Inflatable Satellite Dishes bring connections to disasters—and other tough places
Satellite communications are essential in disaster areas, war zones, and many other places. The problem is that typically a satellite system with enough oomph to power reall communications (Internet, video, VoIP) were huge, heavy, and really didn’t like being dropped into rough terrain. Enter the GATR-Com:
“You just can’t do effective disaster relief without decent satellite communications,” says Eric Rasmussen, a U.S. Navy physician and commander whose relief experience includes the Indonesian tsunami of 2004 and the aftermath of battles in Bosnia and Iraq. “But when the mud is two feet deep, if you can’t pack a dish on your back or drop it out of a plane, it’s not going to get there.”
The GATR-Com (an acronym for “ground antenna transmit and receive”) system, complete with electronics and tethering gear, weighs less than 70 pounds and fits easily into two backpacks. It can be powered by a car’s cigarette lighter or a small generator. There’s nothing else like it that’s this small or rugged.
The GATR-Com is the brainchild of engineer Paul Gierow, who spent 20 years developing large deployable space antennas for NASA. Gierow realized that the need for a highly portable antenna is just as relevant on Earth as it is in space—especially considering the earthly inevitabilities of gravity, mud and sky-high air-freight costs.
Source: PopSci Awards
Light enough to be carried or air-dropped. Low power requirements (I bet running it off solar power wouldn’t be too hard) and plenty of data pushing oomph. GATR-Com has already seen action during Hurricane Katrina and as you can see, it looks pretty darn cool to boot.
See also Engadget
Tags: inventions, GATR-Com, satellite communications
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