UK project seeks to build multiple-hop antenna system

Entire communities may soon be networked by meshes of radio transmissions that will carry much more data than existing wired services. A new kind of antenna will act as a relay node, forwarding signals through the air to link eventually with the public internet or private networks.

The project depends upon perfecting the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) antennas and the algorithms and protocols that will maximise their efficiency. 'Essentially MIMOs behave like a lot of mini antennas in one,' said research co-ordinator Prof Kin Leung of

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The aim is to design a system where signals hop from one antenna to the next, following reconfigurable routes that optimise the network. 'It's relatively challenging to build a multiple hop system,' said Leung. 'The hops could be as short as 100m or as long as a few kilometres. In rural areas directional antennae with line of sight could cover even greater distances.'