Smart antennas: transforming random scattered fields to controlled signals

智能天线：将随机散射场转换为受控信号

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-06373
• 负责人: Vaughan, Rodney
• 金额: $ 4.74万
• 依托单位: Simon Fraser University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=616265
• 关键词: Smart; antennas; transforming; random; scattered

Marconi’s commercialization of wireless transformed communications into the most disruptive technology mankind has known. It was the demand for communications technology that spawned our discipline of electrical engineering over a century ago, and today it is still a prime driver of research - for disciplines ranging from mathematics to materials science. In electrical engineering, communications is the cornerstone of ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) and it now shapes the way we do business and socialize. This impact is accelerating and even economists concur that pervasive capability in ICT is key to a country’s economic wellbeing. My discovery research is designed to create economic wealth for Canada by pioneering the world’s premium design knowledge in carefully selected topics in communications. The central theme is the development of smart antennas. This choice is because the antenna is the single-most performance-limiting component in most wireless systems, and yet it is also the component with the single-most potential for improving the capacity and the energy efficiency which are critical for our future systems. A smart antenna comprises multiple-element antennas (MEAs), electronics, and communications signal processing algorithms. The idea is to suppress unwanted signals while enhancing wanted ones through adaptive control of the fields and waves. The design of smart antennas is underpinned by specialist skills and the critical ones are: the conception, design and evaluation of compact, wide-band MEA structures; the associated signal theory and processing; and the understanding and modelling of the propagation channel. These represent diverse disciplines which must be considered together for effective design: the MEAs must adapt to the radiowave propagation whose behaviour is the very reason for needing the advanced signal processing. Successful new smart antenna designs stem from a profound understanding of, and the interplay between: the scattering of waves and fields; the antenna elements; and the signal processing. This Discovery research is the backbone of my research programme. It will produce: new foundations and methods for widely-accepted MEA evaluation; the world’s best MEA designs for future systems; new applications for the knowledge; and a new generation of world-class research and development engineers that will lead product development teams. The applications are wide. In communications, the applications range from short-distance links for the Internet of Things to satellite radar systems for earth resource monitoring. Other applications of the technology range from smart microwave heating of food for Canada’s agricultural sector to smart spatial acoustic noise control for a more liveable environment and immersive acoustics.

马可尼的无线电商业化将通信转变为人类已知的最具破坏性的技术。正是对通信技术的需求在世纪前催生了我们的电气工程学科，今天它仍然是研究的主要驱动力-从数学到材料科学。在电气工程中，通信是ICT（信息，通信和技术）的基石，它现在塑造了我们做生意和社交的方式。这种影响正在加速，甚至经济学家也同意，信息和通信技术的普及能力是一个国家经济福祉的关键。我的发现研究旨在通过在精心挑选的通信主题中开创世界一流的设计知识，为加拿大创造经济财富。 中心主题是智能天线的发展。这一选择是因为天线是大多数无线系统中最具性能限制的组件，但它也是最有潜力提高容量和能效的组件，这对我们未来的系统至关重要。 智能天线包括多元件天线（MEA）、电子器件和通信信号处理算法。这个想法是通过自适应控制场和波来抑制不需要的信号，同时增强需要的信号。智能天线的设计以专业技能为基础，关键的是：紧凑的宽带MEA结构的概念，设计和评估;相关的信号理论和处理;以及传播信道的理解和建模。这些代表了不同的学科，必须一起考虑有效的设计：多边环境协定必须适应无线电波传播的行为是需要先进的信号处理的原因。成功的新型智能天线设计源于对波和场的散射、天线元件和信号处理之间的相互作用的深刻理解。 这项发现研究是我研究计划的支柱。它将产生：新的基础和广泛接受的MEA评估方法;世界上最好的MEA设计为未来的系统;新的应用知识;和新一代的世界级的研究和开发工程师，将领导产品开发团队。 应用范围很广。在通信方面，应用范围从物联网的短距离连接到用于地球资源监测的卫星雷达系统。该技术的其他应用范围从加拿大农业部门的智能微波加热食品到智能空间声学噪声控制，以实现更宜居的环境和沉浸式声学。