Cheap metacrystal panels could easily steer wireless signals around barriers

History is filled with stories of the great being felled by the puny. Goliath and a pebble, Achilles and his heel, the ultra-fast 6G network and … walls. Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have now invented a cheap, 3D-printed solution that could help future wireless signals bend around the barriers that currently stop them in their tracks.

The device is a 3D-printed metacrystal panel that can passively redirect radio waves without the electronics or maintenance required by current active electronic solutions. In not-so-simple terms, it is a carefully shaped polymer-like dielectric structure that can change the direction of radio waves by geometry alone. The panels could be mounted on surfaces such as walls or ceilings to direct wireless signals into areas they would otherwise struggle to reach.

While 6G is currently still in the research and development phase, its potential is enormous. The technology is expected to reach a...

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