Requirement of RF Absorber Coverage for Industrial Robotic Arms Used in UHF Antenna Measurements

Authors: Vince Rodriguez, Mark Ingerson, Esra Çelenk and Gwenaël Dun
Publication: AP-S/CNC-USNC-URSI 2026
Copyright Owner: IEEE

Industrial-robot-arm based antenna measurement systems have become popular in recent years due to their flexibility to measure over different surfaces allowing the system to do planar, spherical and cylindrical, as well as non-canonical surfaces using newer methods to get the far field from calculated currents around the antenna under test (AUT). But their flexibility may be limited by the RF absorber coverage used. In this paper, the authors explore the potential scattering from the robotic arm in different positions and its effect on the probe illuminations. Numerical experiments are conducted to explore the need for RF absorbers at low frequencies in the UHF band. Results show that like in standard positioners, more absorbers are not necessary and for the UHF band, RF absorber coverage is not needed on the arm section closer to the probe. At higher frequencies, treatment of the second section of the arm may be required.

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