Antenna Technology with NASA Origins Benefits Haiti Relief and Military Efforts

GATR’s inflatable antenna was deployed to assist with communications efforts following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. (Image courtesy of GATR Technologies)

A technology with roots in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is benefiting from an ongoing technology transfer relationship with NASA’s Glenn Research Center, leading to faster on-the-ground communications support for disaster relief efforts and military operations.

The inflatable antenna from the GATR Technologies® company provides emergency Internet access, cell coverage, and phone lines over satellite networks—all in a compact package that can be transported in two suitcases and set up in less than an hour.

The technology’s low weight and quick deployment make it ideal for use in first-responder emergency situations. Early prototypes of the ground-based antenna were used by GATR to assist with communications needs following Hurricane Katrina, and the technology also assisted FEMA’s efforts during Hurricane Ike. The inflatable antenna has been used by law enforcement with missing person rescue missions, and it has provided communications support to U.S. military and humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, South Africa, South America, Haiti, and Korea.

Most recently, GATR deployed a system at a United Nations search-and-rescue site in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in response to the January 12 earthquake, a second antenna at a special operations unit at the Port-au-Prince Airfield, and two systems at a makeshift hospital in the Dominican Republic.

Back at NASA, GATR’s antenna is among other large aperture antennas being considered for NASA’s next-generation Space Communication Architecture.

Click here to learn more about this exciting technology transfer success story.

Interested in learning more about technology transfer?
Contact Fuentek, LLC at: (919) 249-0327
nasa.grc@fuentek.com

–By Nannette Stangle-Castor, Ph.D.

Officers with the Air Force Special Operations Command set up the inflatable antenna at Hurlburt Field in Eglin, Florida. (Image courtesy of GATR Technologies)

“We have two systems in Haiti providing support to first responders. It’s giving them Internet access and helping with search and rescue using text,chat, and the Google Maps™ mapping service to help pinpoint the location of houses where people are known to be missing. We’ll also be providing Internet access to about 100 doctors to connect them with other health workers to help their efforts.” —Paul Gierow, President, GATR Technologies Google Maps is a trademark of Google Inc