Wireless Ultra Wideband Communication Link for Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Phase I was a highly successful proof of concept that low power, pulsed ultra-wide band technology can effectively propagate in tunnels, through foliage, over distances up to 7 kilometers while maintaining a low probability of detection. This proof ofconcept was accomplished using TDC's first generation PulsON 100 chipset demonstration radio system. Recently, TDC's second generation chipset, the PulsON 200, was successfully tested. The P200 chipset implements many performance improvements in thisbreakthrough technology and is capable of a ten-fold increase in data rate. In Phase II, TDC proposes to integrate P200 technology into a communication system for the Gladiator UGV and demonstrate the significant benefits of a low power, pulsed UWB radiosystem over conventional RF. This project will develop and test a prototype UWB radio that transmits control, status, and video data between an operator and a Gladiator UGV platform. Further development during an option period will accomplish positionawareness and networking capability for the radio. Radio linked UGVs could enable effective military operations and reduce risk to warfighters operating in hazardous environments. Compared to conventional radios, UWB technology offers the advantages ofvery low power, low probability of detection, low probability of interception, reliable operation in the presence of high multipath, inherent ranging, and spectrum sharing. Because low power, pulsed UWB has been widely recognized as one of the mostpromising wireless technologies for this decade, its early research and development has been funded by venture capitalists. With investors such as Seimens, SONY, and US West, the Navy can be confident that TDC is zealously pursuing commercialapplications. The anticipated benefit to America's warfighters is availability of commercial UWB communication products that will have a low probability of intercept while offering