Ignion launched its one-of-a-kind three-port Virtual Antenna component to support simultaneous cellular, GNSS, and Wi-Fi/BLE radios at electronica 2024, which kicked off in Munich today and runs until 15 November.
The surface-mounted passive component from Ignion, OMNIA mXTEND, turns the ground plane of a printed circuit board (PCB) into a high-efficiency radiating element that can operate between 400MHz and 8,000MHz, allowing device manufacturers to choose specific bands without requiring size modifications.
Compared with three independent antennas, OMNIA mXTEND provides extra degrees of freedom, requiring a single clearance area while enabling superior long-range connectivity performance across multiple frequencies, making it suitable also for remote monitoring applications.
The advanced multi-block design minimises radio coupling, enhancing performance, reducing the matching network BoM and facilitating certifications – a crucial factor for IoT devices where every dB counts.
Ignion’s latest release also marks a significant step toward eco-friendly IoT solutions by reducing material usage by up to four times and cutting manufacturing emissions compared to producing multiple antenna components. Engineered for high efficiency and low power requirements, OMNIA extends device lifecycles, directly contributing to a reduced environmental CO2 footprint.
Results of measurements on an evaluation board demonstrate that the average efficiency of an OMNIA mXTEND device is greater than 55% from 790MHz to 960MHz (cellular), over 75% in the 1,561MHz – 1,606MHz range (GNSS), and greater than 65% between 2,400MHz and 2,500MHz (Wi-Fi/BLE). Peak gains for these frequency ranges are 0.9 dBi, 4.0 dBi, and 3.5 dBi respectively, with corresponding maximum VSWR figures of 2.61:1, 1.5:1, and 2.0:1.
OMNIA mXTEND is setting a new standard in multi-radio IoT design with its plug-and-play simplicity, which reduces the need for complex RF adjustments and accelerating time-to-market for multi-radio projects. It is ideal for applications like asset tracking, automotive telematics, smart metering, and industrial IoT, OMNIA is enabling seamless connectivity while reducing material use—delivering both performance enhancements and sustainability gains.
Application example
In the development of OMNIA mXTEND, Ignion collaborated with Nuvathings to integrate this three-port antenna component into the HELIUS-TSL datalogger, a key device in smart farming applications.
By supporting NB-IoT, LTE-M, GNSS, and Bluetooth connectivity, the datalogger enables real-time monitoring of critical soil metrics, including moisture, pH, and nutrient levels.
The datalogger is used in a smart farming application to provide seamless connectivity for sensors monitoring soil moisture, pH, nutrient levels and other variables. This seamless multi-radio connectivity allows farmers to fine-tune irrigation, manage soil quality, and increase crop yields while minimizing the use of water and fertilisers.
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