Pegasense, LLC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: Z11

Description

<p>Thru several NASA SBIR/STTR and DoD contracts, the University of Central Florida&rsquo;s (UCF) Center for Acoustoelectronics Technology (CAAT) group has a developed and demonstrated a complete 915 MHZ SAW sensor system, having measured temperature, strain, hydrogen gas, magnetic fields and others.&nbsp;&nbsp; Pegasense and UCF will team and collaborate to further the state-of-the-art in wireless sensor technology effort, provide a handheld wireless sensor system at TRL 3-4 in Phase I and TRL 5-6 in Phase II, and demonstrate sensor interrogation using multiple temperature sensor platforms at 4.3 GHz.&nbsp; It is a&nbsp;significant upgrade of the current UCF 915 MHz wireless software defined radio (SDR) approach, to the newly opened avionics band at 4.3 GHz with a 200 MHz bandwidth. &nbsp;&nbsp;All the experience, approaches, and methodologies gained in the 915 MHz SDR system will provide a path forward.&nbsp; The Phase I prototype system will be at the requested TRL 3-4 level and a demonstration will be provided to NASA.&nbsp; The current UCF 915 MHz system has been fully developed and demonstrated with SAW sensors, however, the SDR system approach will software changes in hardware configuration and post-processing, such that any sensor in the operational band could be successfully interrogated.&nbsp; Therefore, new SAW temperature sensors at 4.3 GHz&nbsp;and other technologies,&nbsp;such as self-resonant antenna, dielectric resonator sensors or others, would demonstrate the SDR approach across multiple sensor technology platforms.&nbsp; To the proposers&rsquo; knowledge, an SDR 4.3 GHz sensor transceiver system has not been previously demonstrated, 4.3 GHz SAW sensor devices have not ever been demonstrated, and a cross sensor platform approach&nbsp;has not been previously demonstrated.&nbsp; Success in the Phase I and Phase II of the proposed work would be a significant technology leap forward by making a reprogrammable SDR transceiver capable of interrogating multiple sensors, and sensor embodiments and mixed technologies.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>