Advanced In-Situ Antenna Measurement System Employing a Robotic Arm and Composite Planar Surfaces

Abstract

This paper presents an in-situ antenna measurement system based on a small robotic arm mounted on a mobile platform. To overcome the limitations of the robot's size on the measurement surface, a new technique that assembles a large measurement plane from smaller individual ones is introduced. These smaller planes are acquired by manually repositioning the robot to different locations, where it automatically performs the plane measurements. An optical tracking system (OTS) ensures accurate positioning, and an automated calibration process compensates for any misalignments caused by the manual movements. The proposed system and technique are experimentally validated through measurements of an X-band antenna, showing good agreement with reference results.