Low-Profile and Low-Visual Impact Smart Electromagnetic Curved Passive Skins for Enhancing Connectivity in Urban Scenarios
A. Freni, Michele Beccaria, Agnese Mazzinghi, Andrea Massaccesi, Paola Pirinoli
Abstract
This paper explores the possibility of integrating a smart electromagnetic skin into a street light or traffic light pole to enhance the coverage of a 5G base station operating in the millimeter-waves frequency band with the consequent improvement of the wireless network performance. Specifically, the electromagnetic characteristics of a curved smart electromagnetic skin, which can be easily integrated into a cylindrical radome enclosing the pole, have been analyzed and compared with those of a planar solution. Additionally, the coverage provided by a curved smart electromagnetic skin in a real urban scenario has been considered. The obtained results confirm that using a curved smart electromagnetic skin is both feasible and convenient from several points of view: it guarantees better performance than a planar configuration occupying the same volume, it is simpler to mount and it has a lower visual impact.