Body Wearable Radio Direction Finding (DF) Antenna

The ability of soldiers to determine the locations of other personnel within their vicinity based upon line-of-bearing estimates of radio transmissions is of great importance to the army. The relative positions of both friends and foe within the area of operations provides great tactical advantages to the war fighter. By making the antennas more compact, man-wearable, and less conspicuous, we increase availability of direction finding (DF) systems to troops in the field by easing deployment and make those using the systems much safer by lowering their profiles. ASIs Smart Antenna design holds the promise of a man-wearable antenna with extended capabilities. Initial field tests demonstrate the feasibility of the Smart Antenna architecture. The fully integrated, power efficient approach eases the replacement of the current Wolfhound DF antenna assembly, which provides a well-defined initial market for the Smart Antenna product. The advanced capabilities of the solution enable expansion of the DF applications and entry into new signal intelligence market segments.