堂教学中远距离传输数字视频。这种超出视线距离的通信方法将在未来几年与双向电缆系统和高速电话竞争，拟议的研究将评估其相对于大型行业正在探索的解决方案的价值。该提案解决了美国教育的一个重要问题：未来农村教育的质量取决于高质量、低成本的通信。此外，它还代表了为军队开发的先进技术衍生产品在和平时期的教育应用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project investigates the feasibility of low-cost video linking of rural schools and school districts by means of conversion (now imaginable because of recent advances in technology) of the former military technology of troposcatter radio for digital video transmission over long distances in interactive classroom instruction. This approach to communications beyond line-of- sight distances will compete with two-way cable systems and high- speed telephone in the coming years, and the proposed research will assess its value relative to solutions being explored by larger industries. The proposal addresses an important problem of US education: The future quality of rural education depends on high quality, low cost communications. Moreover, it represents a peacetime application for education of a derivative of advanced technology developed for the military.