Extremely high radio wave frequencies, or millimeter waves (mmWaves), were first explored in late 19th century. Since then, they have been incorporated in applications as diverse as medicine, astronomy, weapons systems, and security screenings. Millimeter waves have a relatively short range (less than one kilometer) because they are typically absorbed by atmospheric gases and rain. They are, however, still incredibly useful; certain frequency ranges near the bottom of the millimeter band are being used in 5G networks today. After 100 years of use, millimeter waves are one of the most reliable and safest means of short-range communication.
Conversely, advanced, light-based communication like free-space optical (FSO) communication was developed just a decade ago. The data transmission by lights can be much faster than millimeter waves or radio frequencies. Because it employs the modulation of light intensity to transmit data, it is less susceptible to electromagnetic interference.
The U.S. Armed Forces wished to apply both these technologies on two separate initiatives. See how Intellisense developed two communications solutions for two branches of the U.S. military:
Millimeter Waves (mmWaves)
In 2017, the U.S. Army needed a wearable, high-bandwidth, millimeter-wave soldier-borne datalink. This transceiver would greatly improve communications between soldiers. It would have to be compact and discreet so that it would easily integrate into soldiers’ equipment and keep them undetectable in the field.
The engineers at Intellisense demonstrated the feasibility of a mmWave solution with a network of transceivers that could transmit 1 Gbps of data wirelessly. This innovative, low-power system with a built-in electrical interface was a miniature device in a ruggedized ultra-light housing made of composite material. Through a new secure wireless personal area network (WPAN), this solution integrated commercial 60 GHz WiGig circuits, an adaptive beamforming network, and a smart antenna array. Thanks to these innovations, this device could greatly enhance intra-soldier communication.
Another of the U.S. Army’s requirements was the ability to securely send of high-definition imagery. To meet these needs, Intellisense advanced the transceiver system by integrating a state-of-the-art WiGig chipset and an application-specific, beamforming algorithm that can dynamically control the datalink operation. Housed in a small ruggedized enclosure, the devices will provide uninterrupted, two-way, wide-bandwidth communication channels that can maintain wireless connection on the move.
By the end of Phase II effort, the team at Intellisense demonstrated that the transceiver not only delivered an intra-soldier high-bandwidth wireless network, but it also capable of streaming HD images and videos on soldier-borne sensors with very low latency (<5 ms).
Free-Space Optical (FSO) Communication
On submarines with over 100 crewmembers, space is at a premium. The U.S. Navy sought to reduce the burden of cable management for ethernet connectivity. They determined that advanced wireless communication options like free-space optical (FSO) communication would be ideal for the next generation multi-layered architecture of submarine electronic warfare.
To deliver a high-bandwidth FSO network on attack submarines for the Navy, the engineers at Intellisense developed a secure, EMI-free light communication system. It features an innovative system architecture that utilizes the latest research results in light modulation and state-of-the art development of solid-state devices.
This system’s innovative FSO panel design integrates color light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that transmit downlink data by modulating light intensity. Each panel contains multiple LEDs of each color, providing system redundancy in the event of a LED failure and reducing the required brightness of each LED for a given illumination level. The system also uses a wavelength-division multiplexing to increase the data bandwidth of downlink communication and near infrared LEDs for uplinks. This capability enables spatially coexisting networks. With a combination of Hermitian symmetry orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing modulation, three visible wavelengths for downlink, and three NIR wavelengths for uplink, for example, this wireless FSO network can deliver high-bandwidth communication with increased security, improved reliability, and no interference.
During the testing phase of development, Intellisense devised a single-panel base prototype that incorporated a multi-LED driver and a tricolor receiver. The transceiver dongles support data rates of up to 250 Mbps for uplink transfers and the attocell within a range of ≥2.5 m, enabling simultaneous operation by up to 8 users with aggregate uplink bandwidth of ≥1.2 Gbps. The use of commercial off-the-shelf components and subsystems as well as an open architecture reduces costs, lowers development risks, and eliminates obsolescence concerns.
In addition, Intellisense explored the commercial viability of this technology and developed a plan for transition it for civilian applications. The results of this project’s development and testing enabled Intellisense to continue advancing the system and improve its performance to meet the requirements of the Navy and commercial customers.