Wireless Sensing for Survivable Machinery Control Navy STTR FY2005 Sol No.: Navy STTR FY2005 Topic No.: N05-T020 Topic Title: Wireless Sensing for Survivable Machinery Control Proposal No.: N054-020-0131 Firm: Fairmount Automation, Inc. 4621 West Chester Pike Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073 Contact: Moshe Kam Phone: (215) 895-6920 Web Site: www.FairmountAutomation.com Abstract: While reliability and security remain top concerns in the use of wireless networks in shipboard machinery spaces, the benefits are too alluring to ignore. Among them: reduced manning; wiring, installation, and maintenance cost savings; substantial weight and space savings thru the elimination of wiring; design and expansion flexibility; and the promise of improved survivability thru the use of ad-hoc mesh networks. Wireless communication within shipboard compartments has gathered considerable attention in recent years and substantial progress has been made to address thorny interference, signal shielding, multi-path fading, and dispersion problems. The typical approach involves a hybrid network with wireless access points linked to the ship's wired network backbone (e.g., FODMS on DDG-51 class). Little (if any) attention has been given to a ship-wide wireless-only network infrastructure that effectively eliminates bulkhead penetrations. This effort aims to assess the effectiveness of multiple communication modalities thru metal structures. A proof-of-concept prototype repeater will be developed to retransmit RF signals from one compartment to another. Benefits: A secure and reliable wireless communication infrastructure for application in shipboard machinery control provides many benefits. Among them: reduced manning; wiring, installation, and maintenance cost savings; substantial weight and space savings thru the elimination of wiring; design and expansion flexibility; and the promise of improved survivability thru the use of ad-hoc mesh networks. Thru the bulkhead wireless transmission provides alternate data paths that can serve as a backup channel for wired networks to enhance survivability. This technology would also be desirable in the context of Homeland Security. As a small example of broader opportunities, there are needs to place wireless devices inside metal containers to monitor biological factors and to ensure no tampering occurs while those containers move through the ports. Wireless sensing for machinery control, when adapted to the needs of containers and other port related machinery, would be a critical part of the infrastructure roadmap to be deployed in support of directed appropriations. Return