Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/111458
Science & Technology S zations want to use our simulation to do more mission training." As training requirements have changed, CAE has invested in the virtual worlds it creates to enhance realism. Late last year, the company unveiled its dynamic synthetic environment infrastructure. This technology enables autonomous changes in the simulation. "In real life, for example, rain transforms a gravel road to a mud road that 2.25 inches Phioto: CAE DEV's vice-president of corporate R&D, COM DEV and Moog Broad Reach wanted to create a new networking option for low Earth orbit (LEOs) satellites, which carry instruments to take imagery of various parts of the world. Normally, these satellites downlink these images periodically. That means having to wait days to see if images are usable – or if the area to be observed is obscured by clouds, for instance. If LEOs could download data in real time, satellite operators would be able to tell immediately if the images will be usable. And the operator would be able send a real-time com- Feb mand to the instrument to suspend imaging and save valuable satellite resources. COM DEV and Moog Broad Reach saw a solution in Inmarsat's geo-stationary satellites (GEOs). GEOs transmit data in real time. The companies conceptualized a system that would enable LEOs to link to GEOs, so the LEOs would be able to be controlled and download in real time, too. The team led by Inmarsat secured funding from various government agencies including the European Space Agency. There's plenty of work ahead. "You have to develop new code and new computers for the LEO terminal," Stajcer says. "You have to develop new network technologies. And because it's a micro 7.5 inches sat, we needed efficient, low-power systems. It doesn't have a lot of solar cells." Testing will begin in 2014. 1/4 CAE: Dynamic virtual worlds COM DEV's Fine Guidance Sensor. Photo: Canadian Space Agency and the Communications Research Centre J M Decision-makers at CAE, a simulation-system provider, recognize a trend among military clients: forces aim for a stronger return from technology investments. This fact informs the way organizations use CAE's technology, and it informs CAE's R&D efforts. "In the past, people would use our products to train pilots," says Mark St. Hilaire, CAE's vice-president of technology and innovation. "Now, organi- www.vanguardcanada.com Ad jord S FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 29