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Development of the Airborne Remote Communication (ARC) Network Infrastructure

Author:
Hackett, Timothy
Published:
[University Park, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania State University, 2015.
Physical Description:
1 electronic document
Additional Creators:
Bilén, Sven G. and Schreyer Honors College
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Restrictions on Access:
Open Access.
Summary:
Large scale natural disasters present complex challenges for disaster relief communications. Fixed infrastructures, such as cell towers or radio base stations, may be completely destroyed during a disaster or this infrastructure may never have existed. In a disaster situation, having unreliable communications systems can put the safety of relief personnel at risk as well as make the effort much less effective. Furthermore, emergency situations require time sensitive communications that could mean the difference between life and death. This thesis details the design of the first wearable router prototype based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components for the Airborne Remote Communications (ARC) program, a collaboration between MIT Lincoln Laboratory and The Pennsylvania State University. The purpose of the ARC program is to provide a rapidly deployable, data-centric mobile communications system for all organizations engaged in disaster relief: first responders, search-and-rescue, emergency medical and health services, etc. Utilizing the IEEE 802.11b/g standard, this system creates a mobile wireless local area network (WLAN) through a series of "wearable routers". The routers provide local Wi-Fi access to all users inside of their respective ranges, and then all of these routers are connected to each other through an ultra-high frequency (UHF) backhaul network. Ultimately, from the user's perspective the network appears to be a standard Wi-Fi network with enhanced radial range. The purpose of this network is to provide communications between both local and widespread users until more traditional communications systems are restored. This proof-of-concept prototype was designed, assembled, and then characterized through a series of bench tests. The real-world performance of the system was realized by deploying it in field tests in Boston, MA and Pittsburgh, PA. The evaluations of this prototype led to the start of development for the second COTS prototype, a smaller, lighter, and more commercially-viable wearable router.
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Dissertation Note:
B.S. Pennsylvania State University 2015.
Technical Details:
The full text of the dissertation is available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file.
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