Rotman Lens

(en.wikipedia.org)

41 points | by thomasjb 5 days ago

2 comments

  • d4ng 4 days ago
    If I understand correctly, is the application of this to quickly switch the direction of sending/receiving? Are there any other applications?
    • colechristensen 2 minutes ago
      No, this is to concentrate the radio waves into a desired shape. Stronger in this direction, weaker than that.

      Think of it very vaguely like a parabolic mirror on a flashlight directing the light vs a naked light bulb putting light out in all directions. (this is a bad metaphor for what's going on but it's the basic idea of the goal)

      To change the direction you have to physically move the antenna OR have an active phased array antenna with an electronic component which has a variable phase change to be able to move the beam around while leaving the antenna fixed.

    • macnetic 4 days ago
      Not just switching, you can use all of the beams simultaneously.
  • bt1a 42 minutes ago
    I was expecting some sort of fungal network with measurable compute on initial glance. Then the article image couldn't help but look quite like the outline of an Earthbound entity.