A conformal, dynamic pattern-reconfigurable antenna using conductive textile-polymer composite

A conformal antenna with electronically tuning capability of its radiation pattern between broadside and monopole-like patterns is proposed. The antenna is based on a proximity-fed circular patch, loaded with a ring patch and four rectangular slots. The design is planar without any use of rigid shorting posts or complex feeding network. The reconfigurability is achieved by activating and deactivating the slots using PIN diodes, to switch between TM02 (monopole-like mode) and perturbed TM02 distributions (broadside mode) of the antenna. For conformability, the antenna is fabricated using highly flexible PDMS-conductive fabric composite. All the antenna parts, including the RF switches, wires, and DC biasing circuit are fully encapsulated by PDMS to provide resilience against deformation and harsh environment. Investigations on the RF performance and mechanical stability of the antenna were conducted. Under various bendings, it was demonstrated that all the antenna components, including those for electronic switching, remained intact and in working order even under radius bending of 30 mm, thus maintaining good pattern reconfigurability and overall performance. When bent, the measured results at 5.2 GHz show a stable radiation performance relative to those of the flat case (i.e., maximum gain of 2.9 dBi and efficiency of 64% in broadside mode, corresponding to 1.75 dBi and 52% in monopole-like mode). To the best of our knowledge, all these features have never been demonstrated in previously published pattern reconfigurable antennas

Artificial Intelligence and COVID-19: Deep Learning Approaches for Diagnosis and Treatment

COVID-19 outbreak has put the whole world in an unprecedented difficult situation bringing life around the world to a frightening halt and claiming thousands of lives. Due to COVID-19’s spread in 212 countries and territories and increasing numbers of infected cases and death tolls mounting to 5,212,172 and 334,915 (as of May 22 2020), it remains a real threat to the public health system. This paper renders a response to combat the virus through Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some Deep Learning (DL) methods have been illustrated to reach this goal, including Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), and Long/Short Term Memory (LSTM). It delineates an integrated bioinformatics approach in which different aspects of information from a continuum of structured and unstructured data sources are put together to form the user-friendly platforms for physicians and researchers. The main advantage of these AI-based platforms is to accelerate the process of diagnosis and treatment of the COVID-19 disease. The most recent related publications and medical reports were investigated with the purpose of choosing inputs and targets of the network that could facilitate reaching a reliable Artificial Neural Network-based tool for challenges associated with COVID-19. Furthermore, there are some specific inputs for each platform, including various forms of the data, such as clinical data and medical imaging which can improve the performance of the introduced approaches toward the best responses in practical applications

A Conformal Ultrawideband Antenna with Monopole-Like Radiation Patterns

International audienceA simple conformal ultrawideband (UWB) antenna with monopole-like radiation patterns is proposed in this communication. To achieve the wide bandwidth, two rings are arranged concentrically around the main annular-ring circular patch antenna, in which two rectangular slots are added. The antenna has monopole-like radiation patterns generated by combining four propagation modes of TM01, TM02, TM03, and TM04 throughout the operating bands. To enhance the flexibility and robustness, the proposed antenna is fabricated using conductive fabric embedded into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer. To our knowledge, this is the first flexible UWB antenna with monopole-like radiation patterns reported in the open literature. The measured results show that the antenna achieves a 10 dB return loss bandwidth from 2.85 to 8.6 GHz. Monopole-like radiation patterns are maintained throughout the frequency band, agreeing well with simulated results. This has been validated through the measured Mean Realized Gain (MRG) pattern from 2.85 to 8.6 GHz. The fabricated antenna was bent and tested at various curvatures to verify its conformability. To evaluate suitability for UWB communications, the system-fidelity factors of the antenna are investigated using full-wave analysis in CST Microwave Studio, in both flat and bent conditions, validating its potential for UWB pulse transmission

Generation of Beam Tilt through Three-Dimensional Printed Surface

In this paper, 3D printed surfaces are presented to study this technology’s application in generating beam tilt for the electromagnetic waves in the Ku-band. Additionally, the input source is maintained by a feed horn that is additively manufactured and is coated with copper spray paint to add conductivity, which is fed by a WR-75 waveguide. The proposed beam tilt generating surface is also referred to as a Beam Deviating Surface (BDS). There is no relative gap between the BDS and the aperture of the horn, which eventually decreased the overall antenna height. The BDS layer is able to deviate the beam for a fixed elevation angle of 22.5∘ and could be consequently rotated along with the rotation of the BDS prototype. The voltage standing wave ratio value is less than two over the operating frequency range, which depicts the wideband behavior. The measured and simulated radiation patterns show that we can tilt the electromagnetic waves in ranges of up to +/−22.5∘ with a minimum side lobe level of −5 dB at frequencies from 10 to 15 GHz. This signifies the wideband characteristic of the proposed prototype, which is achieved by Vero material from Multijet Printing that is a low-cost and rapid manufacturing 3D printing technology

Generation of Beam Tilt through Three-Dimensional Printed Surface

In this paper, 3D printed surfaces are presented to study this technology’s application in generating beam tilt for the electromagnetic waves in the Ku-band. Additionally, the input source is maintained by a feed horn that is additively manufactured and is coated with copper spray paint to add conductivity, which is fed by a WR-75 waveguide. The proposed beam tilt generating surface is also referred to as a Beam Deviating Surface (BDS). There is no relative gap between the BDS and the aperture of the horn, which eventually decreased the overall antenna height. The BDS layer is able to deviate the beam for a fixed elevation angle of 22.5∘ and could be consequently rotated along with the rotation of the BDS prototype. The voltage standing wave ratio value is less than two over the operating frequency range, which depicts the wideband behavior. The measured and simulated radiation patterns show that we can tilt the electromagnetic waves in ranges of up to +/−22.5∘ with a minimum side lobe level of −5 dB at frequencies from 10 to 15 GHz. This signifies the wideband characteristic of the proposed prototype, which is achieved by Vero material from Multijet Printing that is a low-cost and rapid manufacturing 3D printing technology