Affordable, Flexible, Network Capable Application Processor for Data Acquisition and Processing

Building upon the results of our Phase I effort, we propose to implement a cost-effective flexible processing platform for data acquisition and control, called a Network Capable Application Processor (NCAP). The NCAP platform will be designed for use in harsh shipboard environments. It will be capable of interacting with a large number of wired and wireless sensors and actuators, using existing legacy technologies as well as emerging transducer interface standards. It will also support a variety of open industrial networking protocols, operating over wired and wireless physical layers, to provide exceptional networking capability. The design will emphasize survivability at the mechanical, electrical, and logical levels through widespread requirement and support for redundancy. NCAPs are the building blocks of highly-configurable, scaleable, distributed sensing and control networks that operate in an automated fashion. Through their inherent capabilities and use of open standards, such networks will help the Navy achieve its goal of reducing workload/manning and Total Ownership Cost (TOC) of Naval vessels while enabling critical applications such as condition-based maintenance and advanced damage control. Complex systems operating in harsh environments in the commercial sector will be able to reap the same TOC and advanced diagnostic and control benefits by employing this technology.