MIDE TECHNOLOGY CORP — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: Transition from schedule-based to condition-based maintenance (CBM) of submarine equipment

Description

Transition from schedule-based to condition-based maintenance (CBM) of submarine equipment would significantly reduce operating costs and extend system lifetime by eliminating unnecessary maintenance activities. Key challenges to implementing autonomous health monitoring for submarine components are the diversity of eqipment to be monitored, the lack of wired power or data infrastructure, and the submarine environment's unsuitability for most forms of wireless data transmission. Mide proposes a modular wireless health-monitoring system which can be deployed on a variety of equipment types, using diverse means of electrical energy harvesting suited to the equipment under observation at each node. This system is enabled by a non-RF bridging system to link subnetworks separated by RF obstructions such as solid metal bulkheads.