As reported in our December newsletter, AGC has developed new expertise in embedded antennas, bringing significant advantages to OEM customers. Driving this development is the proliferation of on-board communication equipment – such as 4G, GPS, Wi-Fi – and the continual search for efficiencies by car manufacturers.
While AGC Japan has been mastering antenna-on-glass development for many years, the process here in Europe is new and AGC is the pioneer. Up until recently in Europe, it was the antenna developer who designed the product. With changes to the glass shape needing antenna readjustments every step of the way, the development process involving the OEM, AGC and the antenna developer was often long and frustrating.
One point of contact – three advantages
With this new expertise, AGC now becomes the single point of contact for the OEM from design definition through to final production. This brings serious benefits: shorter development time and faster time to market; more simple process, with easier exchanges on technical issues and design changes; and last but not least, antenna performance of a higher level, thanks to improved antenna pattern quality. Indeed, OEMs already working with AGC cite better antenna performance and aesthetics!
Complex technical issues
Mastering the design of an antenna network is not easy, as each signal has a set range of frequencies and the patterns are interdependent. The customer validation process includes delivery of a prototype vehicle, around one year before the official car launch. The glass antenna is then tested on the car in an anechoic chamber: a “free field” environment in which the walls absorb electromagnetic waves.
Thanks to close collaboration with AGC in Japan and the USA, AGC Europe is now building the knowledge needed to design glass antennas. The first model equipped with AGC glass antennas is now in showrooms across Europe and our teams are starting to work with other OEMs.