VOL-LA is Provizio’s interchangeable, design-configurable waveguide antenna system. It lets OEMs and integrators retarget radar performance — field of view, range, gain profile — by swapping the waveguide antenna assembly, without redesigning the underlying radar electronics or software.

Planar (PCB-based) antennas are compact, lower cost and suited to high-volume applications where standard performance is acceptable. Waveguide antennas — including VOL-LA — offer higher gain and extended range, plus electromagnetic shielding between the radar electronics and the outside world, but their radiating slots have to sit further apart than on a planar array. VOL-LA adds the design layer — MIMSO® sparse-array optimisation plus rapid metallised 3D printing — that makes the waveguide approach reusable across applications.

Yes. Because waveguide antennas can’t use the half-wavelength spacing of planar designs, Provizio’s antenna team performs dedicated sparse-array optimisations for waveguide configurations. MIMSO’s element-placement optimisation, difference co-array formation and sidelobe suppression are all adapted to work within waveguide constraints.

Provizio has developed metallised 3D-printed waveguide antennas for rapid prototyping, characterised in the lab against production reference antennas. The pipeline takes a customer’s application specification to a working prototype in weeks, with a clear path to a manufacturable design.

VOL-LA is available through Provizio’s licensing and partnership framework. Talk to the antenna team about the application you’re targeting — they’ll work with you on the waveguide configuration that meets your range, FoV and form-factor requirements.