The key to the SWEC system is its innovative, low cost antenna design and its robust ad-hoc networking capabilities. Any SWEC radio in the network can communicate with any other SWEC radio without requiring a direct link, allowing very long distance two-way communications from the surface to the subterranean environments.
The highly adaptable system architecture is suitable for various operational environments such as:
- Daily mining communications
- Post-incident mining search and rescue
- Collapsed buildings
- Deep cave environments
- Underwater caves
- Man-made tunnels
The SWEC system has many potential military and civilian applications including the following:
- Communication in caves and tunnels
- Fire and police departments
- Commercial mining
- Homeland security
- Search and rescue in collapsed buildings
Subterranean Wireless Electronic Communication (SWEC)
The Subterranean Wireless Electronic Communication (SWEC) system is a fully portable, wireless radio system designed for underground rural and extreme urban environments. Kutta is developing the SWEC system for the U.S. Army. The SWEC radio system was developed under a US Army SBIR contract with the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), in accordance with SBIR solicitation A04-135.
Using low-power portable radio equipment, Kutta has successfully demonstrated
- Voice, text, and photo transfer transmissions through 800 feet of rock
- Innovative portable antennas
- Field testing in several abandoned mines and caves with different rock content
- Demonstrations of working radios in a five-story underground parking garage