SIGNAL Connections

Wireless Microwave Technology

Commercial and government wireless carriers require seamless connectivity between handheld devices and the fiber optic network. Developed for North American and Japanese service providers, the FlexiPacket Microwave capability combines Carrier Ethernet transport with microwave radio technology to replace existing proprietary mobile backhaul platforms. It uses standard gigabit Ethernet interfaces to connect directly with existing base stations and seamlessly provide a wireless extension of packet-based, optical-fiber networks. For more information, contact www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com.

This software application allows users to design their own shelter applications. Developed by shelter manufacturer DHS Technologies, the Virtual Tactical Application Program (VTAP 2.0) allows users to build two-dimensional and three-dimensional renderings of a Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter (DRASH) system complex as it would appear in the theater of operations. VTAP 2.0 features a menu that offers a variety of shelter and trailer formats that can be added to the virtual footprint. For more information, visit www.drash.com/vtap.

New products, March 2010, from SIGNAL Connections. Features: Acoustocam i600; Hughes 9350 BGAN mobile satellite terminal; LiFePO4 radio battery; One Vault Voice; PX3030 VPX-REDI single board computer; and the Dm-1320 video encoder.

Homefront Help, March 2010, featuring the National Military Family Association, the Veterans History Project, and a commemorative pen that benefits the Wounded Warrior Project.

The largest simultaneous high school cyberdefense competition ever held wrapped up late last month, crowning a champion and sending kids to college who otherwise would not have attended.

In an effort to help members of the military move from "boots to suits," a program will begin that helps warfighters turn in their weapons for a computer keyboard.

The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed a nationwide alert system that notifies its maritime partners as soon as an emergency arises. Unlike previous communications capabilities, this system not only ensures that the appropriate people are alerted but also acts as a status system so during a disaster the Coast Guard can account for all personnel. This single commercial system both delivers the messages and confirms that they have been received—it is a two-way street of information about ground truth.

In the past, the Coast Guard relied on the Marine Safety Information Broadcast system to notify its stakeholders—including port authorities and maritime facility owners—when emergencies occurred. Because the broadcast system is radio based, unless a maritime partner is tuned in to the appropriate station, the manager would not be aware of the crisis.

IWSAlerts, developed by AtHoc Incorporated, enables the Coast Guard to send out information, keep track of when it was sent and determine if it was received. The alerts are sent simultaneously to the cell phones, landline phones, e-mail addresses and fax numbers of approximately 26,000 non-Coast Guard registered users, including facility owners, local maritime officers and local ports of authority. In addition to this audience, more than 50,000 Coast Guard personnel are IWSAlerts users.

For example, if a particular emergency affects 1,000 of its partners, the alert will be sent to those specific partners, who then can notify the Coast Guard if they will respond to the incident or if they cannot respond. As a result, the Coast Guard's leadership has immediate feedback it can use to plan the response.

With encouragement from the front lines, Capt. Josh Dixon, USMC, graduate student, Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), is exploring another way to bring the benefits of cell phone technology to warfighters. Although this type of work is going on within other military organizations, Capt. Dixon's study focuses on integrating cell technology by adapting the software-defined radios to host cell networks. With his colleagues, the captain aims at bringing secure cell phone technology to the field at an affordable price.

Capt. Dixon and his five colleagues began their work by examining current cell technology and devices. Although cell phone services have grown by leaps and bounds, the security problem they pose prevents commercial cell phones from being used in hostile environments. The captain points out that today's cell phones can be compromised in a multitude of ways, down to an adversary pirating an individual's cell phone account. So although these devices could be purchased for $200, their high vulnerability prevents them from being adapted to the military environment.

On the other hand, a highly secure cell phone would be priced in the thousands of dollars, making mass purchases fiscally unfeasible. This is the challenge that Capt. Dixon took on to determine, first, if the concept was feasible and second, if the military even wanted the capability.

Small Satellite Data Transceiver
Designed for embedded applications such as remote asset tracking, this small satellite data transceiver permits two-way communications to and from remote devices. The matchbox-sized Iridium 9602 transceiver can be remotely reprogrammed and adjusted to provide specific data updates. For more information, visit www.iridium.com.

All-Weather Enclosure and Backbone System
Communications and networking equipment in austere military and commercial facilities must be protected from the elements. The RuggedBackbone MX5000 is a military-standard hardened multiservice platform designed to operate across a wide temperature range and to support high-density routing and switching while being resistant to high levels of electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference. The MX500 can be housed in the RuggedEnclosure, a welded aluminum, hard-mount enclosure engineered to house networking and communications equipment and to enhance their resistance to shock, vibration, emissions, temperature and humidity. For more information, visit www.ruggedcom.com.

Homefront Help is SIGNAL Connections’ effort to support U.S. service members, veterans and their families. The column highlights programs that offer resources and assistance to the military community ranging from care packages to benefits and everything in between. In that same spirit, Homefront Help presents opportunities for readers to donate time, offer resources and send words of thanks to those who sacrifice for freedom. Programs that provide services are listed in red. Opportunities for the public to reach out to service members are listed in blue. Each program description includes a link to the organization's Web site, when available.

If U.S. Army scientists have their way, future antennas for vehicles and dismounted infantry will be smaller and more nondescript and will feature greatly increased reception. Research is focusing on lightweight conformal antennas that can be built into soldiers’ uniforms and equipment as well as vehicle structures.

One of the major thrusts of the Army’s work is making antennas less obvious, says Dr. Steven Weiss, team leader of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL’s) antenna team. He notes that Army researchers also are examining new technologies such as metamaterials—engineered substances that do not have properties found in nature. For example, mounting antennas to conform to the side or the inside of a vehicle can affect their performance, but antennas made of metamaterials may counteract some of these effects.

The Army is interested in developing conformal antennas for ground vehicles. These could be used for communications or jamming improvised explosive devices. Because they are part of the vehicle’s structure, they lower its overall visual profile, making it more survivable on the battlefield. Antennas could be inconspicuously mounted onto vehicles in a number of ways: flush against the vehicle’s skin, incorporated into part of its structure such as a bumper, or conformed to the contours of the vehicle’s shape.

But developing conformal antennas for ground vehicles presents a variety of challenges. These issues include ground effects, such as radio interference, and size and weight issues for vehicles equipped with the antennas.