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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records

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NASA NTRS2013

RF Exposure Analysis for Multiple Wi-Fi Devices In Enclosed Environment

Wi-Fi devices operated inside a metallic enclosure have been investigation in the recent years. A motivation for this study is to investigate wave propagation inside an enclosed environment such as elevator, car, aircraft, and spacecraft. There are performances and safety concerned that when the RF transmitters are used in the metallic enclosed environments. In this paper, the field distributions inside a confined room were investigated with multiple portable Wi-Fi devices. Computer simulations were performed using the rigorous computational electromagnetics (CEM). The method of moments (MoM) was used to model the mutual coupling among antennas. The geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) was applied for the multiple reflections off the ground and walls. The prediction of the field distribution inside such environment is useful for the planning and deployment of a wireless radio and sensor system. Factors that affect the field strengths and distributions of radio waves in confined space were analyzed. The results could be used to evaluate the RF exposure safety in confined environment. By comparing the field distributions for various scenarios, it was observed that the Wi-Fi device counts, spacing and relative locations in the room are important factors in such environments. The RF Keep Out Zone (KOZ), where the electric field strengths exceed the permissible RF exposure limit, could be used to assess the RF human exposure compliance. As shown in this study, it s possible to maximize or minimize field intensity in specific area by arranging the Wi-Fi devices as a function of the relative location and spacing in a calculated manner.

Hwu, Shian U.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Performance Comparison of Wireless Sensor Network Standard Protocols in an Aerospace Environment: ISA100.11a and ZigBee

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can provide a substantial benefit in spacecraft systems, reducing launch weight and providing unprecedented flexibility by allowing instrumentation capabilities to grow and change over time. Achieving data transport reliability on par with that of wired systems, however, can prove extremely challenging in practice. Fortunately, much progress has been made in developing standard WSN radio protocols for applications from non-critical home automation to mission-critical industrial process control. The relative performances of candidate protocols must be compared in representative aerospace environments, however, to determine their suitability for spaceflight applications. In this paper, we will present the results of a rigorous laboratory analysis of the performance of two standards-based, low power, low data rate WSN protocols: ZigBee Pro and ISA100.11a. Both are based on IEEE 802.15.4 and augment that standard's specifications to build complete, multi-hop networking stacks. ZigBee Pro targets primarily the home and office automation markets, providing an ad-hoc protocol that is computationally lightweight and easy to implement in inexpensive system-on-a-chip components. As a result of this simplicity, however, ZigBee Pro can be susceptible to radio frequency (RF) interference. ISA100.11a, on the other hand, targets the industrial process control market, providing a robust, centrally-managed protocol capable of tolerating a significant amount of RF interference. To achieve these gains, a coordinated channel hopping mechanism is employed, which entails a greater computational complexity than ZigBee and requires more sophisticated and costly hardware. To guide future aerospace deployments, we must understand how well these standards relatively perform in analog environments under expected operating conditions. Specifically, we are interested in evaluating goodput -- application level throughput -- in a representative crewed environment in the presence of varying levels of 802.11g Wi-Fi traffic. To do so, we use the NASA Johnson Space Center Wireless Habitat Testbed (WHT), a metallic, habitation-sized module designed for co-existence testing of wireless systems. In its quiescent state, the sealed WHT provides an RF-quiet environment to which we can selectively add interfering systems; it also provides a realistic level of multi-path self-interference for systems under investigation. In our test, we deploy two representative five node networks, configured in a star topology with all nodes reporting directly to a WSN gateway. Each ZigBee network WSN node is built using a Texas Instruments (TI) CC2530 system-on-a-chip radio running TI's ZigBee Pro Z-stack. Each ISA100.11a network node is built using a Nivis VersaNode 210 system-on-a-chip radio. In both cases, radios interface with TI MSP430-F5438 microcontroller implementing a common test application. Interference is provided by a D-link 802.11g Wi-Fi router transporting traffic generated using the Iperf network testing tool. For the single-channel ZigBee network, effects of both direct and indirect Wi-Fi interference are evaluated. For the channel-hopping ISA100.11a network, effects of interference from multiple Wi-Fi routers configured in non-overlapping 802.11g channels are evaluated. Our results show that, in general, the more lightweight ZigBee network performs well at low interference levels, but performance degrades as interference increases. Conversely, the more complex and costly ISA100.11a network continues to perform well as Wi-Fi interference levels increase.

Wagner, Raymond S.↗

DOE OSTI2026

DOE CESER 6 GHz Interference Study

DOE CESER has sponsored Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to conduct an objective and independent study of potential 6 GHz interference from outdoor operation of unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band on fixed service (FS) microwave communication links operated by electrical sector incumbents in that band. INL is collaborating with University of Notre Dame (UND), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Lockard & White, Southern Company, and AT&T, to gather data with real-world 6 GHz interference experiments and identify (1) the potential for interference from unlicensed devices and (2) the interference necessary to cause harm to the incumbents. In addition to the functional assessment, a security assessment of the FCC mandated Automatic Frequency Coordination (AFC) System to regulate use of unlicensed 6 GHz standard power devices is also being conducted. A major objective is to create a science-based and defensible methodology used to produce the necessary data and to derive objective conclusions. This proven methodology can then be used to produce objective data and conclusions for other spectrum bands with similar incumbent uses including 4.4 – 4.9 GHz and 7.125 – 7.4 GHz, identified in the reconciliation bill that was adopted on July 4, 2025, as well as the National Spectrum Strategy discussions that are ongoing. This report contains 6 GHz field experiments and findings in the following real-world scenarios with commercial unlicensed standard power (SP) 6 GHz devices regulated by Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC): • University of Notre Dame (UND) Stadium with a capacity of 80,000 spectators, where Wi-Fi operating in 6 GHz has been deployed recently • Southern Company 6 GHz FS microwave link between Columbus and Fortson, Georgia Following are the following key findings from this study. 1. The AFC is under-protective of FS when line-of-sight exists along the path centerline. Data collected at Southern’s 6 GHz fixed link site shows significant erosion of as much as 21.4-24.4 dB of under-protection that can lead to potential service degradation under typical operating conditions. This first key finding is most likely the result of erroneous use of the RF propagation model. INL will collaborate with EPRI and the AFC Functional Requirements Working Group to submit a change request to the WinnForum TS-1014 standard towards correct use of the propagation model by the AFC. 2. There is additive interference effect of about 3 dB from nearly equal power interferers measured from simultaneous operation of two SP AP's operating co-channel with the FS receive from different locations along the path. This second key finding should be used to add the impact of additive interference of operation of multiple APs in the same geographical area, to the next generation of AFCs. INL will collaborate with FCC on the need for the AFC to consider additive interference. We also recommend that additional experiments are conducted on 6 GHz spectrum interference to further improve the AFC operation as the number of outdoor Wi-Fi devices continues to increase. These proposed steps and recommendations will make the co-existence of the incumbents and the 6 GHz outdoor Wi-Fi providers possible without any impact on the incumbents with a win-win outcome for all.

6 GHz↗

DOE OSTI2025

Passband Signal Detection at the Edge

Algorithms for radio frequency (RF) spectrum awareness need to be compatible with edge hardware to be practical for many applications. We developed a signal detection and classification model for the ZCU111 RF System-on-a-Chip (RFSoC) that operates on the fast Fourier transform of passband RF data. The system can detect and classify multiple signals of interest and display the predictions in real-time. The model consists of a modified ConvNeXt backbone and YOLOv3 head to operate on the Deep Learning Processing Unit on the RFSoC. We gathered datasets for training and testing by using a software defined radio to transmit example signals of Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Wi-Fi 802.11 n, FM Radio, LTE and LTE-M. By leveraging multiple inputs on the RFSoC frontend, the datasets span up to 4 GHz of bandwidth. The models showed high performance in classification accuracy, center frequency error, bandwidth error, and detection accuracy for both single and multi-signal datasets.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS2011

Performance Comparison of Wireless Sensor Network Standard Protocols in an Aerospace Environment: ISA100.11a and ZigBee Pro

Standards-based wireless sensor network (WSN) protocols are promising candidates for spacecraft avionics systems, offering unprecedented instrumentation flexibility and expandability. Ensuring reliable data transport is key, however, when migrating from wired to wireless data gathering systems. In this paper, we conduct a rigorous laboratory analysis of the relative performances of the ZigBee Pro and ISA100.11a protocols in a representative crewed aerospace environment. Since both operate in the 2.4 GHz radio frequency (RF) band shared by systems such as Wi-Fi, they are subject at times to potentially debilitating RF interference. We compare goodput (application-level throughput) achievable by both under varying levels of 802.11g Wi-Fi traffic. We conclude that while the simpler, more inexpensive ZigBee Pro protocol performs well under moderate levels of interference, the more complex and costly ISA100.11a protocol is needed to ensure reliable data delivery under heavier interference. This paper represents the first published, rigorous analysis of WSN protocols in an aerospace environment that we are aware of and the first published head-to-head comparison of ZigBee Pro and ISA100.11a.

Wagner, Raymond S.↗

DOE OSTI2025

A Study on Co-existing Heterogeneous Wireless Networks for Data Transmission within a Nuclear Facility

Deployment of wireless technologies is a salient need for modernization, automation and improved operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs). As a single technology cannot support the ever-changing needs, it is required to have a heterogeneous wireless network architecture to address the different technical and economic challenges. However, the coexistence of these multiband heterogeneous wireless networks brings numerous challenges due to the factors including dissimilarity in their channel access mechanism, distance between nodes, transmit power level and many more. This paper develops real-world experiments and simulations of wireless coexistence for Wi-Fi, Fifth generation cellular (5G) and Zigbee in the unlicensed band to understand the challenges and opportunities. The experiments were conducted over the Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research (POWDER) testbed at the university of Utah. In addition, this paper is the first to propose a novel packet rate control technique at the network layer to create temporary opportunities for 5G or Zigbee signal transmissions focusing its application in a nuclear facility while using the shared band. The performance of the proposed coexistence solution is validated with experimental results and simulation.

5G↗

DOE OSTI2024

Idaho National Laboratory Quality Of Service Dataset

The code is designed to run tests to generate and collect data from a Wi-Fi network using OPENWRT or a simulated a 5G network using Open5gs and UERANSIM. The tests simulate the network performing downloads or uploads of various files with a varying number of concurrent users. The tests use tcpdump to collect the network traffic but only stores the summarized data. The summarized datasets will be included.

Krome, Cameron [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), I↗

DOE OSTI2025

CalTestBed - Delphire - Testing and Evaluation of Delphire Sentinel System (CRADA Final Report)

The Delphire Sentinel is a modular fire detection and communications system operating as a mobile field unit, with low voltage DC power supplied by onboard photovoltaics (PV) and batteries. The Sentinel addresses several aspects of fire detection, communications and data analysis. The Sentinel's mobility enables it to be rapidly deployed and operate independently of existing power and communications networks. The duration of independent operation depends critically on the energy consumption of the systems and performance of the onboard PV and battery. The purpose of this testing is to ascertain the power draw and energy consumption of the Delphire Sentinel prototype system under several operational states, including various data transfer packet sizes, transmission time and frequencies, and communication pathways (Wi-Fi, cellular, satellite) expected to be encountered in field deployments. It will also include procedures to test the ability of the Sentinel to operate for extended periods without loss of functionality. Based on results from energy and power measurements, and anticipated duty cycles in field deployments, we will model annual system autonomy (e.g. loss of load probability) for off-grid operation in representative locations.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Reverse Engineering of Medical Devices for Innovation and Advancement in Healthcare

• Medical technology is rapidly evolving and introducing new functionality and methodologies that suggest a higher risk for common vulnerability exposures (CVE) • Introduction of functionalities like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and internet connectivity require devices to be rigorously evaluated for vulnerabilities • Subsequently like many other fields cell-phone interconnectivity suggests a significantly higher level of risk to critical infrastructure and data security

Baldwin, David [Savannah River National Laboratory↗

DOE OSTI2025

Best Practices for Grid Communications

As the grid evolves, the communications architecture will need to evolve with it. That architecture affords a structured means by which the evolving complexities of the modern electric grid can be managed. This document provides best practices that can be implemented in the grid of today and evolve towards the grid and grid architecture of the future. The evolving grid and its control communications increasingly rely on commercial communications providers and a variety of technologies, from wireless (e.g., 5G, microwave, Wi-Fi) to wireline (fiber, copper) to radio communications (P25, other repeater-based systems), and all these communications systems rely on electric power. A reliable and resilient grid must account for this complex set of interdependencies in its planning activities, especially those involving restoration and recovery. The participation of all relevant parties in both planning and exercising of plans can prevent unexpected conditions that impede the reliable operation and recovery of the grid. Best practices for grid communications include using a Network Management System to document the operational state, define and monitor baselines, detect changes, and accelerate response to abnormalities. If transitioning from SONET to IP/packet-based systems, translating grid requirements into communications requirements for latency, bandwidth and throughput, IP packet delay variation, packet loss, and availability should inform and drive technology planning and selection as well as that communication system’s Quality of Service (QoS) policies and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Secure and reliable timing is another key component of a reliable and resilient grid that can operate through adverse events. A trusted internal NTP configuration, an integrated and diverse timing delivery system, optimizing the timing architecture based on the transport technologies of the communications system, and using established standards can deliver the level of timing accuracy required by a range of time-sensitive power system applications.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NASA NTRS2005

Effective Crew Operations: An Analysis of Technologies for Improving Crew Activities and Medical Procedures

NASA's vision for space exploration (February 2004) calls for development of a new crew exploration vehicle, sustained lunar operations, and human exploration of Mars. To meet the challenges of planned sustained operations as well as the limited communications between Earth and the crew (e.g., Mars exploration), many systems will require crews to operate in an autonomous environment. It has been estimated that once every 2.4 years a major medical issue will occur while in space. NASA's future travels, especially to Mars, will begin to push this timeframe. Therefore, now is the time for investigating technologies and systems that will support crews in these environments. Therefore, this summer two studies were conducted to evaluate the technology and systems that may be used by crews in future missions. The first study evaluated three commercial Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) (Versus, Ekahau, and Radianse) that can track equipment and people within a facility. While similar to Global Positioning Systems (GPS), the specific technology used is different. Several conclusions can be drawn from the evaluation conducted, but in summary it is clear that none of the systems provides a complete solution in meeting the tracking and technology integration requirements of NASA. From a functional performance (e.g., system meets user needs) evaluation perspective, Versus performed fairly well on all performance measures as compared to Ekahau and Radianse. However, the system only provides tracking at the room level. Thus, Versus does not provide the level of fidelity required for tracking assets or people for NASA requirements. From an engineering implementation perspective, Ekahau is far simpler to implement that the other two systems because of its wi-fi design (e.g., no required runs of cable). By looking at these two perspectives, one finds there was no clear system that met NASA requirements. Thus it would be premature to suggest that any of these systems are ready for implementation and further study is required.

Harvey, Craig↗

NASA NTRS2011

Telerobotic Excavator Designed to Compete in NASA's Lunabotics Mining Competition

The second annual NASA Lunabotics Mining competition is to be held in May 23-28, 2011. The goal of the competition is for teams of university level students to design, build, test and compete with a fully integrated lunar excavator on a simulated lunar surface. Our team, named Lunar Solutions I, will be representing Temple University's College of Engineering in the competition. The team's main goal was to build a robot which is able to compete with other teams, and ultimately win the competition. The main challenge of the competition was to build a wireless robot that can excavate and collect a minimum of 10 kilograms of the regolith material within 15 minutes. The robot must also be designed to operate in conditions similar to those found on the lunar surface. The design of the lunar excavator is constrained by a set of requirements determined by NASA and detailed in the competition's rulebook. The excavator must have the ability to communicate with the "main base" wirelessly, and over a Wi-Fi network. Human operators are located at a remote site approximately 60 meters away from the simulated lunar surface upon which the robot must excavate the lunar regolith surface. During the competition, the robot will operate in a separate area from the control room in an area referred to as the "Lunarena." From the control room, the operators will have to control the robot using visual feedback from cameras placed both within the arena and on the robot. Using this visual feedback the human operators control the robots movement using both keyboard and joystick commands. In order to place in the competition, a minimum of 10 kg of regolith material has to be excavated, collected, and dumped into a specific location. For that reason, the robot must be provided with an effective and powerful excavation system. Our excavator uses tracks for the drive system. After performing extensive research and trade studies, we concluded that tracks would be the most effective method for transporting the excavator. When designing the excavation system, we analyzed several design options from the previous year's competition. We decided to use a front loader to collect the material, rather than a conveyer belt system or auger. Many of the designs from last year's competition used a conveyer belt mechanism to mine regolith and dump it into a temporary storage bin place on the robot. Using the front end loader approach allowed us to combine the scooping system and storage unit, which meant that the excavation system required less space.

Nash, Rodney↗

NASA NTRS2004

Emerging Communication Technologies (ECT) Phase 3 Final Report

The Emerging Communication Technology (ECT) project investigated three First Mile communication technologies in support of NASA s Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (2nd Gen RLV), Orbital Space Plane, Advanced Range Technology Working Group (ARTWG) and the Advanced Spaceport Technology Working Group (ASTWG). These First Mile technologies have the purpose of interconnecting mobile users with existing Range Communication infrastructures. ECT was a continuation of the Range Information System Management (RISM) task started in 2002. RISM identified the three advance communication technologies investigated under ECT. These were Wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi), Free Space Optics (FSO), and Ultra Wideband (UWB). Due to the report s size, it has been broken into three volumes: 1) Main Report 2) Appendices 3) UWB.

Bastin, Gary L.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Emerging Communication Technologies (ECT) Phase 2 Report: Main Report - Volume 1

Bastin, Gary L.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Emerging Communication Technologies (ECT) Phase 2 Report: Appendices - Volume 2

Bastin, Gary L.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Emerging Communication Technologies (ECT) Phase 2 Report: Ultra Wideband (UWB) Technology - Volume 3

Bastin, Gary L.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Distributed and Secure Spectrum Sharing for 5G and 6G Networks

Secure spectrum sharing or spectrum co-existence of multiple 5G networks and future 6G networks is a powerful enabler technology. The National Spectrum Strategy (NSS) published by the White House in November, 2023, and the subsequent NSS implementation plan led by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) is the driver of a national effort to enable co-existence of government incumbents and commercial networks in selected spectrum bands. Cellular networks such as 5G & 6G and non-cellular Wi-Fi 6E & 7 are the prominent wireless technologies considered for co-existence with incumbent wireless links. Security of the spectrum sharing solutions is a must to make this transformation of spectrum use possible, specially for mission critical communications. However, current spectrum sharing solutions rely on centralized data bases with inherent vulnerabilities. This paper focuses on secure spectrum sharing among multiple 5G networks using unlicensed and shared frequency bands. It presents an innovative AI/ML based distributed spectrum sharing approach that can be autonomously used by multiple networks. Each sharing network uses its own observation of the Radio Frequency (RF) environment, which consists of RF measurements reported from the 5G User Equipment (UE), to adjust the transmission power levels for secure co-existence. Data is presented to illustrate the superior performance of this solution compared to other spectrum sharing solutions where each network can utilize usage data of the other networks. Finally it discusses how this efficient spectrum sharing solution can evolve in the future for the 6G networks.

5G↗

DOE OSTI2025

Digital Assurance Checklist for Homeowners and Installers

This document provides a comprehensive Digital Assurance Checklist for securing behind-the-meter energy assets, focusing on both installers and homeowners. As distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar PV and battery storage become integral to residential energy systems, cybersecurity emerges as a critical component of reliability and safety. The guide outlines actionable steps for installers during pre-installation, commissioning, and post-installation phases, emphasizing practices like network segmentation, credential management, firmware validation, and homeowner education. For homeowners, the document introduces a tiered approach to cyber hygiene—from essential measures like strong Wi-Fi credentials and automatic updates to advanced strategies such as network segmentation, DNS filtering, and intrusion detection. By adopting these practices, stakeholders can mitigate cyber risks, safeguard energy infrastructure, and ensure resilient, secure operation of DER systems. Additional resources and references to industry standards are included to support implementation.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗