MINIATURE INFRARED DATA ACQUISITION AND TELEMETRY (MIRDAT) SYSTEM

THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO STUDY A NEW CONCEPT FOR THE MINIATURIZATION OF DATA ACQUISITION AND TELEMETRY UNITS FOR APPLICATION IN WIND TUNNEL INSTRUMENTATION. THE PROPOSED MIRDAT SYSTEM INCLUDES TELEMETRY TRANSMITTER UNITS (TTUS) WHICH COLLECT SIXTEEN CHANNELS OF ANALOG DATA, THREE CHANNELS OF PULSED DIGITAL DATA AND FOUR BINARY STATUS BITS. THE TTU TRANSMITS DATA BY MEANS OF FREE SPACE, PULSED IR COMMUNICATION TO A TELEMETRY RECEIVER UNIT AT RANGES EXCEEDING 200 FEET. KEY COMPONENTS INCLUDE A SINGLE CHIP MICROCOMPUTER, A MULTIPLEXED A/D CONVERTER AND A PULSED IR TRANSMITTER. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE TTU (LESS BATTERY AND CONNECTOR) CAN BE FABRICATED ON A ONE SQUARE INCH CIRCUIT BOARD WITHOUT DEVELOPING NEW INTEGRATED CIRCUITS. THE PRIMARY EFFORT IS TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT MIRDAT TTU PROTOTYPES THAT MEET NASA OBJECTIVES AND TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF THE APPROACH IN LIGHT OF PRACTICAL CONSTRAINTS. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE APPROACH IS NOT ONLY FEASIBLE BUT WILL PROVIDE MANY ADVANTAGES OVER EXISTING TECHNIQUES AND THAT THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A FAMILY OF LOW COST, MINIATURE TELEMETRY TRANSMITTERS FOR FINAL DEVELOPMENT AND LIMITED MANUFACTURING IN PHASE II.