SBIR Phase I: Advanced Unified Oceanographic Data Logger

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将为商业上可行的通用数据记录系统的技术开发提供基础，用于超长时间、无人值守的海洋测量。该项目将为海洋数据记录器展示一种新的电子架构。这种先进的数据记录仪将统一高度分散的商业市场，为几乎所有的海洋学应用提供一流的性能。所提出的技术采用模块化方法，其中单个记录单元利用专门针对其功率性能进行优化的低压嵌入式数字处理器。在广泛的数据速率范围内，完整的记录系统承诺具有比现有系统低一个数量级的功耗。记录仪将提供大容量存储和非易失性实时时钟。该系统将实现先进的功率转换和高速通信接口，这将在未来的海底观测站中提供独立和有线应用的兼容性。在第一阶段的活动中，该项目将开发和演示整个系统中一个关键组件的设计，这是一个用于地震记录的24位超低功耗数字化仪。围绕该模块构建的完整数据记录器所需的通道小于5 mW。该记录仪的商业应用将是海洋研究和勘探。海洋学中的特有模型是为每个特定的应用程序定制现成的硬件。这是一个代价高昂的过程。许多类型的高度定制的系统都是以小批量、高成本开发和生产的。这种方法也给相关科学家带来了重大的进度风险。毫不奇怪，结果系统的操作性能不是最优的。通常，用于开发仪器的资源会影响实地研究的范围和质量。通过使用一个单一的、统一的系统来解决广泛的应用，产量将足够大，从而显著降低硬件成本。记录仪软件的基本改进将降低与每次实验的系统定制相关的操作成本。设备和操作成本的降低将为无人值守的海洋数据采集提供成本更低的解决方案。降低仪器的总成本是加强世界上许多海洋研究工作的关键一步。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will provide the foundation for the technical development of a commercially viable, universal, data logging system for ultra-long duration, unattended, oceanographic measurements. The project will demonstrate a new electronic architecture for oceanographic data loggers. This advanced data logger will unify a highly fragmented commercial marketplace by offering best-of-class performance in nearly all oceanographic applications. The proposed technology employs a modular approach in which individual recording units utilize low-voltage, embedded, digital processors which are optimized specifically for their power performance. The complete recording system promises to have a power consumption that is an order of magnitude lower than existing systems, over a wide range of data rates. The logger will provide large volume mass storage and a non-volatile real-time clock. The system will implement both advanced power conversion and a high-speed communications interface, which will provide compatibility with both stand-alone and cabled applications in future seafloor observatories. Among the activities in Phase I, the project will develop and demonstrate the design for a critical component in the overall system, a 24 bit, ultra-low-power digitizer for seismic recording. A complete data logger built around this module will require less than 5 mW/channel.The commercial application of this logger will be in oceanographic research and exploration. The endemic model in oceanography is to customize off-the-shelf hardware for each specific application. This is a costly process. Many types of highly custom systems are developed and produced in small numbers, at great cost. This approach also presents a major schedule risk for the scientists involved. Not surprisingly, the operational performance of the resulting systems is suboptimal. Often, the diversion of resources for the development of instrumentation affects the scope and quality of the field research. By addressing a wide range of applications using a single, unified system, production volumes would be made large enough to reduce hardware costs significantly. Fundamental improvements to the logger's software will reduce the operational costs typically associated with customization of the system for each experiment. Reduction of both the equipment and operating costs will provide lower cost solutions for unattended oceanographic data acquisition. Reduction of the total cost of instrumentation is a critical step toward enhancing research efforts in many of the world's oceans.