SBIR Phase I: Efficient Narrow-Band Communication via Geosynchronous Satellites

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是将双向移动卫星通信从利基服务(负担得起，世界上不到0.1% ？转变为可广泛进入大众市场的产品（成本远低于1美元/月）。通信设备（可能像汽车钥匙扣那么小）将与地球上几乎任何地方进行适度的数据通信。潜在应用的数量很大，以下是几个例子：每架商用飞机和游轮上的每件救生衣都可以传输其位置和状态（在发生事故时）；儿童和老人可以在全球范围内被追踪；司机无论到哪里都能得到帮助。次要影响将包括平均燃油效率的提高，例如，更多的车辆在没有备用轮胎的情况下出售（因为司机对可能被困的情况更放心）。美国将在提高安全性、节约资源、刺激卫星和相关产业以及增加出口收入方面受益。拟议的项目围绕着利用现有卫星固有（但以前未利用的）能力的创新组合。目前运行的移动卫星系统的通信架构不适合低成本传输少量数据。通过从一张白纸开始并重新考虑架构，成本可以降低几个数量级（对于通信设备和数据服务）。终端设备的成本降低主要是由于更低的数据速率（伴随着更低的功耗和尺寸）。虽然通信链路的大多数技术方面都随着数据速率的降低而得到改善，但有一个特征是数据速率可以降低到何种程度的限制。本研究的目的是研究这种被称为相位噪声的特性，以及它在使用真实卫星链路时对低数据速率下通信性能的影响。本研究的结果将是关于数据速率、降低通信元件中相位噪声的成本影响、传输性能和调制解调器架构选择之间的权衡的定量结论。本研究将在后续商业产品开发中对该贸易进行优化。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 will be to transform 2-way, mobile satellite communications from a niche service (affordable to less than 0.1% of the world?s people), to a broadly accessible mass market product (at costs well under $1/month). Communications devices (that could be as small as vehicle key fobs) will communicate modest volumes of data to and from virtually anywhere on Earth. The number of potential applications is large, with the following being a few examples: every lifejacket on every commercial aircraft and cruise ship could transmit its location and status (in the event of a mishap); children and the elderly could be tracked globally; and drivers could be assured of assistance wherever they travel. Secondary impacts would include an increase in average fuel efficiency when, for example, more vehicles are sold without spare tires (as drivers have more peace-of-mind regarding the possibility of being stranded). The United States will benefit in terms of improved safety, conserved resources, stimulus to the satellite and related industries, and increased export revenues.The proposed project centers around a combination of innovations that exploit inherent (but previously unutilized) capabilities of existing satellites. Currently operational Mobile Satellite Systems have communications architectures that do not lend themselves to low-cost transmission of small volumes of data. By starting with a blank sheet of paper and rethinking the architecture, costs can be reduced by orders of magnitude (for both the communications devices and the data service). The cost reduction of the terminal devices is primarily driven by lower data rates (with associated lower power and size). While most technical aspects of communications links improve with lower data rates, one characteristic emerges as a constraint on the extent to which data rate can be reduced. The purpose of this research is to study this characteristic, called phase noise, and its impact on the communications performance at low data rates when using real satellite links. The results of this research will be quantitative conclusions regarding the trades between data rates, the cost impact of lowering phase noise in the communication elements, transmission performance, and the modem architectural options. This study will enable optimization of this trade when developing the follow-on commercial products.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.