Notch Introduces MAGIC Series Software-Defined Antennas Aimed at Extending Wireless Range

Notch has announced the launch of its MAGIC Series, a new line of software-defined antennas designed to improve wireless range and performance for drones, ground stations, vehicles and other wireless platforms without requiring changes to existing radio systems.

The company said many deployed wireless systems continue to rely on omnidirectional antennas because they are simple, proven, cost-effective and easy to integrate. However, omnidirectional antennas radiate energy in all directions simultaneously, which can limit performance in congested, long-range or interference-heavy environments.

The MAGIC Series is intended as a drop-in antenna upgrade that addresses those limitations. The product line includes MAGIC WIZARD, designed for ground stations, vehicles and fixed installations, and MAGIC ELF, which is intended for smaller drone platforms where size, weight and power constraints are critical. Both products are designed to work with existing radios and standard RF interfaces while requiring minimal integration.

Rather than replacing the radio, the MAGIC Series focuses on enhancing antenna capabilities. According to Notch, the systems use electronically reconfigurable metamaterial structures to shape and steer radio frequency energy across 360 degrees of azimuth coverage without moving parts. The company said this approach provides directional-link benefits without the size, weight, power and cost requirements associated with traditional phased-array hardware.

In its current configuration, MAGIC WIZARD weighs approximately 700 grams, consumes less than 600 milliwatts of power and can provide more than double the effective range of a standard omnidirectional antenna. MAGIC ELF weighs approximately 250 grams and is designed for drone platforms with limited payload capacity that require improved link performance without a significant RF hardware upgrade.

"We've spent decades optimizing radios, but the antenna, the first point of contact with the RF environment, has remained mostly static hardware," said Shahriar Khushrushahi, founder and CEO of Notch. "We are turning it into a software-defined system that can be configured, updated, and improved over time."

Notch said the software-defined approach allows antenna performance to evolve through software updates, with hardware serving as the RF platform while ongoing refinements improve antenna patterns and overall performance.

The company believes the technology offers immediate benefits for drone operators by improving link reliability, extending effective range and enhancing performance in challenging RF environments. It also sees broader opportunities for radio and wireless system providers by making antennas part of a software-defined RF stack rather than a fixed passive component.

Initial MAGIC configurations are available now, with broader ISM-band coverage planned across the product line in the coming months. Notch is also developing a lighter WIZARD-class variant intended for Group 1 UAV applications where minimizing payload weight is important.

The MAGIC Series represents the first step in the company's broader software-defined metamaterials roadmap. Later this year, Notch plans to introduce additional products including GShield, a 1 mm conformal GPS anti-jam retrofit for unmanned aircraft that has already been tested on a major defense manufacturer's platform, and masterBLASTER, a low-cost anti-jam system for UAV, UGV and USV platforms.

As drone deployments continue to grow and radio spectrum becomes increasingly congested, Notch said operators are encountering the limitations of static RF hardware. The company believes software-defined antennas could represent the next evolution in wireless technology following the rise of software-defined radios.