Description
When disaster has struck, applying correct aid and relief work is critical, in particular within the first few hours and days after the event. In order to direct aid to where it is needed, there is a clear demand for communication infrastructure for emergency relief personnel (including disaster response agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private relief companies), security personnel and companies that require rapidly deployable, high-bandwidth satellite communications, including TV reporters. In disaster conditions, the availability of existing communication infrastructure cannot be guaranteed and there is a need for alternative ad-hoc links to exchange various vital data information from remote locations where other telecommunication infrastructure may be either inadequate or not available. This is true for first-response communications, as well as contingency communications and other short-to-medium term deployments.
The Ku frequency band for satellite communication with its available bandwidth is well suited for all of the above scenarios. However, conventional Ku-band antennas tend to be large and difficult to transport or cumbersome to deploy, limiting their use in these situations.
This activity has investigated a solution to this problem. A prototype antenna has been manufactured and field testing has been performed over satellite using a COTS modem to transmit and receive data.
The initial requirements were:
• performance equivalent to a metallic dish of at least 80cm diameter.
• operation in Ku-band and be ETSI radiation compliant
• to have set-up/take down time of less than 5 minutes (including pointing).
• operational under heavy wind conditions.
• when folded, the antenna shall have volume corresponding to about ½ a normal backpack.
