Pattern and Frequency Reconfigurable Conformal Antennas for Cognitive Cities Applications

The Saudi Vision 2030 is focused on the utilization of cutting-edge technology to launch cognitive city projects in several key Saudi Arabian cities, including Riyadh, Jeddah,..., Makkah, Al-Madina, and Al-Ahsa. The primary objective is to enhance various aspects of urban life, such as local mobility, environmental conditions, living standards, economic vitality, and human resources. The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) plays a pivotal role in these cognitive cities due to the substantial advantages it offers. Internet of Vehicles (IoV), as a subset of the Internet of Things (IoT), empowers vehicles to establish communication links with pedestrians (vehicle-to-pedestrian or V2P), other vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle or V2V), power grids (vehicle-to-grid or V2G), communication networks (vehicle-to-networks or V2N), and urban infrastructures (vehicle-to-infrastructure or V2I). This interconnectedness fosters enhanced traffic management, improved safety, efficient energy utilization, and advanced urban planning, contributing to the overarching goals of the Saudi Vision 2030. Moreover, IoV technology has a wide range of applications, including safety management, intelligent transportation, and vehicle autonomy. However, delivering efficient and reliable vehicular communication in highly mobile and complex environments is challenging. Reconfigurable antennas are crucial for developing effective vehicular communication systems to address various needs, such as improved reliability, higher data rates, and lower latency. In line with the Saudi Vision 2030, this project aims to design, optimize, and build a low-cost frequency and pattern reconfigurable antenna system for Internet of Vehicle (IoV) applications. This novel design will use a simple and conformal printed antenna with an integrated electronic switching mechanism to establish wireless communication between vehicles, human, and cell towers. Yagi-Uda principle will be adopted to realize multiple (10 or more) pattern and frequency reconfiguration modes, while maintaining the peak gain and efficiency of at least 4 dB and 90%, respectively. The proposed antenna will be constructed and tested to showcase its distinct performance capabilities to both Saudi defense entities, including the General Authority for Defense Development (GAAD), and the general public through the Digital Government Authority (DGA).