A Kymeta connected car graphic. Photo: Kymeta

[Via Satellite 12-16-2015] Kymeta and Intelsat have successfully completed initial testing of the mobility performance of Kymeta’s flat-panel antennas on Intelsat’s satellite network for both maritime and automotive applications. The software-based antennas are designed to simplify the access to satellites by removing the need for mechanical components, using software to electronically point, steer and acquire the satellite signal.

In the automotive portion of the test, the team embedded Kymeta’s flat-panel antenna into the roof of an automobile and demonstrated the company’s mTenna technology’s ability to automatically acquire and track satellite signals while on the move through an 8,000-mile journey. The Ku-band antenna, compatible with traditional and upcoming High Throughput Satellites (HTS) was able to both transmit and receive signals.

In maritime, Kymeta completed the build and testing of its prototype antenna, a glass-on-glass, thin-film-transistor-based antenna, with receive and transmit on the same aperture. This maritime prototype is the workhorse of Kymeta’s 70cm Ku-band product and is currently being produced on existing Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD) TV display lines from Sharp, marking the first step towards mass-volume and low-cost attainability for Kymeta antennas.