Driving in a dead zone? GMC Yukon Denali has super wireless signal receivers

Tired of not having signal when traveling somewhere in the boondocks, mountain pass or a concrete canyon. General Motors is working on a solution that will give the on-the-go consumer nothing to worry about wireless signal strength. The first vehicle to get the technology will be the 2011 GMC Yukon Denali.

The tech-savvy engineers at GM created a first-of-its-kind gigantic signal-testing facility to keep data, cell phone and other signals active in areas where wireless signal strength is limited.  The Yukon Denali is one of the first vehicles to get this technology, which looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Teaming up with transmission tech giant SATIMO SA, GM created the world’s first ‘vehicle-sized electronically modulated spherical near-field antenna testing system,’ or ATS. The $750,000 ATS beams signals from 103 probes down to a vehicle on a rotating platform. The data is then used to optimize satellite antenna design and placement on GMC and other GM vehicles.

“There are only two other vehicle antenna validation systems like this anywhere in the world,” said Janalee Graham, who runs ATS “arch” testing for GM. “And ours was the first.

Check out the video after the jump for more details.

– By: Omar Rana