Overview
- The Washington State University–led team paired 3D‑printed antenna arrays with a chip-scale processor that corrects signal errors in real time.
- Additive manufacturing with a copper nanoparticle ink co-developed with the University of Maryland and Boeing produced antennas that stayed stable under bending, humidity, temperature changes, and salt.
- A lightweight four‑antenna tile maintained signal fidelity while moving and was tiled into a 16‑antenna array to demonstrate scalability with low power use.
- Researchers achieved robust beam stabilization by correcting deformation- and vibration‑induced distortions on the fly, addressing longstanding limits of flexible antennas.
- The work, published Oct. 20 in Nature Communications, is a proof‑of‑concept prototype with next steps including larger arrays, durability testing, and integration, supported by funding from the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Washington Research Foundation, and the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust.