Modeling and design of a “poor man” satellite terminal (IRO scholarship)

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Promoter: Guy Vandenbosch

details
Description: Considering global warming and its consequences: droughts, floods, desertification, nowadays occurring all over the planet, it is evident that earth observation using LEO satellites will become even more important in the near future than it is today. Whereas in industrialized countries, the price of the ground terminals used in the field is of important, in the case of developing countries it is crucial. The availability of simple, robust, and cheap ground terminals is a necessary condition to be able to install an efficient and affordable monitoring networks in developing countries.
This Ph.D. focuses on the design and practical realization of such a terminal, including the features of
1. selection of the proper communication protocol,
2. electronically beam steered antennas, to reduce power consumption,
3. the use of solar energy cells as energy source,
4. the availability to communicate with in-situ sensors (forest, vineyard, etc.) and to upload the resulting data to the satellite.
This PhD. work includes both theoretical aspects as well as practical experiments.


Key words: earth observation, LEO satellites, electronic beam steering, solar cells

Latest application date: 2010-04-30

Financing: iro-scholarship

Type of Position: scholarship

Duration of the Project : 4 years

Research group: Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT)