Low Profile Pattern Reconfigurable ESPAR for UAVs in IoT Applications

A 6 direction pattern reconfigurable Electronically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiator (ESPAR) system is proposed to work at 5.075 GHz, in the C-Band dedicated to unmanned aerial vehicles. This single fed antenna can switch among 6 directive beams across the whole azimuth plane, thanks to the coupling with its parasitic elements. The directional reconfiguration is enabled by changing reactive loads on each parasitic element. The proposed antenna is light weight, low profile and high gain in each directive state. Measurements on a static single beam configuration and simulated results on the reconfiguration circuit are presented to confirm the effectiveness of the design principles.