“While the fog layer was present, links of over 10km were achieved, even though visibility at times was reduced to 2–3km.”Īlso during that first week, Vice Admiral Nora Tyson, commander of U.S. “Weather conditions during the two weeks of testing were typical of San Diego’s ‘June Gloom’ and gave the APL team plenty of opportunities to show that our FSO technology can operate even through some levels of fog and haze,” Juarez said. Error free data transport at 1–2Gb/s was achieved at ranges greater than 25km voice communications was possible over more than 35km and chat messaging out to 45km, the maximum available line of sight. The team achieved more than 14 hours of link-up time, even in four- to six-foot high seas, making repeatable, semiautomatic link reacquisitions over the entire line-of-sight range. The first week of testing was ship-to-shore, from the motor vessel Merlin off the coast of Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, to the 3rd Fleet Headquarters parking lot. APL’s system overcomes many of these challenges, the organisation says. “Naval platforms increasingly need to operate effectively in reduced-RF or emission control conditions while maintaining their tactical advantage and situational awareness,” Juarez explained.Ĭommercial FSO systems exist but typically don’t address defence needs, he added, “specifically in terms of system mobility, link range, and data rate while operating in the highly scintillated terrestrial environment, especially close to the water.”įSO demonstration systems previously built for terrestrial defence applications have been too large, or lacked the mobility, data rates, or ranges to be practical on naval platforms. The FSO system is designed to provide communication in situations where radio transmission isn’t available or desirable. “We demonstrated bandwidths that were several orders of magnitude higher than all current radio frequency communications capability on Navy vessels, and at longer ranges than previously demonstrated FSO technology for maritime applications,” said Juan Juarez, the technical lead for the team developing the technology. The Lab demonstrated its latest compact form factor system during the 2017 Trident Warrior Exercise, an annual event where sailors try out the latest innovations in naval warfare systems. Johns Hopkins University reports that a team of engineers from the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has successfully demonstrated a high-bandwidth, free-space optical (FSO) communications system between two moving ships, proving that FSO technology can operate in maritime conditions.
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