Antenna Laboratory to be Global Research Hub

A long-awaited antenna laboratory which has opened at Aalborg University (AAU) in Denmark, is now operational and being used by AAU’s Department of Electronic Systems, a decades-long world leader in antenna research.
The new facility, the largest of its kind in the world, feature a removable roof and wall, combining the potential of an enclosed anechoic antenna lab and an outdoor measurement station, explains Gert Frølund, Professor and Head of the antenna section in AAU's Department of Electronic Systems. “With the wall and roof of the new lab open, researchers can measure huge objects and signals over vast distances without the ground reflection and other influences that usually plague outdoor measurements. In practice, the lab simulates an infinitely large space that is shielded and radio anechoic, something that hasn’t been seen before.”

During the past 25 years, the old labs were renovated and upgraded repeatedly as new technologies and opportunities came along. That experience made for the ambitious and flexible design of the new antenna lab. “We have no idea what the new lab will be used for in the future and that is exactly the point. We are taking into account that the future will bring rapid development that is impossible to predict and have built the laboratory in as flexible and ambitious a way as possible so that it’s future-proof,” he added.
The lab contains an elevator and a measurement platform that can lift and rotate large objects like cars and satellites of up to 3500 kg inside the laboratory. And by removing the roof, even larger objects such as wind turbine blades or fighter planes can be partially or completely lowered down into the laboratory.
For businesses focused on small antennas and mobile phones, the building also contains two standard antenna measurement chambers in the new facility, enabling researchers to work with more diverse industries. “We need this large, flexible laboratory for the more experimental research that is essential for AAU and for innovation. The future lies not just in small antennas, but in communication technology in your car, your clothes, your washing machine, and in just about everything you can imagine. Also technology we cannot foresee or imagine today,” said Professor Frølund.