Subminiature Hi-def UAV Reconnaissance (SHUR)

Toyon proposes to develop a compact, high performance transceiver module for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications. This module will combine an efficient modulation waveform, efficient video compression, target tracking, and compact packaging technology in a volume of 2.5 cubic inches. The modulation waveform uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), which is the highest efficiency modulation standard currently available. The modution format is 802.16e mobile WiMAX, which is designed for high multipath rejections under mobile operating conditions. The proposed video compression uses IEEE H.264, which is the highest performance video compression currently available. The transceiver interface will also be coupled with Toyon''s GeoTrack system, for target recognition and tracking. This provides the highest possible data compression, in cases where the most crucial data are target locations. Toyon has demonstrated experience with the compact packaging technology needed to implement this transceiver. The design uses a single integrated integrated circuit for WiMAX baseband processing, video compression, and target tracking in order to minimize transceiver volume. BENEFIT: The anticipated benefit of this program is a compact, lightweight transceiver enabling high bandwidth communications, including compressed video, for a variety of platforms including UAVs.