Parasitic Power Pack (P3)

Knowledge Based Systems, Inc.’s (KBSI) ultimate goal is to design a robust maintenance free Parasitic Power Pack (P3) that could be modularly inserted into “free floating” buoy systems deployed in Distributed Sensor Networks by the submarine fleet of the U.S. Navy to increase situational awareness and battlegroup integration by enabling Communications at Speed and Depth (CSD). P3 will not interfere with the antenna on the upper portion of the buoy and will not occupy more than 20 inches in length producing a steady power output of at least 4 milliwatts with a capacity to store at least 60 joules of energy. Of the different energy harvesting concepts for powering wireless sensors we use the incessant oscillations of the ocean waves under which the buoy is excited. Unlike regular wave energy devices that are tuned to ocean waves, we have a platform whose dimensions are preset for a specific purpose. Our intent is to design to this platform to produce a robust maintenance free design that will survive other operating conditions that it could be subjected to.