Abstract
Keywords Fractals, Antennas, AM/FM, Telephone, GPS
Abstract
The extraordinary opportunities and benefits that can be obtained from the convergence of electronics and information technologies in the automobile are sparkling a revolution in the automotive and telematic industry. Yet all these solutions are based on the capabilities of the vehicle to share information with the exterior world. Wireless in nature all the data shared must go through an antenna.
Antennas are essentially narrowband devices. Their behavior is highly dependent on the antenna size to the operating wavelength ratio. Each one of the telematic systems operates at a different frequency band. The size to wavelength dependence of antennas in todays conventional design implies that each application requires a single antenna.
A fractal is a complex geometric figure detailed in structure at any level of magnification. Fractal antennas® technology consists of using theses unique geometrical properties of self-similarity of the fractals an antenna can be designed to operate at multiple bands with similar radioelectric parameters. The space-filling property allows for a more efficient occupation of surface or volume, leading to a reduction in size and weight of the antennas.
The space filling capabilities of the fractal technology allow the company, Advanced Automotive Antennas (A³), joint-venture of FRACTUS, S.A. and FICOSA International to design and develop the smallest high-performance miniature antennas for AM/FM radio, worldwide telephone and GPS navigation system. Due to the important size reduction A³ antennas can be integrated into existing components of the automobile, thus eliminating the need of high visible external antennas. The advantages of these antennas are clear: Integration of services into a single vehicle component, standardizable for all vehicles: Invisibility, aesthetic and aerodynamics improvement, by replacing all external antennas: Scalability, since new services can be added as necessary: Ease of installation: no need to cut holes in the car body, reduced cable length, suppression of heavy mechanical watertight fixture, Security: against vandalism and theft; Durability: since antennas are not submitted to corrosion weather stress. And all these with the equivalent performance of current external antennas, and a lower cost than current window integrated antennas.
Based on the scalable self-similarity of the fractal shapes A³ develops also multi-band antennas under the Universal Antenna product platform in order to operate simultaneously in multiple bands.