Elizabeth de la Cruz
The University of Kansas’ school of engineering has received a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Spectrum Consortium to build a long-range communications capacity that will work to support testing on airborne vehicles.
The project seeks technology designed to support communications at low signal-to-noise ratios for airborne vehicle tests at various government facilities, KUÂ said Tuesday.
The university will conduct work alongside a research team from Brigham Young University and Intelligent Automation under the leadership of Erik Perrins, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at KU’s Information and Telecommunication Technology Center.
KU added the team will aim to create an airborne transmitter, an aeronautical mobile telemetry prototype test instrument and a modulation algorithm that will serve to help the Defense Department and Test Resource Management Center run Space Time Coding with narrow bandwidth usage.
Space Time Coding technology is designed to accommodate the need for two antennas on test aircraft and prevent “blind spots” by transmitting alternating signals between the antennas.
The research group plans to test the transmitter onboard a Beechcraft C-12 plane at the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, KU said.
