Low-Energy Multibeam Antennas for Wireless Communications Systems
Opportunity
An innovative antenna feed network with low energy consumption to enable individually steerable multiple beams for connecting billions of mobile devices wirelessly
Background
The world is getting increasingly connected between people, objects and machines. To connect billions of devices wirelessly, and realise the Internet of Things and Internet of Senses, one needs to have smart multibeam antenna technologies. Using such a technology, the independent steering of the multiple beams would enable simultaneous direct connections between mobile devices. Unfortunately, the current solutions either have high energy consumption and high cost due to employment of high speed sophisticated digital processing, or do not have the ability for independent beam steering due to the architecture, thus limiting their market adoption.
Our Solution
Researchers at UTS have developed a novel multibeam feed network called the Generalised Joined Coupler (GJC) matrix. The GJC matrix primarily consists of two types of radio frequency (RF) devices, namely, directional couplers and phase shifters. The directional couplers are responsible for “routing” different signals along different circuit paths, whereas the phase shifters are responsible for steering the directions of different beams. Phase shifters have been widely used in phased arrays to produce single beams. The unique GJC matrix architecture makes it possible to steer multiple beams independently and simultaneously. Since multiple beam steering is done by just adjusting a set of voltages to drive different rows of phase shifters associated with different beams, the energy consumption required is very low. The GJC matrix can be implemented using printed circuit boards (PCB), so its manufacturing cost is low.
By connecting the GJC matrix with a single antenna array, one can produce multiple independently and simultaneously steerable beams. These beams are necessary for establishing simultaneous multiple communications links between mobile devices in the vicinity of each other.
Potential Applications
5G/6G communications
Internet of Things (IoT)
Industry automation
Drones
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites
IP Status
The invention is the subject of a Provisional Patent AU2023201214.
Inventors
Distinguished Prof Jay Guo
Figure A: An illustration of the GJC matrix in which different signals enter from the right and are fed to the antenna array at the top for transmission.
Contact us
If you are interested in working with our researchers to develop any of our technologies, please contact the UTS Commercialisation Team at patents@uts.edu.au.
