• Achieving High Resolution Measurements Within Limited Bandwidth Via Sensor Data Compression

      Don, Michael; Harkins, Tom; Aberdeen Proving Ground (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is developing an onboard instrument and telemetry system to obtain measurements of the 30mm MK310 projectile's in-flight dynamics. The small size, high launch acceleration, and extremely high rates of this projectile create many design challenges. Particularly challenging is the high spin rate which can reach 1400 Hz at launch. The bandwidth required to continuously transmit solar data using the current method for such a rate would leave no room for data from other sensors. To solve this problem, a data compression scheme is implemented that retains the resolution of the solar sensor data while providing room in the telemetry frame for other measurements.
    • Autonomous Terrain Mapping Using COTS Hardware

      Kosbar, Kurt; Anderson, James; Honse, Adam; Missouri University of Science and Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      The paper describes the development of a robotic platform which can autonomously map terrain using a COTS infrared imaging and ranging system. The robotic system is based on an omnidirectional platform, and can navigate typical commercial indoor environments. An on-board processor performs surface reconstruction, and condenses the point clouds generated by the ranging system to mesh models which can be more easily stored and transmitted. The processor then correlates new frames with the existing world model by using sensor odomerty. The robot will autonomously determine the best areas of the environment to map, and gather complete three dimensional color models of arbitrary environments.
    • An Autonomous Machine Learning Approach for Global Terrorist Recognition

      Hill, Jerry L.; Mora, Randall P.; Avum, Inc. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      A major intelligence challenge we face in today's national security environment is the threat of terrorist attack against our national assets, especially our citizens. This paper addresses global reconnaissance which incorporates an autonomous Intelligent Agent/Data Fusion solution for recognizing potential risk of terrorist attack through identifying and reporting imminent persona-oriented terrorist threats based on data reduction/compression of a large volume of low latency data possibly from hundreds, or even thousands of data points.
    • Crypto Key Management for a Network Telemetry System

      Hodack, David; Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      In today's global environment of increasing security threats, good practical key management is becoming increasingly important. This paper will discuss what is involved in key management and will explore key management options for a network based telemetry system. Specifically, the management of the keys used for the iNET radio will be addressed.
    • A Wireless Sensor Network Powered by Microwave Energy

      Adams, Emily; Albagshi, Ayman; Alnatar, Khaleel; Jacob, Gregory; Mogk, Nathan; Sparrold, Alexis; University of Arizona (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      Systems that monitor environments often rely on cumbersome wires to supply power to the sensing equipment or batteries that require monitoring and replacement. As technologies continue to advance, the use of self-sustaining, wireless powering becomes more essential to satisfy challenging requirements that necessitate continuous measurement and general functionality. This paper focuses on the creation of a wireless sensor network with emphasis on the implementation of wirelessly charged sensing nodes by utilizing microwaves. Three subsystems make up this "proof of concept" wireless sensor system: a power transmitting base station, three sensor nodes, and a communication base station. Interfacing and power regulation are of the utmost importance in order to ensure all of the subsystems are able to communicate with one another and power all necessary functions. The power transmitting base station transmits microwaves to the nodes. A rectenna on each node converts the transmitted microwaves into DC power. Each node contains sensors to monitor the temperature and light of the environment. For the communication aspect of the system, Zigbee protocol, which belongs to IEEE 802.15.4 protocol, is used fore wireless communication between the base station and the nodes. Through the combination of power regulation, microwave energy, and radio transmission, users are able to utilize this system to collect environmental sensor data wirelessly.
    • Spectrum Management Metrics Development

      Jones, Charles H.; Edwards Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      There is a lot of talk about there not being enough spectrum available for use by either government or industry. One would thus suppose that there are clear answers to the questions, "How much spectrum is being used?" and "How much spectrum would be used if it was available?" Unfortunately, clear answers do not exist. In fact, even if you collected data, analyzed it, and generated charts, there is likely to be (and, in fact, have been) long debates about the meaning of those charts. A fundamental problem is that there are no standard metrics for reporting spectrum usage. A well-defined and documented set of metrics would aid in any analysis and discussion of spectrum usage. The Range Commander's Council (RCC) Frequency Management Group (FMG) has initiated a formal Task, FM-37, to develop and standardize a set of spectrum management metrics. These metrics will go beyond simple usage and provide metrics for analysis of spectrum management in general, such as spectrum usage requirements, scheduling efficiencies, and prediction of impacts to spectrum availability. This paper overviews an initial draft of the document being developed under Task FM-37.
    • The Process of Implementing a RF Front-End Transceiver for NASA's Space Network

      Thompson, Willie L., II; Wilder, Ali; Pannu, Randeep; Haj-Omar, Amr; Morgan State University (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      Software defined radio (SDR) introduces endless possibilities for future communication technologies. Instead of being limited to a static segment of the radio spectrum, SDR allows RF front-ends to be more flexible by using digital signal processing (DSP) and cognitive techniques to integrate adaptive hardware with dynamic software. We present the design and implementation of an innovative RF front-end transceiver architecture for application into a SDR test-bed platform. System-level requirements were extracted from the Space Network User Guide (SNUG). Initial system characterization demonstrated image leakage due to poor filtering and mixer isolation issues. Hence, the RF front-end design was re-implemented using the Weaver architecture for improved image rejection performance.
    • Design of a Radio channel Simulator for Aeronautical Communications

      Montaquila, Roberto V.; Iudice, Ivan; Castrillo, Vittorio U.; C.I.R.A. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      The goal of this paper is to implement a model of multipath fading in a radio channel simulator for aeronautical applications. When developing a wireless communications system, it is useful to perform simulations of the radio context in which the system has to operate. A radio link is substantially composed by three parts: transmitting segment, transmission channel and receiving segment. We focus our attention on the radio channel propagation. We proposed two geometrical models of a territory corresponding to a determined flight area and, after importing the data needed to estimate our parameters, we compared our results with the channel soundings in literature, obtaining comparable values.
    • A Low Cost, High Density Reconfigurable Recording Subsystem

      Berchuk, Vitaliy; Grozalis, Ed; Yin, Jennifer; Dehmelt, Chris; L-3 Communications Telemetry East (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      Modern test programs require an increase in sensor and bus data while at the same time seeking a decrease in the size and price of data acquisition components. Data archiving, which has been traditionally supplied via dedicated standalone hardware, is not exempt to this demand, but in many ways has not kept up with other instrumentation components in terms of flexibility, size, density and price. The archiving capabilities of a data acquisition system must be able to meet the changing needs of the customer. This paper presents a Solid State Drive (SSD) based data recorder implementation that can be easily reconfigured to address the requirements of different applications, including traditional PCM based systems and contemporary network based systems. The paper identifies the requirements, design challenges, trade-offs and risks in creating a low-cost, flexible data archiving subsystem that can be used in a standalone configuration or be directly integrated with a host data acquisition system.
    • Telemetry, Aeronautical and Medical: New Frontiers in Spectrum Sharing

      Keane, William K.; Duane Morris LLP (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
    • Design of a Semi-Autonomous Quadrotor Aircraft

      Kosbar, Kurt; Hickle, Mark; Wilson, Alexander; Kientzy, Joshua; Myers, Matthew; Missouri University of Science and Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      This paper describes the design and construction of a semi-autonomous quadrotor aircraft approximately 1 meter in diameter. Because of the mechanical simplicity of the aircraft, the design challenges primarily centered on the electrical and computer engineering (ECE) tasks, and was used as a capstone design experience in an undergraduate ECE program. An onboard microcontroller based system uses a network of digital sensors and differential thrust for autonomous attitude control. A wireless telemetry and command link allows a user to monitor the vehicle, control its direction of flight, and for flight safety control.
    • Overview of the Telemetry Network System (TMNS) RF Data Link Layer

      Kaba, James; Connolly, Barbara; SRI International (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      As the integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry (iNET) program prepares for developmental flights tests, refinements are being made to the Radio Access Network Standard that ensures interoperability of networked radio components. One key aspect of this interoperability is the definition of Telemetry Network System (TmNS) RF Data Link Layer functionality for conducting efficient communications between radios in a TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) channel sharing scheme. This paper examines the overall structure of the TmNS RF Data Link Layer and provides an overview of its operation. Specific topics include Medium Access Control (MAC) scheduling and framing in the context of a burst-oriented TDMA structure, link layer encryption, the priority-enabled Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) protocol, high-level network packet and link control message encapsulation, payload segmentation and reassembly, and radio Link Layer Control Messaging.
    • TENA Software Decommutation System

      Wigent, Mark A.; Mazzario, Andrea M.; SAIC; Kauai Software Solutions (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      The Test and Training Enabling Architecture (TENA) is implemented within the TENA Software Decommutation System (TSDS) in order to bring TENA as close as possible to the sensor interface. Key attributes of TSDS include: • TSDS is a software-based approach to telemetry stream decommutation implemented within Java. This offers technical advantages such as platform independence and portability. • TSDS uses auto code generation technologies to further reduce the effort associated with updating decommutation systems to support new telemetry stream definitions. Users of TSDS within the range are not required to have detailed knowledge of proprietary protocols, nor are they required to have an understanding of how to implement decommutation within software. The use of code generation in software decommutation offers potential cost savings throughout the entire T&E community. • TSDA offers a native TENA interface so that telemetry data can be published directly into TENA object models.
    • Minimizing Interference in Simultaneous Operations between GPS and Other Instrumentation Systems

      Kujiraoka, Scott; Troublefield, Robert; Fielder, Russell; NAVAIR (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      Currently many airborne platforms (missiles, targets, and projectiles) contain multiple instrumentation systems to cover the functions of GPS and either telemetry, beacon tracking and/or flight termination. Most of these platforms are not very large, so mounting of various antennas to support these functions are physically close to each other. As a result, unwanted interference (in the form of RF coupling between them) is unavoidable. This paper will discuss the design considerations involved to minimize this interference as well as some lessons learned with its implementation.
    • A Runlength Coded LDPC Scheme for Insertion/Deletion Correction in Multimedia Watermarking

      Vasic, Bata; Vasic, Bane; University of Nis; University of Arizona (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      We describe a simple and effective coding scheme for insertion/deletion channels. It is based on runlength coding which converts a class of insertion/deletion channels that have infinite memory into memoryless channels, which are much easier to handle. Runlength coding is then combined with powerful error correction low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes designed for memoryless channels. We consider a novel applications of this technique in multimedia watermarking using quantization index modulation operating on the three dimensional mesh vertices. The runlength LDPC coding recovers the data hidden in the vertices removed by the process of mesh simplification.
    • Design of Basic Receiving Functions for an SDR Based Communication System

      Manco, Angelo; Castrillo, Vittorio U.; C.I.R.A. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      The paper focuses on the design and implementation of the base-band basic receiving functions, for a binary CP-FSK demodulator pilot study, as independent modules of a complete Reconfigurable Data-Link (RDL). A model-based approach and Software Defined Radio (SDR) paradigm are used for the design. The implementation will be executed on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based hardware.
    • Measurement of Visibility Thresholds for Compression of Stereo Images

      Marcellin, Michael W.; Bilgin, Ali; Feng, Hsin-Chang; University of Arizona (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      This paper proposes a method of measuring visibility thresholds for quantization distortion in JPEG2000 for compression of stereoscopic 3D images. The crosstalk effect is carefully considered to ensure that quantization errors in each channel of stereoscopic images are imperceptible to both eyes. A model for visibility thresholds is developed to reduce the daunting number of measurements required for subjective experiments.
    • IRIG 106 Chapter 10 vs. iNET Packetization: Data Storage and Retrieval

      Jones, Charles H.; Edwards Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      The approach to recording data during Test & Evaluation has evolved dramatically over the decades. A simple, traditional approach is to pull all data into a PCM format and record that. A common current approach is to record data in an IRIG 106 Chapter 10 compliant format that records different forms of data (bus, discrete, video, etc.) in different channels of the recorder or exported data file. With network telemetry on the horizon, in the form of the integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry (iNET) standards, much of the data will be transported in iNET messages via Ethernet frames. These messages can potentially carry any type of data from any source. How do we record this data? Ultimately, no matter how the data is stored, it must be translated into a form that can be used for data analysis. Data storage forms that are conducive to this analysis are not necessarily the same that are conducive to real time recording. This paper discusses options and tradeoffs of different approaches to incorporating iNET data structures into the existing T&E architecture.
    • Design and Implementation of the Next Generation Landsat Satellite Communications System

      Mah, Grant; O'Brien, Mike; Garon, Howard; Mott, Claire; Ames, Alan; Dearth, Ken; United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resource Observations and Science (EROS) Center; Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (SGT, Inc.); Muniz; Orbital Sciences Corporation; et al. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      The next generation Landsat satellite, Landsat 8 (L8), also known as the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), uses a highly spectrally efficient modulation and data formatting approach to provide large amounts of downlink (D/L) bandwidth in a limited X-Band spectrum allocation. In addition to purely data throughput and bandwidth considerations, there were a number of additional constraints based on operational considerations for prevention of interference with the NASA Deep-Space Network (DSN) band just above the L8 D/L band, minimization of jitter contributions to prevent impacts to instrument performance, and the need to provide an interface to the Landsat International Cooperator (IC) community. A series of trade studies were conducted to consider either X- or Ka-Band, modulation type, and antenna coverage type, prior to the release of the request for proposal (RFP) for the spacecraft. Through use of the spectrally efficient rate-7/8 Low-Density Parity-Check error-correction coding and novel filtering, an XBand frequency plan was developed that balances all the constraints and considerations, while providing world-class link performance, fitting 384 Mbits/sec of data into the 375 MHz X-Band allocation with bit-error rates better than 10⁻¹² using an earth-coverage antenna.
    • Application of High Performance Avionics Test and Analysis Software Tools to Chapter 10 Data

      Cavera, Jim; AIM-USA (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2012-10)
      For many years, telemetry data has been captured and exchanged in IRIG 106 Chapter 10 format. Traditionally, the emphasis has been on the analysis and display of chapter 10 formatted PCM data. In recent years, avionics bus and network data has become much more widely used. Due to the lack of specialized tools to allow engineers to quickly and efficiently view bus parameters, the manipulation and analysis of this data after it is acquired has been a time consuming process. This paper will present a solution to this problem by the use of commercially available software tools used in conjunction with a common parameter database and a Chapter 10 "translator".