Maritime Advanced Weather Sensors

To address the Navy’s need for in situ shipboard weather data even in data-denied environments, Intellisense Systems, Inc. (Intellisense) proposes to develop Maritime Advanced Weather Sensors (MAWS) to be compatible with Intellisense’s Integrated Weather Observing System for Maritime use (IWOS-M). Specifically, Intellisense will develop a ceilometer module, a present weather detector module, and a lightning module, all based on proven terrestrial sensing technologies. As a result, this system offers a robust system for fully automated in situ measurement of all parameters required to produce a synoptic observation. This will reduce resource requirements for shipboard weather operators in nominal conditions; in data-denied conditions, the IWOS-M will provide users with accurate, local weather data that are not currently available. In Phase II, Intellisense will rapidly mature the four proposed advanced sensing modules, developing, manufacturing, and testing a system in laboratory conditions. The design will be tested in simulated maritime environments and iterated as necessary. In the Option period, Intellisense will deploy and test the system in a real-world environment. During this real-world testing, Intellisense will also gather lightning sensor diagnostics to implement algorithms that reject non-lightning sources of radio-frequency emissions that could otherwise cause false positive readings.