SBIR Phase I: Cognitive Communications Payload Module for CubeSat Applications

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是推进小型卫星或立方体卫星的通信和机载处理能力，这对于日益增长的民用和商业卫星通信服务需求至关重要。提出的有效载荷模块提供了许多认知通信功能，重点是立方体卫星平台和群的智能网络能力。这些功能通过允许客户立方体卫星在群内和与其他网络进行有效和自主的通信，实现强大、可靠的全球连接，用于包括地球观测、传感、态势感知、新空间和通信在内的应用。该小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发并演示一种灵活、全面的认知通信有效载荷模块，以增强立方体卫星平台和蜂群的网络通信功能。该项目将论证拟议创新的技术可行性，应用先进和新兴的机载处理和通信技术，并开发和集成硬件和软件，以开发用于立方体卫星应用的原型有效载荷模块。原型机将执行几种认知功能，允许CubeSat平台和群的智能网络：智能路由、网络自修复、与其他可用网络的自组织网络，以及稀疏网络和网络构建阶段的数据存储和转发能力。自主运行将为商业、政府和学术CubeSat运营商改善数据传输、数据封装和路由、延迟缓解以及用户发起的服务。这项工作将集中在三个关键领域：1)开发认知引擎架构和软件，2)获取和集成软件定义无线电和单板计算机，3)开发适当的API。该项目的目标是建立认知通信有效载荷模块的原型，为测试、演示、飞行鉴定和商业化做准备。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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 advance communications and on-board processing capabilities for small satellites or CubeSats, which is important with growing civil and commercial demand for satellite communications services. The proposed payload module provides a number of cognitive communications functions focused on intelligent networking capabilities for CubeSat platforms and swarms. These functions enable robust, reliable global connectivity by allowing for customer CubeSats to efficiently and autonomously communicate within swarms and with other networks for applications including Earth observation, sensing, situational awareness, new space, and communications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and demonstrate a flexible, comprehensive cognitive communications payload module to enhance communications functions in networking for CubeSat platforms and swarms. This project will demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed innovation, apply advanced and emerging on-board processing and communications technologies, and develop and integrate hardware and software to develop a prototype payload module for CubeSat applications. The prototype will perform several cognitive functions allowing for intelligent networking for CubeSat platforms and swarms: intelligent routing, network self-healing, ad-hoc networking with other available networks, and data store and forward capabilities for sparse networks and network build-up phase. Autonomous operation will improve data transmission, data packaging and routing, latency mitigation, and user-initiated services for commercial, government, and academic CubeSat operators. This effort will focus on three key areas: 1) developing the cognitive engine architecture and software, 2) acquiring and integrating a software-defined radio and single-board computer, and 3) developing an appropriate API. The objective of this project is to prototype the cognitive communications payload module in preparation for testing, demonstration, flight qualification, and commercialization.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.