Smart antennas: transforming random scattered fields to controlled signals

马可尼将无线通信商业化，使之成为人类所知的最具颠覆性的技术。一个多世纪前，正是对通信技术的需求催生了我们的电气工程学科，而今天，它仍然是从数学到材料科学等学科研究的主要推动力。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，甚至连经济学家都认为，信息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拓世界优质设计知识，为加拿大创造经济财富。******中心主题是智能天线的发展。这种选择是因为天线是大多数无线系统中性能限制最大的组件，但它也是最有潜力提高容量和能源效率的组件，这对我们未来的系统至关重要。******一种智能天线包括多单元天线（mea）、电子器件和通信信号处理算法。这个想法是通过对场和波的自适应控制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，其中最关键的是：紧凑的宽带MEA结构的构思、设计和评估；相关信号理论与处理；以及对传播通道的理解和建模。这些代表了不同的学科，必须一起考虑有效的设计：mea必须适应无线电波的传播，其行为是需要先进信号处理的原因。成功的新型智能天线设计源于对以下因素的深刻理解：波和场的散射；天线元件；以及信号处理。“发现”号的研究是我研究项目的支柱。它将产生：广泛接受的多边环境评估的新基础和新方法；面向未来系统的世界最佳MEA设计；知识的新应用；新一代的世界级研发工程师将领导产品开发团队。应用范围广。在通信方面，应用范围从物联网的短距离链路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，以创造更宜居的环境和沉浸式声学

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.**