Metasurface-Arrays werden Basisstationen, Autos und Drohnen tragbar verbinden

>Satellite internet services are expanding rapidly, but the ground terminals required to connect to them are expensive and power-hungry. French startup Greenerwave is building a terminal that uses something they call a “reconfigurable intelligent surface” (RIS) to reduce both costs and energy consumption.

>Constellations of low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites from companies like Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb promise to provide connectivity anywhere in the world. But establishing links with satellites that are constantly on the move, and rapidly switching between them to maintain a reliable connection, requires some advanced antenna technology.

>Most services today rely on phased array antennas, which are made up of multiple smaller antennas that work together to shape and steer radio beams. This makes it possible to lock onto a moving target, but requires complex and costly electronics that use a lot of electricity. Paris-based Greenerwave has instead built a terminal that relies on an RIS, which is made up of scores of small, adjustable reflective units that work in concert to alter the direction and properties of a beam as it is reflected off the surface.

>Because the antenna uses much simpler electronics, CEO Geoffroy Lerosey says it is more cost-effective than those relying on a phased array and cuts energy down to one-tenth of traditional systems. Beyond slashing costs, RIS technology, he says, could also enable new applications such as satellite terminals on cars and planes. Lerosey says Greenwave plans to start sales of their terminal by the end of the year.