​1. Project Title

Signal Boost or Bust: Comparative analysis of Internal vs. External Antennas for Wireless Communication in Compact Embedded Systems

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2. Project Overview or Aim

This project will investigate wireless differences between internal and external antennas on the same embedded systems as low-cost, student-accessible devices that Raspberry Pi testers will consider affordable alternatives. The main research question for this project is: with low-cost, student-accessible devices, how does antenna placement impact range, data quality, and reliability during a series of controlled experiments in different monitored settings? CubeSat, drone and other interdisciplinary projects will benefit from this information for better understanding of antenna placement for undergraduate student engineers and researchers.

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3. Project Background Significance

Wireless connections are a major component of embedded systems such as those in CubeSats and mobile sensor networks. However, with classroom-based, low-cost, budgetary projects winning form factor and ease of assembly, antenna selection is rarely an option. For instance, embedded antennas are developed with size constraints in mind but can be limited by penetration distance and vulnerability to noise. External antennas, however, allow greater transmission distance and versatility, but they require additional considerations to make in order to implement them into a satellite or drone.

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Student-driven designs and projects need effective wireless functionality regardless of the importance given to circuit board size and available funds for cheap alternatives. Preliminary literature has shown substantial differences in performance based on antenna type and location utilized on professional-grade devices, but no such literature exists compiled on all entry/undergraduate-level antennas easily used in student workshops and courses. Now, with companies wanting their new employees to have experience before being hired, it is essential to have an entry-level guide and research on the effects that the type of antenna has on transmission on a student project.

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Therefore, this research will evaluate internal versus external antenna options for an approach to a wireless issue that can provide practical results for UCF engineering labs, robotics clubs, and satellite organizations in setting campus-wide standards for selection of hardware types and best practices to ensure undergraduates engaged in projects alike will not be lost when trying to figure out the differences between the two types of antennas.

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The findings provide clear performance metrics for the Raspberry Pi and other similar antennas, from both line-of-sight and obstructed path data, so that teams of student-engineers can predict signal reliability and can select the proper antennas that better suit their project needs to limit costly trial-runs and failed diagnosis.

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4. Research Methods

• Phase 1: Source and install four Wi-fi adapters: two internal antennas and two external antennas.

• Phase 2: Select and configure two Raspberry Pi Zero W system. One will be connected to a Wi-Fi adapter with an internal antennal and one will be connected to a Wi-Fi adapter with an external antenna.

• Phase 3: Design test scenarios: indoors with obstacles, indoors without obstacles, outdoors with obstacles, outdoors without obstacles.

• Phase 4: Transmit & receive data packets between ground station and embedded Raspberry Pi using the video software of Open.HD; measure signal strength, range, throughput, reliability (packet loss).

• Phase 5: Record environmental conditions and repeat tests for reproducibility.

• Phase 6: Analyze and compare collected data using statistical methods.

• Timeline:

  • Weeks 1–2: Literature review, hardware sourcing

  • Weeks 3–4: System setup and pilot tests

  • Weeks 5–7: Data collection in all scenarios

  • Weeks 8–9: Data analysis, visualization, and interpretation

  • Week 10: Proposal writing, poster creation, dissemination
     

5. Expected Outcome

After completion of the study, I'd give three different contributions to my fellow scholar-engineers. First, a white paper called "Wireless Hardware Selection Guide” which would go out to all UCF undergraduate engineering students that delves into the specifics and pros and cons of internal vs external antennas. Second, the type of peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal that my project would fall into would be a Technical Report where the journal contribution would be a non-research commentary on what's established and compile data and compiled numbers to report. Third, a Poster Presentation which would supplement an aesthetically visual appeal to a symposium style contribution to something like the UCF Student Scholar Symposium, or smaller a smaller contribution within UCF's engineering clubs.

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The main way that this project will contribute to work already established is by cutting down on troubleshooting costs and maximizing student efficiency. For example, a team working with a Raspberry Pi antenna on such low power for their student project, and then, a need to allocate hours of re-budgeted team hours and pre-budgeted troubleshooting hours and subsequent extended offer of parts. A team will never realize that the Raspberry Pi antenna is the weakest link in such a budgeted assembly unless they actively dismantle key components to get to that understanding through a diagnostic process of elimination. Therefore, this research hopes to ease access to performance metrics which are relevant to this assembly (Raspberry Pi Zero W assembly) at the student project level (obstructed vs line of sight). This research will also ease the search for performance metrics related to similar benefits and drawbacks of alternative antennas for either obstructed vs line of sight projects. Therefore, this research will not only prevent communication failures before a failure happens, but also, if a failure occurs, it will help students think of the antenna when trying to diagnose their system so that steps can be taken immediately.

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6. Literature Review

a.      A. Yasin et al., "Antenna Designs for CubeSats: A Review," IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 45289-45324, 2021.

b.      M. R. Islam et al., "Antenna Design for University Low Cost Student-Built CubeSat Missions," in 2021 IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing, Information, Communication & Systems (SPICSCON), 2021, pp. 34-39.

c.       K. Klionovski, "No-Need-To-Deploy UHF Antenna for CubeSat: Design Based on Characteristic Modes," IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 587-591, 2021.

d.      H. Wang et al., "Optimal Bandwidth Positions for a Terminal Embedded Antenna," IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 68, no. 12, pp. 8141-8150, 2020.

e.      A. R. H. Alhawari et al., "Design of Cubesat Microstrip Antenna with Metamaterial Structure for LoRa Communication," in 2021 IEEE International Conference on Aerospace Electronics and Remote Sensing Technology (ICARES), 2021.

f.        Symmetry Electronics, "Internal vs External Antennas: Technical Comparison," Symmetry Blog, 2022.

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7. Preliminary Work and Experience

During the Fall semester of 2025, I have been working on implementing a live video system on a Tethered Satellite while at the Knight Satellite Club at UCF. My task was to find a way to implement live video using a software called Open.HD. The project includes launching a Raspberry Pi Zero W equipped with an IMX519 camera and USB Wi‑Fi adapters, powered by 3.7V lithium-ion batteries and managed through a custom boost converter. Through this project, I have gained practical skills in soldering, battery and power management, and wireless data transmission, which are all directly relevant to the proposed research.

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In addition, I've taken courses in algorithms, data structures, systems programming and technical communication, all prerequisite skills for organized experimentation and data collection. Also, experience with research teams has exposed me to peer-review processes of research papers, proper documentation of the scientific method, and real-world technical challenge troubleshooting. All are critical for proper implementation of hardware/software experiments, data analysis and presentation of results to meet the goals of this project.

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8. IRB/IACUC Statement

This research does not involve human or animal subjects, so IRB or IACUC approval is not needed.

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9. Budget

The estimated budget per item cost is as follows: for antennas ($20–$50 each), Wi-Fi adapters ($20–$40 each), two Raspberry Pi ($30 each), cameras ($30), miscellaneous cables/connectors ($20), batteries ($20 each), and optional measurement equipment rental ($50). Total budget ~$370–$570, well within the $1,500 limit.