Market Analysis for the Microzed Timekeeping and Geolocation Sensor (Tgs)
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MARKET ANALYSIS FOR THE MICROZED TIMEKEEPING AND GEOLOCATION SENSOR (TGS) by BRIAN STRIGEL Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Physics STEP Program CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY August 2019 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Brian Strigel candidate for the degree of Master of Science* Committee Chair Edward Caner Committee Member Corbin Covault Committee Member Michael Martens Date of Defense June 3, 2019 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. ii Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................................v Abstract ............................................................................................................................ vi Introduction........................................................................................................................1 II.0. Potential Industrial Applications: Power Grid Synchronization, Microgrids, and Travelling Wave Fault Detection .......................................................................................7 II.1: Travelling Wave Fault Detection................................................................................7 II.2 Cost Analysis for Implementation of Microzed TGS in Cleveland, Ohio for TW Fault Detection .......................................................................................................................... 13 II.3 ISO/FERC Live Monitoring and the Electricity Market ............................................ 15 II.4: Speculative Smart Grid Applications ....................................................................... 20 II.5: Microgrid Applications ............................................................................................ 23 II.6: Summary of Potential Applications in the Electric Utility Industry ......................... 27 III: Potential Applications in the Department of Defense ................................................ 29 III.1: GPS-Starved Navigation ......................................................................................... 29 IV: Other Applications ..................................................................................................... 32 IV.1: Cyber Security ........................................................................................................ 32 IV.2: Internet of Things (IoT) .......................................................................................... 32 IV.3: Potential Applications in Aviation and Drone Technology ..................................... 34 IV.4 Microlocation Applications: Live Personnel Tracking and Geofencing Technology ......................................................................................................................................... 36 V.0 Practical Concerns and Considerations ..................................................................... 42 V.1: Speculative Business Model ..................................................................................... 42 V.2: Areas for Future Development and Testing .............................................................. 43 V.3: Potential Funding Sources ........................................................................................ 47 V.4 Potential Competitors ................................................................................................ 49 V.5 Patentability .............................................................................................................. 58 V.6 Disruptive Product .................................................................................................... 59 VI.0. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 62 iii Appendix A: List of Relevant Grant Applications to the MicroZed TGS ........................ 64 Low Probability Intercept/Detect (LPI/LPD) Alternative Navigation System Demonstration .................................................................................................................. 64 Handheld Dismount Kit for Persistent, Precision Navigation in GPS-challenged Environments for Military Operations ............................................................................. 66 SBIR Phase I: A Robust Indoor Localization System for Mobile Devices ....................... 68 Alternative or Redundant Global Positioning System Navigation ................................... 70 Redundant Gimbal-less Navigation and Positioning System ........................................... 72 Innovative Non-GPS Geolocation Technologies for Hand and Remotely Emplaced Munitions ......................................................................................................................... 74 Calcium Slow Beam Optical Clock (CaSBOC) ............................................................... 76 PFI:BIC - A Cost-effective Accurate and Resilient Indoor Positioning System ............... 78 Appendix B: MicroZed Board Information ...................................................................... 82 Appendix C: Relevant Patents Requiring Translation ...................................................... 85 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 88 iv List of Figures Figure 1Chart illustrating the Annual Solar PV Capacity in MWdc .....................25 Figure 2 1 The impact of the U.S. Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) of 2005 resulted in a boom for annual U.S. Solar installations ...........................................25 Figure 3 Expansion of the U.S. Solar Market as a Function of its Declining Cost ................................................................................................................................26 Figure 4 Example of Sensor Delay Times in Ping Receiving Based on approximate distance to sensors surrounding the building. ...................................38 Figure 5 MicroZed board. Its compact design can be neatly packaged into a rugged device. ........................................................................................................82 v Market Analysis for the MicroZed Timekeeping and Geolocation Sensor (TGS) Abstract by BRIAN STRIGEL This paper presents a survey of possible applications for the MicroZed Timekeeping and Geolocating Sensor (TGS) developed by Professor Corbin Covault of Case Western Reserve University and his team. Professor Covault prototyped the device in 1996 at the Pierre Auger Observatory as a tool to count cosmic rays in his research and he has continued to develop the device. The paper investigates possible current markets for the device and considers its patentability. Markets considered include Box Synchronization for usage in Travelling Wave (TW) Fault Detection, electric trading markets, the Smart Grid, Microgrids, potential defense applications, Aviation and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology, Internet of Things, Geofencing, Microlocation, and Microlocation of Live Rescue Personnel. Although the author concludes that the device may not be patentable, the paper offers insight and a recommended path for the professor to take should he decide to commercialize the device for use in any of the mentioned applications. vi Introduction Case Western Reserve University’s Professor Corbin Covault and his colleagues initially developed the MicroZed Timekeeping and Geolocation Sensor (TGS) in conjunction with the Pierre Auger Observatory. They developed the device “to allow cross-matching of cosmic ray event times for on-line shower recognition and off-line direction reconstruction”1 within 10 ns relative timing with live data stream synchronization, all while consuming less than 1 W of power. The MicroZed TGS was created from off-the-shelf components. In 1996, when this research was conducted, no such device could apply and self-calibrate to a GNSS ping to required resolution. The Pierre Auger Observatory required a transmission-free atmosphere to conduct its survey on cosmic rays, requiring the MicroZed TGS to be internally calibrated. Connecting the prototypical MicroZed TGS to an external timekeeping standard would have compromised the sensitive instruments in place at the Observatory. The prototypical MicroZed TGS developed in 1996 produced good results. According to the report on its design, “The basic technique is to exploit a commercial GPS receiver module, in conjunction with a custom-designed 100 MHz twin channel counter latch assembly. These are both interfaced with a computer.”2 The report further described the testing of the prototype to the MicroZed TGS that was conducted at the Pierre Auger Observatory: Initially two prototype systems were constructed which were tested under two circumstances a) at the same location and b) separated by 500 m using a high 1 The Auger Collaboration, The Pierre Auger Observatory Design Report (1997) ed. 2 pg. 175-178 2 The Auger Collaboration, The Pierre Auger Observatory Design Report (1997) ed. 2 pg. 175-178 1 bandwidth cable link. The time interval measurement error distribution had a standard deviation of 6 ns, with a systematic error of 5 ns. The maximum errors observed during 8 days of operation, with 800,000 test triggers, were +21 ns and - 35 ns. 3 Twenty-three years later, development