Fault Location in an Intelligent Open Sensor Network

As the complexity of the battlespace has grown exponentially and the outcome of the engagement is increasingly a function of communications speed, accuracy and relevance, it is critical to have a always-connected ship-board personal communications systemthat has the ability to support information-in-place which receives and transmits location and context intelligent information, supports decision processes and disseminates orders for action in near real-time. Inter and intra team coordination requiresubiquitous and interoperable communications to support the tremendous demands being placed on disparate and dispersed groups whether at the individual, specialized or ad-hoc group, division, ship, or higher level. This proposal addresses the developmentof a smart, self-organizing, ad-hoc connectivity-aware wireless network that will enable the essential communications connectivity between and among these discrete requirements. Because all communication demands are not the same, a suite of interoperablewireless devices must be employed to provide location and context intelligent voice, data, and multimedia communications. This concept will be critical to achieving an Advanced Personal System. Additionally, it is imperative to implement a technology toprovide a security level that provides a low probability threshold for detection and will support multilevel access protections that prioritizes bandwidth.A successful approach will result in a blueprint for development of a robust, and fault tolerantubiquitous and ad-hoc wireless network that provides location and context intelligent voice, data and multi-media communications that will serve as a high-reliability wireless extension of existing networks. It is expected to have wide application in areassuch as DOD operational forces, inter and intra ship communications, hospitals, emergency response centers, nuclear plants, mobile and remote workers, and any high value industrial asset or process.