The image of a destroyer at sea bristling with communications antennae could soon become a thing of the past.
Elmsford-based Hypres Inc. is working on making that scenario a reality.
The company develops and commercializes superconductor microelectronics for defense and commercial wireless markets that can micro-size bulky equipment. It recently landed a multimillion-dollar contract with Selex Communications, an Italian-based defense contractor. Selex is a part of Finmeccanica, a multicompany organization specializing in defense, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy. The company has offices in more than 100 countries.
Hypres will be developing an all-digital receiver for the Selex Communications software-defined radio.
Since Hypres began delivering all-digital receiver prototypes to various U.S. defense-sector customers, the company has experienced ever-increasing demand from prime contractors and systems integrators, said Richard Hitt, CEO of Hypres.
An advantage of an all-digital receiver is that it could eventually eliminate about 80 percent of the equipment that currently exists in the communications field, he said.
That equipment, such as the forests of antennae on battleships or cell phone towers, is needed to convert analog data to digital data.
Hypres”™ prototype receiver would offer improvements in radio-operating efficiency; data-signal strength and speed; power conservation; and equipment cost reduction by directly digitizing the frequency coming over the airwaves, said Hitt.
In essence, this superconductivity technology allows electronics manufacturers to remove most of a radio”™s now-unneeded analog components, said Hitt
“This is a home run for us,” he said. “The fact that they”™re attracted to us, a tech developer, developing technology that will be adopted into wireless community in general, is pretty exciting stuff,” he said.
Hitt expects the contract with Selex will add between three and five new jobs within the company, which now employs 33.
The company has done several jobs with the U.S. government over the years, but this is the largest research and designed job for a non-U.S. government entity for Hypres in at least five years.
Â
“Serving as a technology provider for Finmeccanica and Selex Communications fits our strategic plan perfectly and is a great opportunity for Hypres,” said Hitt. “Hypres has proven that all-digital receivers can be designed to directly convert radio frequency signals to digital at virtually any frequency and bandwidth with performance that exceeds currently fielded satellite and tactical communications, signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and software-defined radio equipment.”
The company has been designing and building its thumbnail-sized chips, housed in cryogenic operating environments, in Westchester County since the mid-1980s. These chips are used in equipment that define and measure voltage standards for most nations around the world, said Hitt
These metrology systems are integral in providing calibration for precise instruments and electronic equipment, in particular for calibration of avionic systems. No airplane can fly today without calibration of its avionics, Hitt said.
He said Hypres has been helped over the years by U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey in getting congressional earmarks for research and design.
Today, Hypres is focusing its attention on addressing defense-related communications challenges, where harsh operating environments, expanding performance requirements and extreme technology gaps are the norm, and where the benefits of superconductivity in those environments may possibly help.
Â
Â
Â
