蓝莓视频 Engineering research team marks major milestone听in intelligent antenna project
An intelligent antenna developed by researchers at 蓝莓视频 Engineering has been successfully tested, a major milestone in a multi-year, multi-million-dollar project.
The phased array antenna system for next-generation communications can be electronically steered to maintain links to overhead satellites for Internet connectivity.
鈥淭his modular, intelligent technology platform provides a cost-effective solution for a wide range of applications 鈥� from fixed to mobility satellite broadband services, and for听the听rapidly听emerging millimeter-wave 5G cellular services,鈥� said听Safieddin (Ali) Safavi-Naeini, director of the Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) at 蓝莓视频.
Receiver (top) and transmitter antennas developed by 蓝莓视频 Engineering researchers听are shown during recent testing.
The breakthrough was announced this week by , a leading provider of mobile satellite antenna systems that is jointly funding the research with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.
Operating on the Ka-band, the low-cost听technology was used in tests to stream video, surf the Internet, perform speed tests and conduct an uninterrupted video conference over Webex.
C-COM, which is based in Ottawa, was co-founded by Leslie Klein, a 蓝莓视频 Engineering alumnus who serves as president and CEO.
Safavi-Naeini has been working on intelligent antenna systems for satellite-based Internet connectivity听for almost two and a half decades, motivated by their potential to deliver broadband service via satellite to moving vehicles and bridge the digital divide by extending the reach of broadband Internet to vast areas of the world that lack access.
鈥淢easured over-the-air results have demonstrated the high performance of the compact, scalable antenna听modules and validated our modular technology architecture for larger panels,鈥� he said.
Successful initial tests over the Telesat Anik F3听satellite are a significant development for C-COM and CIARS. Researchers will now continue testing over several different satellites to confirm interoperability of the new antenna and radio system.
鈥淭oday, we are much closer to achieving our听objective听of听delivering an affordable, electronically steerable antenna system听capable of operating over the latest听constellations听of LEO, MEO and GEO satellites,听which will play a听significant听role in delivering听broadband solutions to听consumer and enterprise markets worldwide,鈥� Klein said in a 尘别诲颈补听谤别濒别补蝉别.
Planning for commercialization听of the new technology has begun, along with prototyping of a 4,000-element antenna using the same building blocks as the 1,000-element antenna that was successfully tested.
Main photo:听Researchers (left to right) Naimeh Ghafarian, Ehsan Haj Mirza Alian and Wael M. Abdel-Wahab during testing of new intelligent antennas.
