Academics from Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University are creating a flat panel antenna designed for train journeys that could solve the problem of internet connectivity loss.

The tech, currently designed for the railway and Internet of Thing (IoT) markets, aims to use the antenna to connect with satellite technology in space, helping to maintaining connective while the train moves.

Passengers currently have constant connectivity issues on journeys, with a third unable to use WhatsApp and two thirds unable to connect to train WiFi.

A research engineer from Heriot-Watt University working on the project, Samuel Rotenberg, said: “Poor connectivity on journeys is one of the leading frustrations of passengers globally.

“Today’s users are used to fibre-optic superfast broadband, with 4G connectivity seen as the minimum standard. Yet, on the move, our connectivity is patchy and continually interrupted.

“The benefit of using satellites, whether Geostationary (GEO) or Low Earth Orbit (LEO), means connectivity is seamless for all passengers regardless of the number of people trying to connect on-board.”

In the future, the team at Heriot-Watt aims to create a company named Infinect and has already attracted high profile funding from the European Space Agency, the Department for Transport (T-TRIG award) and through the High Growth Spin-Out Programme run by Scottish Enterprise.

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The researchers hope that the technology will streamline what is currently unsuitable for use on trains.

Rotenberg said: “Antennas for satellite communication are, in the main, large, heavy, bulky and dish shaped so aren’t aerodynamic and are impractical for high-speed trains to carry.

“Our research has developed a flat panel antenna which will communicate with satellites throughout a journey, without loss of connectivity. It’s fairly lightweight, at a fraction of the cost of existing solutions and will provide global coverage.

“Its design specifications mean it could also be adapted for the Internet of Things, and planes as they fly in the middle of the ocean.”

The prototype is expected to enter field trials before the end of 2020 with a major rail operator that is yet to be announced.