SBIR Phase I: Electrically Reconfigurable Antennas for Wireless Local Area Networks

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在为无线局域网(LAN)开发商业上可行的电子可重新配置天线。可重构天线与认知无线电和多输入多输出(MIMO)系统相结合，通过自适应地建立尽可能强的无线链路来传输，可以显著提高下一代无线通信的性能。这项研究的智力优势包括使用广泛的前期工作、原型和知识产权将可重构天线技术转化为实际的无线局域网产品，方法是i)开发紧凑的可重构天线以集成到无线局域网接入点中，ii)展示在传统无线局域网接入点中使用这些可重构天线可实现的性能改进，以及iii)量化未来无线局域网接入点的潜在性能提升，其协议堆栈旨在利用可重构天线功能。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为无线设备市场提供一种新技术，能够在降低整体功耗的同时改善无线连接。可重新配置的天线技术将有助于开发具有竞争力的消费产品和创新应用，包括无线个人、局域网和城域网络产品；笔记本电脑、手机和智能手机数据通信；游戏和其他家庭联网设备。性能驱动的市场，如i)家庭和企业联网，ii)无线高清音频/视频传输，以及iii)3G数据卸载将从这项技术中受益匪浅。除了电可重构天线的商业影响外，另一个更广泛的影响因素是在本科合作教育学生中促进技术创新和设计。VariWaves通过与德雷克塞尔大学的强大合作，将寻求将学生置于刺激的工作环境中，在那里他们将接触到他们跨学科教育的真实应用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop commercially viable electrically reconfigurable antennas for wireless Local Area Networks (LAN). Reconfigurable antennas coupled with cognitive radios and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems can significantly improve the performance of next generation wireless communication by adaptively establishing the strongest possible wireless link for transmission. The intellectual merit of this research involves using a wide array of preliminary work, prototypes, and intellectual property to transition reconfigurable antenna technology to practical wireless LAN products by i) developing compact reconfigurable antennas to be integrated into wireless LAN access point, ii) demonstrating the performance improvement achievable with these reconfigurable antennas in legacy wireless LAN access points, and iii) quantifying the potential performance increase in future wireless LAN access points, with protocol stacks that are designed to leverage reconfigurable antenna capabilities. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to provide to the market of wireless devices a novel technology capable of improving the wireless connectivity while diminishing the overall power consumption. The reconfigurable antenna technology will enable the development of competitive consumer products and innovative applications, including products for wireless personal, local and metro area networks; laptop, cellphone, and smartphone data communications; gaming and other home networked devices. Performance driven market like i) home and enterprise networking, ii) wireless high definition audio/video transmission, and iii) 3G data offloading will strongly benefit from this technology. Beyond the commercial impact of electrically reconfigurable antennas, another broader impact component is to foster technical innovation and design among undergraduate cooperative education students. VariWaves through its strong cooperation with Drexel University will seek to place students in stimulating work environments where they will be exposed to real-world applications of their interdisciplinary education.