The complexity involved in antenna design and the increasingly important role of the antenna – as the number of wireless devices continue to grow – are key takeaways delivered by Novocomms, as IoT Insider met with its Founder and CEO, Sampson Hu at the latest edition of Hardware Pioneers to learn more about the area of antennas.
Novocomms was established in 2013 and its core business is antennas, but the company has since expanded to address terminal product development for 5G infrastructure and satellite communications; a “one-stop service” covering concept to production for its customers.
Recognising that antennas are a key component – exemplified by the smartphone, approximately 70% of which is made up of antennas, as one example – for wireless devices and communications, the company was set up to service this area properly.
“Customers … think the antenna is a piece of metal,” explained Hu, in relation to the perception of antennas. “They only realise their problem when it doesn’t work [and] then they realise that the antenna is a very challenging design component.”
This echoes other sentiments expressed by antenna companies like Ignion and Taoglas, who have responded to this misconception that antenna design will be simple by launching their own solutions to address some of the challenges faced by their customers.
Ignion, for example, updated their Oxion platform with an AI assistant to provide customer support this year, and last Taoglas launched their antenna integrator tool, AntennaXpert, to provide greater customisation with design and allow customers to test out products before buying components and falling foul of buying the wrong parts. This addresses a common issue encountered.
Novocomms offers customised antenna solutions that meet their customers’ needs and take away some of this complexity.
Misconceptions about antenna design
Hu said in terms of perception, he saw two different groups of people where antennas were concerned. “Some people are focusing on cost and using [the] antenna as an external component,” he said. “In other words, they don’t care about the performance, [they] buy the antenna and stick it outside of the device.
“But then lots of people now consider making a device more modern, more compact … and how to integrate the antenna into the device while ensuring high performance.”
Additionally, the higher the frequency band, the more challenging designing with antennas becomes. Designing for consumer devices and 5G, which operates below 10GHz is comparatively easier compared with millimetre wave, which is gaining traction and interest because of its ability to deliver higher bandwidth, and smaller wavelengths, which results in smaller components. This is being explored in relation to delivering 5G and even 6G in the near future, said Hu.
“For that frequency there are low wavelengths, and it’s not a standard antenna design,” he said. “The current industry is using standard phase array which means a lot of antenna elements … because there are so many antenna elements, there are so many ICs or power amplifiers, RNA, and other electronic components, causing complexity of the whole device.”
Another important consideration which needs to be factored into design is power consumption – which is particularly prevalent as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) applications expand, because satellites consume a lot of power.
“If you have a solution to save up to 90% of power then you can extend the lifetime of the battery,” said Hu, explaining that their patented technology reduces power consumption and is a unique proposition. “For satcom … it focuses on mobility … that means the battery power is one of the key considerations.”
Novocomms’ experience in managing the intricacy of antenna design puts them in a good position to talk to companies who are considering deploying using satellite communications or millimetre (mmWave) technology.
Their ambition shows no signs of dimming, as Hu said they had plans to expand the team, to find the right talent, and open a new office in Bristol. Busy times are ahead for the company.
At Hardware Pioneers 2025, we also spoke to Simon Ford, CEO of Blecon about the 11 months following the company’s launch; and to Jesse Dukes, Director of Product Marketing at Memfault about the importance of observability within embedded devices.
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