Motor-driven multi-rotation system for antenna beam steering

Macquarie University has invented a new class of planar high-gain antennas with steerable beams that are targeted for a variety of telecommunication applications. The antenna design will also need to be considered to facilitate its future specification especially regarding low energy consumption. The low energy consumption is one of the fundamental pillars of 5G specification as it aims to facilitate machine type communication over its interface. In order to commercially deploy such a framework, a unidirectional antenna design is proposed. Unlike an omnidirectional antenna, the unidirectional properties significantly minimise energy loss, making it not only more energy efficient, but significantly reducing overall energy consumption, so as to fit into the frame of 5G specifications. This project is to develop methods to rotate two disks in the antenna using stepper motors and build a prototype.