Multi-directional antenna apparatuses, which may include phased array antennas and/or arrays of multiple antennas, and methods for operating these directional antennas. In particular, described herein are apparatuses configured to operate as an access point (AP) for communicating with one or more station devices by assigning a particular directional beam to each access point, and communicating with each station device using the assigned directional beam at least part of the time. Methods and apparatuses configured to optimize the assignment of one or more directional beam and for communicating between different station devices using assigned directional beams are described. Also described are methods of connecting a radio device to an antenna by connecting a USB connector on the radio device to a USB connector on an antenna and identifying the antenna based on a voltage of the ground pin on the antenna's USB connector.

Lensed antennas are provided that include a plurality of radiating elements and a lens positioned to receive electromagnetic radiation from at least one of the radiating elements, the lens comprising a composite dielectric material. The composite dielectric material comprises expandable gas-filled microspheres that are mixed with an inert binder, dielectric support materials such as foamed microspheres and particles of conductive material that are mixed together.

A system, in a radio frequency (RF) transmitter device, selects one or more reflector devices that comprises an active reflector device, along an optimized non-line-of-sight (NLOS) radio path based on a defined criteria. Further, the selected one or more reflector devices are controlled based on one or more conditions. The optimized NLOS radio path is determined from a plurality of NLOS radio paths. In an RF receiver device that communicates with the selected one or more reflector devices using the determined optimized NLOS path. The active reflector device comprises at least a first antenna array and a second antenna array. The first antenna array transmits a first set of beams of RF signals to at least the RF transmitter device and the RF receiver device. The second antenna array receives a second set of beams of RF signals from at least the RF transmitter device and the RF receiver device.

An antenna unit including an antenna array having a plurality of antennas and a lens plate comprising a mask pattern. The antenna array defines a first plane, and the lens plate defines a second plane. The lens plate is spaced apart from the antenna array, and the second plane is parallel to the first plane. The mask pattern is configured to focus first waves incident on the lens plate through diffraction to a region of the antenna array. The first waves are incident on the lens plate at a first angle relative to an axis normal to the second plane. The mask pattern is configured to focus second waves incident on the lens plate through diffraction to the first region of the antenna array. The second waves are incident on the lens plate at a second angle relative to the axis that is different from the first angle.

Methods and apparatus provide a system having a lens antenna system configured to simultaneously form beams centered at different angles in space within a field of view (FOV) to provide angle of arrival information for each of the beams. The beam data is encoded and combined and digitized. The data is then split into channels for each of the beams and decoded processed.

A front end of a radar system is provided with a first front end apparatus and a second front end apparatus. A first transmit planar component and a first receive planar component in the first front end apparatus are arranged to be perpendicular to one another. A second transmit planar component and a second receive planar component in the second front end apparatus are arranged to be perpendicular to one another. A linear array of antennas is located along a second end of each planar component. Polarization of a first set of waves transmitted from the linear array of antennas of the first transmit planar component and polarization of a second set of waves transmitted from the linear array of antennas of the second transmit planar component are perpendicular to one another.

Provided herein is an artificial dielectric material for use in a focusing lens, comprising a plurality of dielectric tubes supported by one or more dielectric supporting elements which fix and separate the dielectric tubes from each other, wherein a surface of each dielectric tube is at least partially covered by at least one conductive element. Also provided are lenses comprising the artificial dielectric materials and methods for manufacture of such materials. The artificial dielectric materials and lenses may provide desirable dielectric and radio wave focusing properties and manufacturing advantages.

A radar system includes a transmit front end device including a transmit planar component, and a receive front end device including a receive planar component. Each of the transmit planar component and the receive planar component includes a first end, a second end, a cavity space and a linear array of antennas. The cavity space is bounded by beam ports along a first side of the cavity space and by array ports along a second side of the cavity space. The cavity space is in operative communication with the beam ports and with the array ports to form a Rotman lens. A linear array of antennas is located along the second end of the planar component. The transmit planar component and receive planar component are arranged such that the linear array of antennas of the transmit planar component and the linear array of antennas are perpendicular to one another.

Various methods and systems for (i) combining the capabilities of beam-forming networks together with the benefit of using maximal-ratio-combining techniques, and (ii) selecting receiving directions for wireless data packets in conjunction with beam-forming networks.

A high performance, low-cost automotive radar is designed by mounting receivers around a 3D printed Luneburg lens. With this configuration, the antenna radiation pattern is maintained for all angles, (which means no beam deformation). Further, the present radar is capable of performing detection at all azimuth and elevation angles with high angle resolution and broadband operation. The radar adaptively adjusts its spatial sensing pattern, sweeping frequency band, pulse repetition frequency and coherent processing interval according to the environment. This is accomplished by initially performing a rough scan, which updates sensing results via a narrow bandwidth waveform and wide beam scanning. When interested objects are identified, a high-resolution detailed scan is performed in a specific region of interest. In this way, a much more effective detection can be obtained. Moreover, a method of mitigating interference of the 3D printed Luneburg lens based radar and a method of improving the angle resolution using a lens based MIMO approach is disclosed.