New wireless technology is capable of enabling extremely fast data connections on 5G and 6G
With the award of a Take-off feasibility study to launch the new spin-off MaxWaves, this new system was developed in Professor Bart Smolders' research group at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. The antennas electronically point the signals in the right direction, making the system very energy-efficient and the signals undisturbed by weather conditions.
Around 2025, everyone will probably have switched from the current 4G internet, via 5G to 6G. As a result, data speeds in 2025 will be as much as 100 times faster than today. This means that the antennas at base stations - which have to serve dozens to hundreds of mobile users at the same time - will have to exchange many times greater amounts of information with each other than they do today.
Series of coupled antennas
The group of prof.dr.ir. Bart Smolders has developed a new antenna technology that will allow future base stations to be wirelessly linked together at extremely high data rates. This is possible by using a whole array of electronically coupled antennas. These electronically direct the radio beams in the right direction. So dishes with these antennas do not have to physically move to change broadcasting direction.This technology consumes little energy, and can continue to function optimally in all weather conditions. This is because the electronic steering can instantly adapt to disturbance caused by wind and rain. Electronic beam control also eliminates the need for cables in the ground and makes the system electronically configurable. This makes it very easy to temporarily expand the network capacity, for example at a major event.
MaxWaves
TU/e spinoff MaxWaves will commercially market this system for future networks. The Take-off feasibility study allows MaxWaves to build a new prototype that is more advanced than the previously built two prototypes. Testing for this will take place at TU/e. Besides the technology study, there will also be a market analysis for the underlying business plan.
