Innovative Roof Rack TV Antenna Receives US Patent

Publicly traded KVH Industries recently announced they have received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a key component in the hybrid phased-array antenna used in KVH’s in-motion TracVision A5 satellite TV system for vehicles. The TracVision A5 is an extremely low-profile satellite TV antenna that is engineered and designed to specifically fit passenger cars and is compatible with virtually all factory roof racks and aftermarket car racks that include Yakima Racks and Thule Racks. A KVH spokesman explained the company also offers a roof-mount system for vehicles without car roof racks.

KVH VP of engineering, Kal Ganesan, said that while phased-array antennas have been available to the military for a number of years, the cost has been prohibitive in entering the mainstream market. The company added that it intends to use its newly patented technology to develop a hybrid phased-array antenna that is economically priced for consumers. Industy analysts, Frost & Sullivan, recently projected that by year 2011 more than 36 million cars in the U.S. will have video systems and of these, more than 3 million will receive TV programming via mobile satellite.