A platform that automates providing wireless communication between one or more of a plurality of antennas and a moving vehicle that is traveling along a path. One or more of the plurality of antennas are employed to detect wireless signals communicated by the vehicle and/or wireless devices for the vehicle's passengers. In one or more embodiments, characteristics of the detected wireless signals and the plurality of antennas is employed to select an antenna to provide wireless communication with the vehicle and/or wireless devices for the vehicle's passengers at a current location on the path.

A conversion device for converting between electric power and electromagnetic waves, such as an RF antenna, may be fitted with an intermediary holographic lens to modify a radiation pattern between an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) reflector to reflect EMR and an EMR feed. The holographic lens may modify a performance metric associated with the conversion device. The holographic lens may have a volumetric distribution of dielectric constants. For example, a voxel-based discretization of the distribution of dielectric constants can be used to generate the holographic lens.

The invention compensates for abnormal operating temperatures and/or abnormal behaviors of a holographic metasurface antenna (HMA) that is generating a beam based on a holographic function. The HMA is characterized with different holographic functions for a plurality of operating temperatures and a plurality of behaviors during the manufacturing process. The characterization of the HMA identifies different hologram functions that cause the HMA to generate more or less heat or exhibit more or less abnormal behavior while generating equivalent beams. Further, or more characterizations of a hologram function may be performed remotely after the HMA is installed in a real world environment. An operating temperature and/or a temperature gradient may be detected by temperature sensors physically located on a circuit board for the HMA.

A method and apparatus for performing satellite signal acquisition are described. In one embodiment, a method for using a satellite antenna comprises estimating antenna orientation when the antenna is in motion, including estimating yaw using one or more sensors; and performing signal acquisition to search for a satellite signal with the satellite antenna by interleaving a plurality of signal searches performed by the satellite antenna, the plurality of signal searches being based on an estimated yaw.

Several embodiments of systems and methods are described for a compound structure consisting of a compact conformal surface-wave antenna feed structure attached to a conformal surface-wave antenna. The feed structure is an Artificial Impedance Surface (AIS) which takes as input an arbitrary source, converts it into a desired surface-wave waveform, which then feeds its output into the attached conformal surface-wave antenna for optimal radiation performance. The feed structure can be made up of several sizes and shapes of AIS metal patches and can produce plane isotropic as well as anisotropic surface-wave output. The surface-wave antenna can be a radiating hologram made up of the same AIS metallic patches as the feed structure and fabricated on the same dielectric substrate.

Monitoring and compensating for environmental and other conditions affecting antenna elements of an antenna is described. The conditions may affect radio frequency (RF) liquid crystal of the antenna elements. In one embodiment, the antenna comprises a physical antenna aperture having an array of surface scattering antenna elements that are controlled and operable together to form a beam for the frequency band for use in holographic beam steering and a compensation controller to perform compensation on the antenna elements based on monitored antenna conditions.

The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with mode conversion for electromagnetic field modification. A mode converting structure (holographic metamaterial) is formed with a distribution of dielectric constants chosen to convert an electromagnetic radiation pattern from a first mode to a second mode to attain a target electromagnetic radiation pattern that is different from the input electromagnetic radiation pattern. A solution to a holographic equation provides a sufficiently accurate approximation of a distribution of dielectric constants that can be used to form a mode converting device for use with one or more transmission lines, such as waveguides. One or more optimization algorithms can be used to improve the efficiency of the mode conversion.

A conversion device for converting between electric power and electromagnetic waves, such as an RF antenna, may be fitted with an intermediary holographic lens to modify a radiation pattern between an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) reflector to reflect EMR and an EMR feed. The holographic lens may modify a performance metric associated with the conversion device. The holographic lens may have a volumetric distribution of dielectric constants. For example, a voxel-based discretization of the distribution of dielectric constants can be used to generate the holographic lens.

Described embodiments include an antenna and a method. In an embodiment, the antenna includes a holographic aperture having a surface including a plurality of individual electromagnetic wave scattering elements distributed thereon with a periodic inter-element spacing equal to or less than one-half of a free space wavelength of an operating frequency of the antenna. The aperture is configured to define at least two selectable complex radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on the surface with tangential wavenumbers up to 2 over the aperture element spacing (k_apt=2/a). In an embodiment, the holographic aperture includes an amplitude and phase modulation holographic aperture. In an embodiment, each electromagnetic wave scattering element has a respective electronically controllable electromagnetic response to an incident radiofrequency electromagnetic wave, and the plurality of individual electromagnetic wave scattering elements are electronically controllable in combination to define the at least two selectable complex radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on the surface.

The present disclosure provides systems and methods associated with mode conversion for electromagnetic field modification. A mode converting structure (holographic metamaterial) is formed with a distribution of dielectric constants chosen to convert an electromagnetic radiation pattern from a first mode to a second mode to attain a target electromagnetic radiation pattern that is different from the input electromagnetic radiation pattern. A solution to a holographic equation provides a sufficiently accurate approximation of a distribution of dielectric constants that can be used to form a mode converting device for use with one or more transmission lines, such as waveguides. One or more optimization algorithms can be used to improve the efficiency of the mode conversion.