Data Link System for In-Situ Ocean Observing Platforms

"According to a report by the National Oceanographic PartnershipProgram (NOPP), knowledge of the ocean is demanded by manyconstituencies including climatologists, fishermen and fisheriesmanagers, harbor pilots, coastal zone managers, Navy and CoastGuard commanders, Public Health Service officers, environmentalprotection professionals, commercial and recreational boat andship operators, weather forecasters, and the offshore mining andoil industry. Many of these needs are being partially met by in-situ ocean observing platforms such as drifting surface buoys,moored buoys, floats, remotely operated vehicles and ships, justto name a few. For these platforms, the NOPP has placed a highpriority on the development of technologies that disseminate datain a timely manner. As a result, NAL Research will design andmanufacture the next generation satellite modems based on theIridium 9505 board to collect environmental parameters from oceanobserving platforms and to deliver them to users worldwide inreal-time. Furthermore, a technique called soft-SIM will also bedeveloped to replace both SIM card and SIM card reader and toeliminate or at least greatly minimize the risk of having SIMcards falling into the hands of unauthorized users.BENEFITS: Satellite data link system can be extremely useful in many applications. Ships,airplanes and trucks have relied on geostationary satellites to provide mobilesatellite services for years. Now, LEO satellite dat