spray-on antennae

[brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>]

from: cartome.org

11 July 2001
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Source: http://www.us.net/signal/CurrentIssue/July01/spray-july.html
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July 2001


©SIGNAL Magazine 2001

Spray-on Antennas Make Their Mark

Experimental technologies offer elegant, inexpensive solutions.

By Henry S. Kenyon


Researchers are studying applications and materials for creating
radio antennas that are sprayed onto a surface. Made from
commercially available materials, these devices consist of a
conductive substance sprayed over a template with a radio aerial
pattern on it. The antennas can be applied directly to walls, windows
or fabric shelters, allowing military commanders and relief workers
to set up communications networks quickly.

Transporting, establishing and maintaining radio systems for military
and humanitarian operations is often a logistics balancing act
because of weight and space considerations. The ability to use any
convenient surface as a mount for an aerial provides planners with
additional flexibility when deploying in areas that are devastated or
lack infrastructure.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Arlington,
Virginia, is considering a number of possible applications and
techniques for using spray-on antennas. According to Dr. Paul J.
Kolodzy, program manager, DARPA Advanced Technology Office, the goal
is to develop easily transportable antenna apertures that can be
deployed rapidly. For example, a command post staff could set up its
communications infrastructure by spraying antennas onto tents, walls
or windows. This concept could also be used where there is a
temporary need for a large antenna. Instead of diverting resources to
transport and assemble a large structure, communications specialists
may find it more efficient to spray a pattern onto a large piece of
plastic to create a dish, he says.

[ see rest of info at: http://www.cartome.org/antspray.htm ]

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