Startup lands research grant to develop 'smart antennas'

LHC2 Inc., a Liberty Lake-based telecommunications technology startup, and Gonzaga University's electrical engineering department jointly have been awarded a $148,000 grant to develop systems that would reduce signal congestion in the broadband wireless spectrum caused by a growing number of users.

The systems, which would involve the development of what's called "smart antenna" technology, would improve the performance of certain wireless communications networks, while minimizing interference caused by other nearby wireless signals.

The grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation, which says the research project's goal is to test innovative smart-antenna prototypes "to restore operations and improve performance of public-safety networks" that are hindered by private and consumer use of overlapping wireless networks.

The 900- and 2,400-megahertz outdoor wireless networks operated by public-safety and utility systems are experiencing dramatic growth in both size and number, the foundation says. That growth, coupled with the growth in private-sector use of the wireless broadband spectrum, contributes to performance-reducing interference, it says.

Bob Conley, president of LHC2, says smart antennas could prevent interference from overlapping signals by electronically aiming pencil-thin beams of data carrying energy at other antennas.

Conley, who cofounded former Wi-Fi equipment maker Vivato Inc. here, says the grant will help fund the first of three planned phases of research, development, and commercialization that could bring new smart-antenna products to market within two or three years.

LHC2 intends for its smart antennas, which would be the company's main products, to be manufactured through Spokane-area contract manufacturers such as Servatron Inc., Key Tronic Corp., and Tate Technology Inc., he says.

While the grant-funded research will focus on the use of the technology in public-safety applications, a wide range of users of Wi-Fi and newly emerging WiMAX networking also would benefit from the increased connection speed and signal quality that low-cost, smart antennas would provide, Conley says.

A portion of the National Science Foundation grant will fund research to be conducted by up to three undergraduate electrical and mechanical engineering students at Gonzaga, who will collaborate with LHC2 through the summer, says Steven Schennum, associate professor of electrical engineering at the university. Schennum, who instructs courses in electronic design and electromagnetics, has done separate research on electromagnetic interference issues.

LHC2 was launched in March of 2006 and currently is based in Conley's garage in Liberty Lake, Conley says. The company is a client of Sirti, the Spokane-based, state-funded economic-development agency that provides entrepreneurial and business expertise to technology startups. Sirti also helped with the grant application Conley says.

The three principals at LHC2 have backgrounds in the high-tech industry here, including with Packet Engines Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., and Telect Inc. LHC2's principal designer, Roy Honda, has received several patents, Conley says.

Copyright Northwest Business Press Inc. Jun 26, 2008
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