Southwest Research Institute 2005 Annual Report, Signal Exploitation & Geolocation

Communications using radio waves continues to expand and grow ever more complex as the number of signals transmitted across the radio spectrum at any one time increases, the ways information is incorporated into signals become more sophisticated and higher frequencies are used for communications. Southwest Research Institute is at the forefront of these complex communications factors, which include the latest generation of cellular telephones, wireless computer networks, broadband satellite communications, frequency hopping transmitters and the automatic linking (connection) of short-wave high-frequency communications systems.

The ability to exploit the transmission of signals from tactically and strategically interesting sites is of interest to various government organizations including the military, law enforcement and homeland security. Information such as the direction to the transmitter, its geographic location, the command and control structure of a communications network, and the data being transmitted can all be determined. However, the ever more crowded spectrum and complexity of the newest signals make the exploitation of these signals increasingly challenging.

Our signal acquisition capabilities allow capturing specific signals of interest and providing general wideband and narrowband communications electronic warfare support. We have fielded new wideband communications intelligence systems that can instantaneously monitor a wide portion of the radio spectrum rather than just one narrow bandwidth signal at a time. These state-of-the-art systems can gather millions of new transmissions in a short period of time. To process the massive amounts of data gathered by these wideband systems, some of our systems use up to 1,000 high-performance microprocessors simultaneously to capture and analyze signals, identify those of interest, determine their location and demodulate them.

Special-purpose software is fundamental to the systems we build. We recently developed software channelization techniques to convert wideband radio frequency data to narrow-band, single-signal data that can be bulk-processed concurrently. This process previously required special-purpose devices rather than general-purpose microprocessors. Our all-software solutions reduce the number of different parts needed to build systems while increasing supportability and lowering costs.

All our work is performed using an ISO-9001 certified system. We develop land-based fixed and mobile, airborne, briefcase and even miniaturized body-worn antenna systems. We can also model antennas and surrounding structures to address antenna performance even before installation.

For the Electric Power Research Institute, we developed a wireless temperature sensor for splices and disconnect switches. A second EPRI project led to a contamination sensor for ceramic insulators.

Other capabilities include tracking and tagging using high-altitude systems, such as balloons and unmanned aerial vehicles, to gather audio, visual, location and other data. Our internal research program continues to fund studies that keep us at the vanguard of antenna design, digital signal processing, numerical modeling and other technologies relevant to signal intelligence.

Copyright© 2005 by Southwest Research Institute. All rights reserved under U.S. Copyright Law and International Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to the Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, phone (210) 522-3305, fax (210) 522-3547.