South African wireless antenna producer Poynting on Tuesday reported that it had been selected to design and build antennas for the Bloodhound supersonic car (SSC) that will attempt to beat the current world land-speed record at Hakskeenpan, in the Northern Cape, in 2015 and 2016.

The first record attempts will take place in 2015, during which the car will make about 20 runs with the objective of achieving a supersonic record of 1 300 km/h.  The Bloodhoud SSC team will then return to South Africa in 2016 to aim for 1 610 km/h.

Royal Air Force fighter pilot and current World Land Speed Record holder Andy Green will be in the cockpit.

The jet- and rocket-powered vehicle is currently being built by a team of 30 engineers in a special technical centre, near Bristol, in the UK, and some of the Bloodhound SSC team members will visit Poynting at the end of October to discuss antenna requirements and ideas.

“We are excited and inspired to have been selected from local and international companies making their mark in wireless antenna technology. With a highly qualified and experienced team, we believe that Poynting has the research, skills and manufacturing capacity to add real value to this project,” Poynting engineering project manager Lara Viljoen said.

The Bloodhound SSC will be a world-first live open data project where all the data on research, design, manufacturing and testing of the car is shared through up to 300 media channels. The data will be used to video stream data in real-time so that the world can view the events.

“Bloodhound SSC needs reliable high-speed data communications from the vehicle to the MTN long-term evolution base stations in order to stream the data.

“Poynting’s deliverable will be qualified antennas, which will be mounted inside the vehicle fin and connected through radio frequency cables to the User Equipment Sierra Wireless modules to maximise the throughput bandwidth for the data link,” Viljoen explained.

The antennas will be developed making use of Poynting’s current specialised antenna development methodologies and capabilities and will include a series of simulations, prototypes, tests and qualifications.

“A key objective of the project is inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers by sharing this engineering adventure and engaging educators, learners and families. As well as the excitement of aiming for 1 610 km/h, that is the key reason we’re involved in this landmark project,” Viljoen commented.