Secure Iridium Weather Application Platform

ABSTRACT: Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Secure Iridium Weather Application Platform (SIWAP) consisting of 1) a portable hardware device that supports multiple software applications customized to interface with existing fielded equipment used by the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) and 2) a software application for existing mobile devices used by AFWA, to address the Air Force"s need for integrating tactical weather sensors with mobile devices and the Air Force Weather enterprise. This proposed device is based on a new design that utilizes POC-developed components, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, and new software applications. The innovation in highly-integrated packaging of electronics, novel battery and power management, and secure communications and interoperability, will enable SIWAP to add a uniform and consistent Iridium capability to all Air Force weather sensors, to make data more available to field users, and directly meets Air Force Weather requirements. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of SIWAP by collecting data from a Kestral device and demonstrating that the collected data appears in the Air Force Weather enterprise and in forecasting data. In Phase II, POC plans to develop the hardware to a higher TRL level and to extend it to support TMQ-53 input data. BENEFIT: Developing SIWAP as proposed to fulfill the AFWA requirements and produce it for use by the military will benefit our nation"s warfighters by giving them greater access to up-to-date weather data in regions where data was not previously available through the Air Force Weather enterprise. As a result, more accurate weather data will provide a critical resource for military operations. In the past, lives of warfighters have been lost in accidents such as helicopter crashes caused by a lack of accurate weather data. The benefits of having better weather data available from more areas on the ground, especially remote areas, will carry over to the private sector where business consists largely of the travel and transport industries, which can be affected by the weather. Travel and transport routes on land, sea, and air can be made more efficient and safer by knowing the weather conditions.