Proximetry will offer WiMAX
to the commercial aviation industry using smart antennas from Pinyon Technologies. International electronics and systems group Thales has been chosen as the systems integrator for the project.
Pinyon's AirWire advanced smart antennas are controlled by using Proximetry's AirSync intelligent provisioning and management system. This enables the electronic delivery of movies and other entertainment to airplanes while on the ground. In addition, it also supports the download of passenger manifests, electronic charts, and other vital aircraft specific content.
According to Proximetry, the combination of Proximetry's AirSync intelligent provisioning and management software with Pinyon's next generation AirWire smart antennas makes WiMAX
ideal for vertical markets where user types, applications, and devices each have specific requirements for operation and need varying degrees of guaranteed quality of service
. Thanks to AirSync, the Pinyon AirWire antennas can be managed in real time according to priorities, network policies and the real-time use and behavior of the network.
Base stations can use such real-time beam steering to adapt to environmental conditions, while portable devices can dynamically reorient a handheld device's antenna.
Tracy Trent, Proximetry's chief executive officer said in a statement that Pinyon is an innovative producer of simplified smart antennas for WiMAX, and their unique design means that WiMAX can be optimized to deliver much higher throughput for little additional cost.
She explained that combining that with AirSync to manage the antennas and bandwidth allocations means they can support demanding applications such as multigigabytes to numerous aircraft in a limited time window.
Pinyon chief executive officer Debashis Bagchi pointed out that Pinyon's current driven shorted slot antenna technology, AirWire, is an unique patented advance over the traditional voltage driven slot antenna that only get's about 60 percent matching efficiency.
Pinyon brings in the RF through a microstrip line -- the length of which is a quarter wave -- then short the line across the slot. This converts the voltage into a current, which give them 90 percent matching efficiency. Pinyon’s electronically steerable designs enable a microcontroller to dynamically change the directionality of the antenna to maintain the maximum signal in real time without physically moving the antenna.
Bagchi added that they have been working with Proximetry to bring the AirWire smart antenna technology into this unique WiMAX application.
Pinyon is also working with multiple other original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Siemens, that are using its antenna for Bluetooth, WiFi, WiMAX, and Wireless USB devices, and soon for both 3G
and 4G mobile phones.
Proximetry, Inc. provides real-time network and performance management solutions for wireless networks to enable operators to visualize, provision, and optimally manage their networks.
Pinyon Technologies develops designs and commercially sells antenna solutions based on a unique, patented AirWire technology.
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Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for IoTevolutionworld, covering call centers, CRM and information technology. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
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