Conference on Antennas held

BANGALORE: Children playing with remote-controlled cars is a delightful sight. However, we seldom think about the antenna in the remote that helps children move the car around. In the first ever national conference held at its city office, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has organised a 2-day National Conference on Antennas and its Applications (NConANT).“The applications of antennas are wide. Since the first antenna built by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz way back in the 1880s, there have been many developments. Antennas today are smart, with antennas on integrated chips, which are being used in mobile devices,” said Dr A R Upadhya, former director, National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore.Dr Upadhya said that its applications include agriculture, entertainment, health, communication, mobile technology, space, marine and avionics sector. “Antennas play a very important role in avionics and more than 15 antenna systems are installed in an aircraft, each providing multiple support to the function of the aircraft. Satellites and satcom cannot exists without an antenna system inbuilt,” Upadhya said. More than 62 papers covering various aspects of antennas are being deliberated at the conference.More than 100 authors from seven states and 10 districts from Karnataka are participating in NConANT. Dr Shankara K N, scientist at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), said, “An emerging field in antenna design is the cellular (mobile) applications. However, shrinking sizes of handsets and devices is one of the major concerns,” he said.