Liqutenna: Mitsubishi Electric's Tap Water Antenna Works
Mitsubishi Electric built an antenna from a clear acrylic pipe filled with ordinary tap water, and a phone connected to it as well as to a metal one.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesMitsubishi Electric has made an antenna out of tap water. A clear acrylic pipe filled from the faucet sends and receives radio waves, and in a test it connected to a mobile device just as well as a normal metal antenna. The company says it is the first of its kind in the telecom industry.
The antenna is called Liqutenna. The company announced on November 10 that the prototype, built for the 800MHz band, was tested indoors in a KDDI environment normally used to evaluate wireless equipment. Engineers found no difference in connection performance compared with a typical metal antenna.
How does a tap water antenna work?
The idea comes from an earlier project. In 2016 Mitsubishi Electric presented "Sea Aerial", an antenna that used a column of seawater to send and receive signals. Seawater conducts electricity well. Tap water barely does, which makes it a much harder material.
The team got around that by adjusting the inner diameter of the acrylic pipe and shaping it carefully. According to the company, that was enough to match the connection performance of a metal antenna.
Why bother with water?
Looks, mostly. Liqutenna is transparent, unlike a metal antenna, and Mitsubishi Electric says it can balance communication quality with the look of a place. The company describes it as a possible new way of installing antennas.
It is still a prototype tested indoors. Next, with KDDI's help, the company plans field trials in areas where radio signals struggle to reach. The technical details will be shown at Microwave Exhibition 2026, held at Pacifico Yokohama from November 25 to 27.
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