Research Summaries

Back MIMO Transmission Capabilities to Increase Data Transmission Rates Between Disconnected Tactical Entities

Fiscal Year 2019
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department NPS Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Prince, Charles D.
Singh, Gurminder
Sponsor NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary Free-space optical (FSO) communications support low probability of detection (LPD) and low probability of interception (LPI) communications at high bandwidth and increased security. However, current FSO systems are limited in range due to line-of-sight requirements and suffer loss from atmospheric attenuation. In our recent work, we have used arrayed optical emitters for FSO communication by developing a link-layer protocol that leverages the inherent error correction of Quick Response (QR) encoding to increase bandwidth and overcome atmospheric loss. Through the testing of a system built with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment,this link-layer protocol was validated and estimated to provide similar data rates to current single emitter FSO systems.

We propose to extend our study to explore the use of MIMO optical methods to rapidly stream encoded data, i.e., rapidly "paint" images, on surfaces of opportunity, such as buildings, flat rock outcroppings, or lighter-than-air vehicle surfaces. We would also explore non-LOS methodology to extend optical communications between vessels at sea or between surface vessels and aerial platforms where the use of traditional optical communications requires precise pointing between optical transmitters and receivers. We would address various limitations that we discovered in our previous work including correcting inefficiencies in the QR encoding format when applied to a transmission medium.

Our primary deliverables from this study will include a report that describes a system architecture to support the objectives and associated algorithms/heuristics.
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