Description
Preventing human and environmental hazards is highly dependent on early warning of their origin and potential expansions, immediately followed by appropriate actions to mitigate the consequences. This calls for proficient remote environmental surveillance equipment and associated communication systems.The overall goal of the SEMLA project is to devise new antennas and microwave microelectronics to facilitate accurate and resilient radar surveillance systems and robust radio communications. The project’s objective is to achieve results which will enable us to implement thin antennas which operate with more than one polarity and are suitable for use in aviation and navy. The project will bring as its result, models of integrated antennas (including digital signal processing modules) intended for use in airborne and local monitoring radars and rescue equipment. The Polish and Norwegian industry, their research sector in a field of advanced technologies and academia are expected to become the major beneficent of the project. SEMLA is to improve safety in operations, transport and other activities prone to human and environmental hazards. The bilateral relations of SEMLA partners are strong and long lasting, highlighted by three major projects: MarCom: 'Maritime Communications-Broadband at sea', MarSafe North: – 'Maritime safety in the High North' and MareNor: – 'Performance of Radio Systems in the High North'. Investors from Scandinavia invest particularly considerable endeavours in the region of Lower Silesia and in Wroclaw itself. This programme might allow common Polish and Norwegian undertakings in the field of advanced electronics to find a lasting place. SEMLA will foster common works of Polish and Norwegian partners. The carrying out of the present project will further encourage regional academic relationship between Wroclaw and Trondheim. An application will be made to launch a common educational programme for Polish and Norwegian students of electronics.
Summary of project results
SEMLA project has been focused on ground breaking technologies needed by such methods of safeguarding natural environment. Norway, with its immense water resources and extensive woodlands, performs a several-year long Protection Programme for the Arctic, and thus requiring most modern equipment and systems as were investigated under the SEMLA project. Regarding the protection against environmental pollution of water and forestry resources in Poland, the need for such advanced systems is enormous, e.g. for the situation awareness on Baltic Sea waters where thousands tons of toxic substances have been dumped, protection of inland water resources by radars in the vicinity of purification plants. The SEMLA project has delivered antennas and associated microwave microelectronics to facilitate accurate and resilient radar surveillance systems and robust radio communications at sea, particularly for use in hardly accessible areas being vulnerable to environmental hazards. The project achieve new technologies and techniques needed to implement thin antennas which operate with more than one polarity and are suitable for use in aviation and at sea. Currently such antennas are hard to purchase. Furthermore, SEMLA project provide light antennas solutions for rescue equipment and antennas for equipment making use of renewable energy. Outputs of all project six technical workpackages have provide our national industries with significant know-how to implement cutting edge antenna devices, broadband at sea communication and high resolution polarimetric small radar. The results are close to market implementation. For the main SEMLA beneficiaries, actually achieved advancement in antenna technology for radar and broadband UHF/microwave communication at sea is of paramount importance. The operation range for these antennas is 1 to 20 GHz, with two to four polarizations. The Project Promoter and Norwegian partners have demonstrated results that are a solid frame for implementation of broadband at sea operating beyond the horizon radio. Ground breaking results have confirmed data rate of several Mbps are feasible for practical uses. Advancement in radar technique made feasible practical investigations of polarimetric radar for small target detection in a distance of a several kilometres. In terms of energy harvesting we have demonstrated integration of antennas, broadband transmitters and vertical wind turbines capable to generate between 70 and 250 Watt of electrical energy.
Summary of bilateral results
SEMLA project coincides with the Norwegian national research programme for Arctic Region intending to launch industrial exploitation of particularly rich oil and gas deposits under conditions much more difficult than those encountered in the North Sea. SEMLA has fostered common works of Polish and Norwegian partners in particular in area of broadband at sea, advancement in understanding of details in polarimetric radar for operation aimed at oil spill and other pollution detection. Owing to SMELA project execution, a firm frame has been developed for development commercial radar capable to detect oil spills at their early phases. A push towards joint commercialization of project results, has been manifested during meetings: SEMLA Workshop No. 1 (2015) and a meeting with Innovation Norway (2016). The planned Workshop No. 2 (during Baltexpo Exhibition in Sept. 2017) is expected to bring further leverage of SEMLA results. The project has contributed to strengthening bilateral relations at the arctic programme and at the project level. The technical value of project was highly evaluated. Importance of the studies has been confirmed by a number of project web page entries, in particular from USA, Russia and Canada. The SEMLA project was honored by a visit of Mr. Karsten Klepsvik – Ambassador of Kingdom of Norway to Poland and by Mr. Kjell Arne Nielsen – the director of Innovation Norway. First steps towards follow-up activities have been done. Presently, development and market implementation of anticollision/navigational/meteorological radar is underway. A project for sea surface scanning with the polarimetric radar has been proposed with Andoya Space Center. Joint applications to Horizon 2020 and to European Space Agency open calls have been done during the last three years. Joint Norwegian-Polish teams works on new activities in space programs. Owing to bilateral relations and value of SEMLA results, we have proposed a system for remote monitoring extreme high temperatures that can be used to enhance safety in oil and gas facilities.