A Sea-Powered Radio Beacon with Extended Storage and Operating Capabilities Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Topic No.: N101-049 Topic Title: A Sea-Powered Radio Beacon with Extended Storage and Operating Capabilities Proposal No.: N101-049-0135 Firm: Lynntech, Inc. 2501 Earl Rudder Freeway South College Station, Texas 77845-6023 Contact: Alan Cisar Phone: (979) 693-0017 Web Site: http://www.lynntech.com/ Abstract: Submarine Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (SEPIRB) are carried aboard all submarines to send an emergency signal if a submarine is trapped on the bottom and unable to surface. Currently they use primary lithium batteries for power which have a limited shelf life limiting the life of the buoy. At the same time the amount of data transmitted is limited. The sea is an active environment, with a deployed buoy in constant motion. Harnessing this motion to generate electrical power is the key to a system with a much longer storage life. We propose to harness this motion using a polymer based electrochemical system. The polymer system is superior to a tradition piezoelectric because it offers a better frequency and potential match. Piezoelectric systems are efficient at high frequencies, but wave energy is only available at frequencies under 1 Hz where the polymer systems are much more effective. This will be combined with an improved electronics package to increase the amount of information transmitted. The system proposed here will include a storable seawater battery for fast starting and be deployed from the same 3" system as the current buoys. These features make adaption of the improved buoy relatively simple. Benefits: An energy harvesting system based on converting acceleration (i.e., non-smooth motion) to electricity has many potential uses beyond powering SEPIRB's (and other buoys such as aids to navigation). Mounting a larger device of this type on a sailboat would allow waves to supply power for lights and other electrical needs day and night, sun or clouds, with no emissions. Land based applications are numerous as well. One example is a cell phone that collects and stores energy as the user carries it in their pocket, but many portable battery powered devices could benefit. Return