SBIR Phase I: Massive Wireless Communication in Harsh RF Environment

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a solution for wireless communication in an environment hostile to radio frequency. Ultrawide band (UWB) impulse radio is used to create a robust communication link for both periodically transmitting sensors and mission-critical event indicators. The solution has to be low cost and power efficient. Low cost will allow massive deployment in vehicles, sensor networks, and monitoring devices in industrial plants. This proposal makes it possible to build a system consisting of a completely passive radio that uses UWB as the reverse link to an interrogator to realize robust, safe and reliable communication in a challenging environment. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the replacement of copper in home, office, and in particular vehicles. The application of this project which extends the benefit of passive radio is numerous: radio frequency identification (RFID), automotive, consumer electronics, home, and factory automations. Modern automotive industry is increasingly relying on advanced electronics which is actually a reliance on a heavy and expensive material: copper. The advent of Hybrid and electric cars will only increase this need. More than 55 pounds of copper is used in a typical U.S.-built automobile and this number is increasingly larger in more featureful cars. These numbers and benefits are even greater when extended to wirings inside homes, offices and industrial plants. All switches, sensors, data points and control levers can be substituted by radio links. The proposed approach of building a passive, ultra-low power system will change the way a vehicle is designed, built, and tested. It significantly reduces the cost and the associated overhead of copper wires.