- Artificial Intelligence research venture between UTS and Chinese government
- Built-in power supply for temperature controller
- Panasonic opens lithium-ion battery factory in China
- Resistors for power management applications
UNITED States military researchers say the next generation satellite-based communications will use satellites as sky-based cellphone “towers”, global voice and data communications from challenging areas.
The technology developed by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate, the United States Navy and Lockheed Martin is called the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS).
MUOS is the next-generation replacement of UHF Follow-On system, the satellite communications system currently used by the US Navy, offering modern capabilities, improved quality of service, as well as providing the bandwidth for data and video communications.
The core of the system is a modified 3G signal, which allows a ground-based handset to connect via UHF SATCOM with geosynchronous satellites orbiting 35,405km above the earth. There will be four MUOS satellites which together provide global coverage – the fourth and final MUOS satellite is set to launch on 31 August 2015.
The satellite beams the call signal down to a control station on the ground, connecting to the ground network and completing the call.
According to the researchers, MUOS provides 3G-cellular quality voice, text and data calls in places where no cellphones exist, thanks to its near-global beyond-line-of-sight connectivity.
The modified 3G signal allows communication in challenging environments, such as heavily forested regions where higher frequency signals would be attenuated by the forst canopy. But it also means a special transceiver is needed to use the system. The current MUOS phone looks like a tactical radio but researchers expect to reduce its form factor as the system matures.
The researchers tested the system by participating in Operation Deep Freeze, the annual resupply mission of the National Science Foundation (NSF), McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott Stations in Antarctica.
Once on the continent, the researchers used MUOS to send the first ever voice and data communications from Antarctica. They also gathered data which would be used to improve the system.