‘Paint-on’ Antennas Could Offer Emergency Response Wireless Alternative

Flying as high as 60,000 to 70,000 feet above the earth, high-altitude airships such as the SA-60 can stay aloft for up to a year and providing a platform for wireless communications.

The next generation of high-altitude airships may be arriving sooner than the boffins predicted, and all due to the wonders of — paint? Yes, researchers at RTI International, based in North Carolina, have developed "paint-on" antennas for airships they say will further advances in both communications and surveillance technologies.

The announcement comes from RTI after the antenna performed successfully during testing in June. SA-60 spherical airships painted with the antenna successfully managed to transmit voice and data links, and teleconferencing capabilities during their test flights across the Nevada desert. The test flights provided the first opportunity to test and evaluate the electrical, electromagnetic and mechanical properties of the antenna during actual flight conditions, and the antennae themselves were tested from several positions on the airships.

By Georgina Voss

Full Story: http://www.govtech.net/digitalcommunities/story.php?id=100529