Non-Invasive Radio Frequency System Characterization

Electro Magnetic Applications, Inc. (EMA) and National Instruments, Corp. (NI) propose to develop an automated radio measurement system (ARMS) that will produce high-fidelity characterizations of RF system performance for use in cosite interference and receiver vulnerability analyses. The proposed ARMS will automatically characterize the spectral profile of transmitters and receivers while minimizing manual labor by controlling both the measurement equipment and the RF system. The ARMS will consist of measurement hardware and software. Two key components of the ARMS will be the software interface through which the user controls and coordinates measurements and the underlying algorithms that automate and accelerate measurements.  After the ARMS is developed, it will be used to populate databases with measured data for RF systems of interest to the Navy. Further, a measurement standard and data requirements for all Navy RF systems will be developed. With each RF system acquisition, the vendor would be required to perform the measurements and provide the associated data with the hardware delivery. EMA and NI believe that the ARMS would be a revolutionary advancement in how the Navy addresses cosite interference problems and would result in major cost savings each year.