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TAOGLAS.IE:YOU may have already noticed that the humble metal aerial protruding from the roof of cars is starting to disappear. What you may not know is that an Irish firm is playing a major role in the replacement of these external aerials.

Part of the reason for the replacement of external aerials on vehicles and suchlike is that the amount of information being processed and transmitted is simply too great for the average external device. To cope with all this data, vehicles would end up looking like hedgehogs. To overcome these issues companies are now opting for advanced embedded aerials, similar to those on mobile phones. One of the firms behind these advances is is Co Wexford based Taoglas. Founded in 2004 by Dermot O’Shea and Ronan Quinlan, it has grown from a two-person operation into an international design and consultancy company employing 16 people. Its manufacturing is sub-contracted out to a plant in Taiwan. The company also has offices in South Africa and US.