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Headquarters

(Koganei, Tokyo)

Kashima Space

Technology Center

(Kashima, Ibaraki)

SIP Project : Next-Generation Technology for
Ocean Resources Exploration

Overview Publications Members

＞＞ SIP Project

Developing Technologies to Establish High-Speed Satellite Communications

SIP Project

Current ocean-based satellite communication services using small earth stations operate with transmission rates of several Mbps for ground-to-ocean communications, but only several hundred kbps for ocean-to-ground communications, and it is difficult to transmit in real time high-volume data to the ground from the ocean.

In recognition of the importance of data transmission from the ocean in the contexts of ocean resources exploration and maritime security, NICT conducted research and development to achieve higher transmission rates for ocean-to-ground communications.

As part of the SIP*1 project^（*1） the “next-generation technology for ocean resources exploration(Zipangu in the Ocean Program),” ^（*2） NICT, jointly with JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) and the NMRI (National Maritime Research Institute), developed a small-sized high-speed satellite communication system designed to be loaded on autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs).

In this development, we worked on the following three tasks based on a small-sized on-vehicle station previously developed by NICT:

Downsizing
Reduced power consumption
Support for unmanned operation

*1： Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program : SIP
A cross-ministerial and cross-sectoral program sponsored by the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI) of the Government of Japan to realize scientific and technological innovations.
The “next-generation technology for ocean resources exploration” was selected in 2014, alongside nine other themes of the SIP program.
The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) participated in this theme and for its action item 2 “Development of sea floor resource survey technologies”, NICT developed technologies to establish a high-speed satellite communication network among survey ships, ASVs, and onshore sites.
*2：Research and development jointly led by the Japanese cabinet, ministries, and agencies on technologies for low-cost high-efficiency marine minerals exploration.

Publications

International Conference

Tomoshige Kan, Takashi Takahashi, Norihiko Katayama, Toshio Asai, Kazuyoshi Kawasaki, Maki Akioka, and Morio Toyoshima: High-Speed Transmission for Ka-Band Aeronautical Satellite Communications Using WINDS, 31st International Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS2017) (2017/06/07)
Norihiko Katayama, Naoko Yoshimura, Takashi Takahashi, and Morio Toyoshima: Performance of A Satellite Communication Earth Station Prototype Model for the Autonomous Surface Vehicle, 22nd Ka and Broadband Communications Conference (2016/10/18)
Norihiko Katayama, Naoko Yoshimura, Hideo Takamatsu, Susumu Kitazume, Yosuke Takahara, Marshall Lewis, and Rowan Gilmore: Development Status of Small-sized Ka-band Mobile Terminal for Maritime Broadband Communications, 8th EAI International Conference on Wireless and Satellite Systems (2016/09/19) [ DOI ]