ESA develops car radio of the future
The European Space Agency and nine partners are developing what they claims is the multimedia car radio of the future. A prototype of the system is being demonstrated at the Noordwijk Space Expo.
The car radio of the future works in a similar manner to a tv satellite receiver, using a specially designed mobile antenna, flattened so that it can be built almost invisibly into the bodywork. The antenna receives signals in the Ku frequency band used by communications satellites.
The ESA approach differs from the North American approach of
XM-radio and Sirius radio in two respects. Instead of new satellites and a network of ground based transmitters, the ESA system uses existing communication satellites. And the system uses a cache memory to prevent loss of signal in tunnels or behind obstructions. Listeners can also select a part of the broadcast to listen to or pause the programme.
