NURPs Aquarius wins Infoworld 100 award
for creative use of wireless tech
This story entered on 16th Feb, 2006 02:05:52 PM PST
As the worlds only operational undersea laboratory, Aquarius
serves as a home base for aquatic research and is a national asset
that supports scientists in their efforts to better understand U.S.
oceans and coastal resources. It also has award-winning technology.
Aquarius was awarded the ,InfoWorld 100 award for innovative use
of wireless solutions for its new system that allows real-time data
flow during undersea missions. In the past, data and information
resulting from a given mission had to wait until the completion
of the work to be served on the internet. The new system uses OS-Gemini,
a point-to-point broadband wireless equipment and software developed
by Orthogon a provider of fixed wireless solutions, to transmit
important scientific findings from the base of the sea floor to
its land-based office 10 miles away in Key Largo, Fla. and to the
Internet. With the new equipment securely attached to a sea-surface
buoy, 62 feet above Aquarius, OS-Gemini provided an average of 31.5
Mbps between the two end points and consistently connected with
carrier-grade reliability over the ocean.
After being deployed by Rapid Systems, a leading Internet Service
Provider across the State of Florida, the wireless equipment has
enabled high-quality video and voice for Internet streaming and
monitoring, as well as high-bandwidth applications such as a video
conference link. The added bandwidth enabled Aquarius to communicate
to its land-based office in ways that previously had never before
been possible.
Barbara Moore, director of NOAAs Undersea Research Program
applauded the resourcefulness of the Aquarius team to develop a
system to bring the excitement of research to the desktops of scientists,
students and the general public alike - in real time!
We are incredibly honored to be recognized as a top IT innovator
by InfoWorld for our use of Orthogons wireless technology
in our Aquarius underwater laboratory, said Dominic Landucci,
project manager and marine specialist, NOAAs National Undersea
Research Center at UNCW. By using OS-Gemini, we overcame tremendous
challenges, such as rough seas, great distances and unpredictable
weather, to deploy a reliable connection between our land base and
the Aquarius laboratory at the bottom of the ocean. Moreover, Orthogon
has allowed us to take our program further with new applications
as a result of additional bandwidth generated from the network.
This technological development helps us fulfill our vision
of Aquarius as the worlds most capable coral reef and ocean
observing system, said Andrew Shepard, director of the UNCW
undersea center. Real-time data on environmental conditions,
both above and underwater, and coral ecosystem health will be available
via the Web, allowing scientists to continue their studies year
round from their labs.
The InfoWorld 100 Awards celebrate enterprise IT projects that
made the best use of technology to meet business goals in 2005.
Entries were judged on innovation and project complexity, as well
as stumbling blocks that were overcome to achieve success. Furthermore,
to be considered for an award, projects must stretch beyond the
typical, off-the-shelf solution, using multiple technologies in
innovative ways to meet well-defined objectives. The InfoWorld 100
Awards were published in full in the magazines Nov. 14 issue.
The Aquarius implementation is listed under government projects.
More information: www.infoworld.com/article/05/11/14/46FEiw100_1.html
Contact information:
Name: Thomas Potts
pottst@uncw.edu
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