Researchers in South Korea have developed a small satellite communication device that can quickly restore communication networks in case of disaster. This could be essential to getting people help quickly when they need it.
Typhoons accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain,… and massive earthquakes striking cities.
These catastrophic disasters are bound to destroy critical urban communications infrastructure.
And if base stations were to get damaged, mobile networks and the internet would immediately be paralyzed.
In South Korea, researchers from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute have developed a small piece of satellite communications equipment,… which can act as a base station in the event of such emergencies.
The transmitter and receiver, which can fit into a coin-sized chip, automatically identifies the location of satellites floating in the earth's orbit,… in order to establish a communications network.
"In the event of a disaster, such as typhoons or earthquakes, the ground network may collapse. We developed a chip and a device that provides emergency communication services using communications satellites."
Once the chip is inserted into the device, it can immediately be used as a satellite phone.
Previously, satellite terminals had to go through a repeater in the middle of the communication, causing a delay of about 0.5 seconds during the calling process.
However, the delay time using the new chip has been reduced to point-2-5 seconds,
since the receiver and the transmitter are connected directly through the satellite.
This technology, which has been tested for use with the South Korean Chollian satellite, is expected to be placed into disaster sites after being tested by agencies and the military.
It is also set to be exported to island or desert countries where wide-area communications networks cannot be accessed.
Source: http://www.arirang.com/news/News_View.asp?nseq=273780