High Speed (15 kts) Long-Length Fiber Optic Deployment System

The overall objective of this SBIR effort is to develop fiber optic winding and packaging processes to enable low-cost production of wound fiber optic packages that can deploy reliably at high speeds underwater with minimal signal attenuation. Our goal for the Phase II project is to complete the effort ready to supply wound fiber optic packages for use in qualification testing and operational use of the communications buoy systems currently in development by Navy-funded contractors. To accomplish this goal, we will focus work tasks on the following technical objectives: • Refine winding process to enable reliable, highly-automated “turn-key” winding of fiber optic packages; • Finalize spool housing design for interfacing to other comm. buoy components; • Develop a small-diameter, neutrally buoyant, bend-insensitive optical fiber to enable 15km+ lengths of fiber to be packaged into communications buoys. • Perform at-sea tests using full comm. buoy and launcher. Key to the proposed approach is the development and perfection of our low-attenuation, low deployment-drag winding process in conjunction with the full automation of the winding machine.