Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/122908
innoVation i d-ta sYstems rFvision-2 ultra-wideband radio frequency scanner/ recorder CleaRPath RobotICs Kingfisher M200 usV Organizations in Europe have inquired about using the Kingfisher unmanned surface vessel (USV) for harbour defence, but in fact, the vehicle was originally designed to help scientists study sediment movement in bodies of water. Through the CICP, Water Survey Canada has chosen the Kingfisher for bathymetric surveying: the study of stream, river and pond floors. The Kingfisher can carry a range of sensors, cameras and other payloads, and it's ideal for exploring otherwise inaccessible bodies of water. Mining and oil-extraction companies could use the USV to study tailings ponds up close without jeopardizing the operator's health, for instance. "Any time you can take people off the water, it benefits everyone," says account executive Robin Albrecht. Unlike other USVs, the Kingfisher is small and light enough for one person to carry, and it's easy to use. Operators can control the electric jet thrusters remotely or use the accompanying software to program the device's mission, enabling the USV to run autonomously. Enemy forces sometimes use signalhopping techniques to keep radio transmissions from being detected. D-TA Systems' frequency scanner and recorder thwarts those evasion efforts. The device enables users to scan for and record signals across a wide spectrum: 500 MHz, all at once. The broader the scan, the greater the likelihood of catching enemy signals hopping from channel to channel. The RFvision-2 covers the spectrum ranging from 500 MHz to 26.5 GHz. According to Dipak Roy, chairman of the Ottawa-based company, D-TA is developing the device further to scan up to 40 GHz. The real differentiator here is speed, he says. No other scanner manufacturer offers a device capable of recording and playing back signals so quickly (2 GB per second). Applications include RF spectrum monitoring, electronic intelligence, communications intelligence, RF test and measurement, and arbitrary waveform generation. D-TA has won a contract to provide this technology to the Canadian Forces. www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/mAy 2013 25