As part of the OpenLab developed by the University of Bremen in collaboration with partners from the 6G-TakeOff and 6G-Hub projects, a large-scale testing facility is being established to enable flexible and realistic measurement setups using actual hardware. The goal of this initiative is to create a versatile platform for experimental validation of emerging 6G technologies in real-world conditions.

Currently, the base station antenna in use in the OpenLab is static, which limits the range of experiments that can be conducted, particularly those involving mobile base stations or antenna steering techniques. To overcome this limitation, the existing setup will be enhanced with a mechanically steerable antenna system capable of tracking users dynamically. This will allow for more flexible evaluations of beam steering, link optimization, and user tracking capabilities.

The aim of this Master’s project is to design and implement the necessary mechanical and control systems (kinematics) for such a steerable antenna setup. The work includes selecting suitable components, developing a mechanical design, constructing the physical system, and conducting field tests. The performance of the steerable antenna will be evaluated and compared against simulations and existing measurements (from literature) to assess its benefits and validate the setup.