Radiospace

National 5G test centre opens at Maynooth University

Radiospace among the first of its kind in Europe
Life
Radiospace. Image: Maynooth University/SFI

30 May 2019

Maynooth University has opened Ireland’s National 5G Test Centre. The state-of-the-art facility, RadioSpace, represents an investment of €1.5 million and is the country’s first large-scale facility for the research and testing of radio and wireless technologies needed for 5G and the future Internet of Things.

One of the first such facilities in Europe, RadioSpace will be open to large industry and SMEs and start-ups, and will provide a unique, large scale, interference-free facility for scientists and engineers from industry and universities in Ireland and abroad.

RadioSpace consists of a specially constructed anechoic chamber that provides perfect isolation for radio signals. This, with the advanced test equipment and specialist engineers, allows for very sensitive measurements to be made, essential for the development of modern wireless devices.

The facility, which has received €638,000 funding from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), is part of Connect, the centre for research into future networks and communications.

Prof Ronan Farrell, Dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering and Director of RadioSpace, said: “This facility will provide industry in Ireland and across Europe, as well as academics, a rare and valuable capability to develop new technologies, and also to explore exciting questions in radio physics and engineering. We look forward to RadioSpace being a catalyst for increased collaboration between academia and industry, nationally and internationally.”

Dr Ciaran Seoighe, Deputy Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, added: “In Ireland we have a rich community of creative and talented experts developing cutting-edge technology that will help us prepare for an ever more data-rich digital future. SFI currently funds an array of research programmes using smart sensors and data dependent analytics that will be at the core of future jobs and addressing major societal and economic challenges. It’s crucial that we give our community the resources, infrastructure and testbeds to continue to explore, research and create. I’m confident that the new National 5G Test Centre will benefit Ireland’s research and innovation greatly.”

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