Antennaware is a company founded in 2020 in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Matthew Magill and Gareth Conway, both top researchers in antennas and propagation from Queen's University Belfast. Their research on wearable, body-centric EM propagation, and implantable antenna technology forms the basis of AntennaWare’s product development for the next generation of wireless wearables.
Ideally suited to the IoT, wearables, sports, professional and consumer electronics markets, Antennaware's robust UWB Bodywave is said to provide more coverage, improved wireless reliability, and the best signal performance for effective data capture – even in demanding outdoor environments. As the only antenna specifically designed for wearables, BodyWave antenna technology has increased radiation efficiency, increased detuning immunity and optimized propagation, all in a compact package.
Antennaware's expertise has already been deployed in the 2.4GHz for Bluetooth arena where its Bodywave antenna resulted in improvements of between 10 and 20dB. This new UWB version is recording over 25dB improvement in link budget when compared to printed or ceramic chip antennas - a dramatic improvement that is allowing UWB radios to successfully address market sectors where Body Blocking was previously very difficult to overcome.
"A major problem with wireless wearables is the issue of body shadowing," says Dr. Gareth Conway, CEO of Antennaware. "This is when the human body blocks the wireless transmission path, meaning the signal can drop out because the radio waves created by existing antennas are reflected or absorbed by the human body. BodyWave solves this by generating waves that flow efficiently around the body, supporting a communication link even when the body is blocking the signal."
The new version of Bodyware, which supports both 6.5GHz (Ch 5) and 8GHz (Ch 9), deals with the issues surrounding UWB that have historically caused data drop outs, especially when devices were used "cross body" (back pocket to headset) or in Auto and Asset Tracking applications.
"Our novel and patented approach addresses the debilitating effects of body blocking in general, and UWB in particular," adds Dr. Matt Magill, CTO of Antennaware. "This makes our Bodyware UWB antenna a fundamental enabler for the IoT, Wearable and Audio wireless markets."
Antennaware will be showcasing both its Ultra-Wideband and BT Low Energy Bodywave antennas at CES 2023 in Las Vegas.
www.antennaware.co.uk
