Drexel university’s spray-on antennas and the implications for IoT

Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia have devised a novel means to install antennae to Internet of Things devices

The method of installing an antenna, as well as the form the antenna takes, is a major limiting factor in the widespread advent of seamlessly integrated IoT devices, but with Drexel’s spray-on breakthrough that could soon change.

According to Drexel Now, the antennae are made from a “type of two-dimensional, metallic material called MXene” that can be dissolved in water and applied in a thin coating without sacrificing transmission quality.

The flexibility of application, as well as the miniscule weight that the antenna would add, could have ground-breaking implications for IoT communications.

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“This is a very exciting finding because there is a lot of potential for this type of technology,” said Kapil Dandekar, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel.

“The ability to spray an antenna on a flexible substrate or make it optically transparent means that we could have a lot of new places to set up networks – there are new applications and new ways of collecting data that we can’t even imagine at the moment.”

He added, “This technology could enable the truly seamless integration of antennas with everyday objects which will be critical for the emerging Internet of Things.”