PI	Hestnes, Phyllis	Org	GSFC
Award #	AIST-05-0039	Managing Center	GSFC	Status	Open
Title	Developing an Expandable Reconfigurable Instrument Node as a Building Block for a Web Sensor Strand

Developing an Expandable Reconfigurable Instrument Node as a Building Block for a Web Sensor Strand Abstract This document proposes the development of a Web Sensor Strand (WSS) that utilizes an Expandable Reconfigurable Instrument Nodes (ERIN) as a building block. The WSS would utilize multiple ERINs to tie distributed sensors together. Each ERIN would have the ability to know the relative position of at least two other ERINs and would have short-range communications ability with them. With a web of sensors (such as a web of Earth imaging and motion measurements, satellites) distributed either in a specified manner or in a random fashion it is important to make each member of the web radiate in coherence with other members. This enabling technology will be developed using wireless connectivity (a strand) between each node of a web. The Expandable Reconfigurable Instrument Node (ERIN) will provide a semi-closed loop system solution for a variety of sensors. The ERIN baselines a reconfigurable processing technology with required memory to allow on-board processing of science data. Standardized interfaces are provided to allow for interfacing to attitude control instrumentation such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU). A communications device will be added to the node that would allow for node-to-node communications. For low cost demonstration of the above concept, two Ground Penetrating Radars* separated by some distance on the ground will be used. Proper hardware (ERIN) and software (Web Sensor Strand) will be designed to operate these two physically separate transmitters in coherence with each other. *L-Band radar doesn't penetrate far (~20 cm) but is available through the DB-SAR IRAD (front end control). We want this to be compatible to many different wavelength front ends.