Communication users predictive product

• US 9,705,634 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2014
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Research Associates Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Research Associates Incorporated
• Inventors: Lim, Laura Macy
• Primary Examiner(s): REGO, DOMINIC E
• Application Number:
  US14/586,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20160183098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 455 303, 455 121, 455 132, 455 98, 455427, 4554041, 4554042, 4554561, 701213, 2441581, 2441584, 2441586
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18517 Transmission equipment in earth stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18534 for enhancing link reliablility, e.g. satellites diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/22 including jamming detection and monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers

Abstract

The system of the present invention allows a user to select one or multiple SATCOM radio and antenna equipment types, select their current location(s) or a route and select the UHF SATCOM satellite for a multi-user communication network or architecture. The system presents an assessment of the level of performance of the selected system equipment and provides a capability to assess the impact of degrading factors, such as man-made interference (jamming) and natural phenomena (e.g. rain, clouds, ionospheric scintillation). This predictive assessment is a tailored result showing the phenomenology effects. Natural phenomenology like ionospheric scintillation, clouds, and precipitation, plus man-made phenomenologies like SATCOM jammers need to be differentiated by behavior characteristics and performance on a SATCOM frequency. If the system assessment determines the communication link is weak or ineffective based off the user'"'"'s inputs, the application provides the ability to select alternative configurations, e.g. other radio and antenna equipment pairing and/or other satellite options or access times. The system of the present invention can be updated and modified as the satellite communication community and users identify new equipment and additional ionospheric scintillation data resources. Using satellite communication equipment (radio, antenna and satellite specifications) databases and near-real time external data, if available, allows the system of the present invention to generate an assessment tool that shows the quality of the communication overarching architecture.

Claims

1. A system useful in planning satellite communications, the system comprising:

communications equipment, the communications equipment comprising a plurality of radios, antennas, and satellites, wherein each radio and each antenna is positioned at one or more waypoints;

a database, the database comprising equipment data for the system communications equipment, wherein the equipment data comprises;

radio specific data for each of the plurality of system radios, the radio specific data comprising;

radio type, frequency range, gain, transmitter power, and internal system losses;

antenna specific data for each of the plurality of system antennas, the antenna specific data comprising;

antenna type, frequency range, transmitter power, internal system losses, and transmitter power gain, and

satellite specific data for each of the plurality of system satellites, the satellite specific data comprising;

satellite type, an assigned satellite number, altitude, longitude, field of view and Effective Isotopically Radiated Power (EIRP);

a graphical user interface (GUI) displayed electronically, by means of which a user inputs scenario information to the system, wherein the scenario information comprises;

selection of equipment data for at least one system radio and at least one system antenna,

geographic data regarding the waypoints for each of the selected system radio(s) and system antenna(s),

values for an intended frequency of a message to be transmitted by the system,

selection of one or more degrading interference sources, by type, and

selection of equipment data for one or more system satellites, calculated by a computer server to be available for communication with the selected system radio(s) and system antenna(s), based upon the input geographic waypoint data for each or the selected system radio(s) and system antenna(s);

wherein the GUI transmits the scenario information to the computer server;

the computer server, wherein the computer server is programmed to;

calculate from the satellite specific data the satellites that are available for communication with the selected system radio(s) and antenna(s), based upon the input geographic waypoint data for each selected system radio(s) and system antenna(s) and the location of the satellite;

calculate the geographic area of interest about the radio and antenna waypoints;

transmit to the GUI an identification of the available satellites, for selection by the user;

retrieve information real-time regarding the selected degrading interference source(s) in the geographic area of interest, from an external database selected by the computer server;

calculate the effect of the selected degrading interference source(s) on the transmission of messages at the selected frequency between the waypoints of the selected system radio(s) and antenna(s) and the location of the selected satellite(s); and

generate and transmit to the GUI for graphic display the selected system radio(s) and antenna(s) at their respective waypoints, the selected satellite(s) at their respective locations, and the calculated effect of the selected degrading interference source(s).

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the degrading interference sources are one or more of ionospheric scintillation, jammers, cloud cover, and precipitation.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the user inputs by means of the GUI one or more values for one or more of the selected degrading interference sources.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the GUI allows the user to input a level of intensity of the degrading interference source determined by the system not to be acceptable, and the computer processor is programmed to use the user defined input level in determining whether the communication link is acceptable.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the computer server is further programmed to:

determine whether the calculated effect of the selected degrading interference source(s) on the communications link is acceptable based upon a predetermined value,

calculate a second effect of the degrading interference source in the calculated geographical area of interest on any of;

other satellites calculated by the computer server to be available for communication with the selected radio(s) and antenna(s);

other radio(s) and antenna(s) in the database, at one or more waypoints of the selected radio(s) and antenna(s); and

the selected radio(s) and antenna(s) using a second message frequency;

determine whether the second calculated effect of the degrading interference source in the geographical area(s) of interest is acceptable; and

generate and transmit to the GUI for graphic display any other satellites, other radio(s) or antenna(s), or other frequencies, wherein the second calculated effect of the degrading interference source in the geographical area(s) of interest is acceptable.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the computer server is further programmed to determine one or more contributing causes of a communications link not determined to be acceptable, and based upon such determination of contributing causes, identifies one or more satellites, radios, antennas, or frequencies that are likely to avoid such contributing causes, and transmits to the GUI equipment data for such identified communications equipment or values for such frequencies.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the scenario information further comprises:

a plurality of waypoints for each selected radio and antenna; and

a time period for communication.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the GUI displays at least the satellites of the system determined by the computer server to be available for communication with the selected radio(s) and antenna(s), and received from the computer server, as a graphical depiction at the satellite altitude and longitude.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the database further comprises default values for calculating the effect of degrading interference sources, the default values selected from the group consisting of:

ionospheric scintillation S4 values, satellite communication jammer power values, cloud types and resulting attenuation, rain rate and resulting attenuation, and combinations thereof, and the computer server uses the default values in calculating the effect of the degrading interference source in a geographic area of interest when data from a third party database is not available.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the GUI displays a map by means of which a user inputs the waypoints for the selected radios and antennas, and by means of which the user selects the satellite(s).

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the GUI receives data for radios and antennas, transmits the received data to the computer processor, and the computer processor is programmed to add the received data to the database.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the GUI further receives data regarding a time period of interest for communication, transmits the time period data to the computer processor, and wherein the computer processor is programmed to retrieve information associated with such time period of interest and relating to degrading interference in the geographic area of interest from the external database.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the output of the processor, displayed on the GUI, comprises an identification of each link as being determined acceptable or not determined acceptable and the computer processor is programmed to calculate a report error rate, over time for the specified time duration.