Electronically Steerable Agile Beam Antenna. Phase 2.

Abstract : The Electronically Steerable Agile Beam Antenna (ESABA) was developed under Phase 1/11 of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program. The goal of the project is to develop a rugged antenna that transmits real-time analog video from an unmanned robotic vehicle (RV) to a manned command center (CC). The ESABA uses a Very High Frequency (VHF) phased array to determine the direction of the incoming VHF command link from the CC. The ESABA then electronically switches the radio frequency (RF) microwave signal carrying the video from the video transmitter to one of eight circular-polarized, helical antennas. The advantages of the ESABA approach over a conventional mechanical system are: (1) better reliability because there are no moving parts; (2) better link margin because of circular-polarized, helical design; and (3) better performance because reacquisition of the direction to the CC can be done electronically in milliseconds.