SBIR Phase I: An Economic Optical Fiber Solution to the Last Mile Problem

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是使用表面安装光纤提供能力，使服务不足或未服务的美国人能够可靠地连接到高速互联网，无论他们居住在郊区还是偏远的农村地区。高速互联网接入的缺乏主要是由于无法经济地将宽带通信分配到企业、家庭、学校和医疗或政府实体的“最后一英里”。了解使用这种技术的光纤安装耐久性将迎来新的发展，部署全国范围内的表面安装光纤。更容易访问的高速互联网提供了更多的信息，机会和经济生产力，无论地点如何。美国城乡之间的数字鸿沟可以缩小或消除。更低成本的光纤部署将使部署5G天线和联网车辆等新技术变得更容易，并将降低成本，通过无处不在的传感器和摄像头使城市变得更智能。拟议的项目将证明，粘合在铺设表面的保护涂层下的光纤可以在受天气和交通影响的情况下提供可靠的高速通信。它将允许估计路面上的表面安装纤维的预测寿命。测试将把沥青样品放在环境测试室中，以评估竞争的光纤安装，并确定一系列后续现场和实验室测试的最佳表现。这将使今后能够将财政资源用于最有希望的材料和型材组合。测试样品将在受控条件下经历广泛的温度和湿度循环以及重复的轮胎冲击。该测试将在实际测试时间仅几个月后确定数年的统计寿命预测。预测寿命越长，客户群越大，潜在市场渗透率越高。了解光纤安装的预测寿命将为更多的早期采用者、更多的试点项目用户以及最终为光纤安装者和长期客户打开大门。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide the capability to affordably and reliably connect underserved or unserved Americans to high speed internet using surface-mounted optical fiber, whether they live in a suburban neighborhood or in a remote rural area. The lack of high speed internet access is largely due to an inability to economically distribute broadband communications over the 'last mile' to businesses, homes, schools, and medical or government entities. An understanding of the installed durability of fiber using this technique will usher in new developments to deploy surface-mounted fiber nationwide. More accessible high-speed internet provides more information, opportunity, and economic productivity regardless of the locale. The digital divide between urban and rural Americans could be reduced or eliminated. Lower cost fiber deployments will make it easier to deploy new technologies, like 5G antennas and connected vehicles, and will shrink the cost to make cities smarter with ubiquitous sensors and cameras.The proposed project will demonstrate that optical fibers under protective coatings bonded to paved surfaces can provide reliable high speed communications while subjected to weather and traffic. It will allow estimation of the predicted life time of surface mounted fiber on pavement. The testing will place asphalt samples in an environmental test chamber to evaluate competing fiberoptic installations and to identify the best performers for a series of follow-on field and lab tests. This will allow the future targeting of financial resources on the most promising material and profile combinations. Test samples will undergo wide ranging temperature and humidity cycles and repetitive tire impacts under controlled conditions. This testing will identify statistical life predictions in years after only a few months of actual test time. The longer the predicted life, the larger the customer pool, and the wider the potential market penetration. Understanding the predicted lifetime of a fiber installation will open the door to more early adopters, to more pilot program users, and eventually to fiberoptic installers and long term customers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.