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Shallow Water Communications for Mine Warfare
Navy SBIR 2016.1 - Topic N161-027 NAVSEA - Mr. Dean Putnam - [email protected] Opens: January 11, 2016 - Closes: February 17, 2016 N161-027 TITLE: Shallow Water Communications for Mine Warfare TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, Sensors ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMS495, Mine Warfare Program Office – Mine Improvements Program. The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE: Develop an innovative secure communication capability for Navy mine warfare systems to enable two-way remote command and control of a minefield deployed across the hostile littoral environments. DESCRIPTION: Underwater communication technologies for mine warfare applications need improved performance in order to be operationally useful for commanding and controlling a minefield; in particular, reduced power consumption, increased range, and more reliable data reception and transmission in a littoral environment. Reduction of power consumption of at least 15% and/or increased range of at least 25%, when compared to existing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) acoustic modems is desirable. Effective command and control of mine warfare systems requires two-way communication with reliable data transmission and reception over a range of 1000+ meters. Data is expected to consist of simple commands and confirmation signals, using Low Probability of Detection (LPD) and Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) techniques with standard encryption protocols to prevent interception or spoofing. The objective of this topic is to develop an innovative, secure wireless communications technology for use on mine warfare systems to enable command and control in the hostile littoral environments. This technology will enable warfighters too remotely "turn on," "turn off," and/or reprogram the targeting logic of the minefield to respond to mission needs. Additionally, this could be used to remotely terminate a minefield after hostilities have ceased, saving significant cost and labor typically required to clear minefields. The desired solution is a receiver/transmitter, including any required signal processing, that is able to receive a signal from a remotely located, underwater command source and transmit a confirmation signal and system status back to the original source. Lifecycle costs will be reduced up to $100k per mine deployed by allowing remote termination of a minefield, which is typically very expensive and time consuming to clear and is required by international law after hostilities have ended. A variety of underwater communications technologies exist for a variety of applications, including cabled networks and wireless communications. For the intended application, only wireless communication is operationally useful. Potential modes of communication include acoustic, optical, seismic, electromagnetic, or a combination of modes. Acoustic communication is one of the most common underwater communication technologies. However, in a littoral environment acoustic communication is far more difficult due to unfavorable signal to noise ratio (Ref. 1). Additionally, waves, bubbles, and wind noise increase ambient noise and affect sound propagation and attenuation that adversely affect acoustic communication (Ref. 2). A proposed solution to this problem is to increase the signal amplitude; however, this requires increased power. Magnetic inductive communication has been demonstrated in a relevant environment; however, the signal is exponentially reduced as range increases making two-way transmission over the desired distances difficult (Ref. 3). The system should include involved innovative signal processing and multi-modal transmission and reception methods, including both hardware and software, in order to achieve the desired performance. PHASE I: During Phase I the company shall complete a preliminary design for the proposed communication system which optimizes range between nodes while minimizing power consumption . The design should include details and tradeoffs on network topology, spacing between nodes, system hardware, data rates, power requirements, and software architecture. Key components and expected performance shall be specified. A systems analysis shall provide convincing evidence of the feasibility of the design. The Phase I Option, if awarded, should include the initial layout and capabilities description to build the prototype in Phase II. PHASE II: Based on the results of Phase I and the Phase II Statement of Work (SOW), the company will develop and fabricate a fully capable prototype communications system that meets the Navy’s requirements as discussed in the Description. The company will demonstrate in a laboratory setting that performance metrics can be achieved and test and verify the prototype under a representative littoral environment. A cost benefit analysis and a Phase III transition plan will be developed. Evaluation results will be used to refine the prototype into an initial design that will be delivered and meets Navy requirements per SOW. The company will prepare a Phase III development plan to transition the technology to Navy use. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The company will be expected to support the Navy in transitioning the technology to the Mine Improvements Weapons (MIW) program. Based on successful completion of Phase II, this product will be integrated into a remote command and control capability for naval mines. The company will support integration and validation efforts through in-water testing on inert mines which will be functionally representative, as well as supporting qualification through the Fuze and Initiator System Technical Review Panel (FISTRP), Software System Safety Technical Review Panel (SSSTRP), and Weapon System and Explosives Safety Review Board (WSESRB). The deliverables for Phase III include engineering design models to support in-water testing and design documentation in a technical data package (TDP) which will be a component of a larger production effort for the entire MIW system. This technology is directly applicable to the geophysical exploration of the ocean for oil, methane hydrates, gas, and other natural resources and the undersea pipelines and cable laying industry. REFERENCES: 1. Al-Kurd, Azmi and Jeffrey Schindall. "Coherent Acoustic Communications During the Littoral Warfare Advanced Development 99-1 Experiment," Naval Research Laboratory, 22 May 2000; http://www.researchgate.net/publication/235080029_Coherent_Acoustic_Comm 2. Deane, Grant B. "Waves, Bubbles, Noise and Underwater Communications," Scripps Institution of Oceanography UCSD, CA, 2009; http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Science-Technology/Departments/Code-32/All-Programs/Atmosphere-Research-322/Ocean-Acoustics/~/media/2029C829FD3D4BB1AF34FBC042AB4E12.ashx 3. Sojdehei, J.J. "Magneto-Inductive Communication Demonstration Report," CSS/RD-00/13, July 2000. KEYWORDS: Signal processing; littoral environment; mine warfare; underwater communication; low power data transmission; improved signal to noise ratio. TPOC-1: John Sojdehei Phone: 850-234-4576 Email: [email protected] TPOC-2: Thomas Frederick Phone: 850-234-4130 Email: [email protected] Questions may also be submitted through DoD SBIR/STTR SITIS website.
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