INTERVIEW WITH NIKLAUS ABAECHERLI ON THE CUSTOMISABLE SENCITY® OMNI-S INDUSTRIAL ANTENNA.

WHAT IS SENCITY® OMNI-S MIMO? 

The SENCITY Omni-S MIMO is an all-in-one wireless antenna solution developed by HUBER+SUHNER. Ideal for a variety of applications including industrial automation, smart city solutions and rail in-carriage networking, the antenna comes in over 100+ variations across multiple frequency standards and pigtail connection versions. 

Containing up to four single antenna elements for cellular, dual-band WiFi MIMO and GPS services, the product also features a low-profile design and is simple to install across metallic and non-metallic surfaces. 

Our customers can expect an antenna that can withstand extremely harsh environmental conditions, whilst also being feasible for indoor use. The antenna provides industry leading durability, which we have indeed put to the test. The SENCITY Omni-S MIMO underwent a number of strength tests and far exceeded industry standards and expectations. The antenna can withstand the potential environmental damage of its intended application, for example the possibility of being hit by vehicles or debris in industrial applications. 

WHAT INDUSTRIES CAN BENEFIT MOST FROM DEPLOYING ANTENNA TECHNOLOGIES LIKE SENCITY OMNI-S MIMO?

SENCITY Omni-S MIMO antenna was initially developed for the industrial environment, however, in recent years we have released additional sub-versions that are ideal for internet on-board in trains and mobile communication in buildings and urban areas.

For each application, a variation of numerous configurations is required. For example, for railway in-carriage applications, the antenna would need to be equipped with RADOX RF cables (RADOX RF 316D). Whereas for mobile communication applications (IBC/DAS and small cell) the antenna would utilise HUBER+ SUHNER SUCOFORM cables.  

Most industries can benefit from deploying a SENCITY Omni-S MIMO antenna. For example, for deployment in smart cities the durability of the antenna would make it ideal for street-side integration where proximity to the public could result in vandalism or damage.

HUBER+SUHNER RECENTLY WORKED WITH SMIGHT, A START-UP OF ENBW ENERGY SUPPLIER FROM GERMANY, ON AN INTELLIGENT CHARGING STATION FOR ELECTRIC CARS. COULD YOU TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT?

Essentially, SMIGHT created an innovative electric vehicle charging station which needed an equally innovative connectivity solution. The intelligent charging station for electric cars combined various applications such as lighting, sensors, electric mobility and public WLAN to help enable the smart city. 

SMIGHT opted to deploy the SENCITY Omni-S MIMO by HUBER+SUHNER based on the success of electrical and environmental tests all within a short period of time. The tailor-made solution not only relies on a mobile antenna to connect the charging station to the internet, but on two WLAN dual-band antennas in the same housing, which provide free WLAN to the user of the SMIGHT “Base powercharger”.

HOW CAN COMPANIES LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT SENCITY OMNI-S MIMO GET STARTED? 

Due to the customizable nature of the antenna, our application engineers are on-hand from selection process to testing to ensure your application-specific requests are understood and met. Different variants can be configured quickly and inexpensively directly in our ERP system and released for production. HUBER+SUHNER also guarantees short delivery times for standard products or installs customer-specific production planning if required.