Integrated Antenna Systems for Connected Vehicles
New applications such as V2X (Vehicle to everything), ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), FOTA (Firmware Over the Air), diagnostics, real-time maps, etc. require a larger data-flow in and out of the vehicle. As a result, amount and variety of antennas have increased tremendously. For optimal performance of an antenna system, location and surrounding conditions are critical. With more and more antennas being integrated into vehicles, finding suitable packaging and location solutions is becoming ever more of a challenge. The TE Connectivity Automotive Wireless team support you with customized solutions.
TE Connectivity offers various integrated antenna systems that combine antenna and electronics in one place and thus offer excellent performance and are space-saving at the same time. Various options for the design of an antenna systems are available: A combination of shark fin with undermounted TCU, antennas and TCU in an antenna farm or the integration of an antenna farm with slim TCU. With all antenna systems the following services are especially supported: 5G MIMO, GNSS, SDARS, WLAN / BTLE, RKE.
Advantages of integrated antenna systems
- Reduced costs thanks to optimal installation:
many antennas are combined in a central location
- Shorter distance between antenna and electronics
- Less cable losses
- Better signal quality
- Better reception
- Fewer coaxial cables in the vehicle:
- Lower cable costs
- Reduced labor costs (fewer connectors)
- Lighter weight
- Better EMC for the vehicle
Antenna Farm – Combination of Antenna and TCU
The growing number of telematics services in the vehicle also means a larger number of antennas are required. The shark fin antenna thus reaches its limits in terms of size. Its height is limited by law to a maximum of 70 mm. OEMs are replacing the shark fin concept by integrating the antennas in a box under the roof called the “antenna farm”. The antenna farm achieves optimum performance when the antenna and TCU are combined. This approach is also cost-effective since coaxial cables and connectors are not required. The optimal design will always involve a trade-off between desired performance and size.
