UWB May Revolutionize Wireless Networking... Someday
The May issue of Scientific American has an article on Ultrawideband (UWB) wireless networks, which have the potential to greatly speed up short-range wireless networking, while requiring less power than current options. Rather than sending its signals within a narrow frequency range as current technologies do, UWB sends out very short pulses of radio waves spread over a wide range of the spectrum.
UWB does not use a carrier wave. Instead, it sends out discrete pulses. Data is encoded into the characteristics of these pulses.
It has the potential to transmit data much faster than its rivals. Bluetooth can transmit about 1 Mbps over a range of 10 meters. 802.11b can reach 10 Mbps over about 100 meters. One UWB developer has measured peak speeds of over 50 Mbps at a range of 10 meters. Others have said the potential data rate is closer to 500 Mbps over a range of 5 to 10 meters.
When discussing wireless technologies, interference is an important issue, especially when its a technology whose signals can be spread over a range of 1.5GHz.
Fortunately, UWB's signals are very weak. A UWB transmitter emits less radio energy than a typical home appliance, like a toaster. In fact, rather than interfere with other radio devices, UWB suffers much more from being interfered with, a problem developers are finding ways to cope with. However, there is a possibility that UWB may interfere with GPS signals.
Interference with other UWB devices is also something that needs to be considered. According to experts, about six UWB systems can operate within the same 10-meter circle with only slight interference with each other.
UMB has other advantages. When compared with Bluetooth or 802.11 hardware, UWB transceivers are much simpler and use much less power.
Though it has been in development since the 1980s, this is not yet a mature technology and all the bugs haven't been worked out of it yet. No products are slated for release in the near future. However, in February the FCC gave its approval for the devices, as long as they stay within a certain wide range of the spectrum.
Several companies are doing research in this area, including Intel and Aether Systems.
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RE: Size Matters....
We've got 802.11b and Bluetooth SpringBoard modules for the Visor at work. The Bluetooth one fits inside the SpingBoard slot and uses little power - the 802.11b module is huge and needs it's own battery supply, and still runs out of power in an hour or 2. Anyone who knows anything about PDAs knows that size and battery life are really important.
So, it's very important if Ultra Wide Band is low power & small for us PDA users - anyone know anything about it?
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russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk
RE: Size Matters....
It then compares speeds with Bluetooth... does that also mean it uses less power than Bluetooth? Mebbe.
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RE: Size Matters....
UWB is potentially even easier to include in a handheld than Bluetooth. There are circuit diagrams that compare Bluetooth and UWB in the Intel article listed under "Related Information".
Sorry, Scientific American does not put the contents of its most recent issue on its website. Nevertheless, I have to cite it as the source of much of this info. You might also take a look at the Intel article.
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News Editor
RE: Size Matters....
I was just trying to agree with the first post and add power to the equation. As power was already covered, I'll just resort to ageeing that "size matters" :-)
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russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk
RE: Size Matters....
High data rates... Yes, but it will depend highly on how UWB is used in the network. I don't have the papers handy, but it's something like this: The transmitter will transmit something like 500Mbps, but it uses alot of redundancy to ensure a valid signal. The receiver will take a running sum of the bits recieved. Then it devides it by the number of bit times (takes an average) to determine what the correct signal was. You can be sure there will be errors (plenty of them) and taking the average makes it more probable that the correct signal can be extrapolated. I'll have to dig around and see if I can find those papers. It's really interesting reading.
Tip DS
RE: Size Matters....
RE: Size Matters....
RE: Size Matters....
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RE: Size Matters....
More redundant data would mean better chance of transmission. I find 802.11b deteriates rapidly once you start closing doors. Also so may 2.4Ghz cant be a good thing. I've thrown out one wireless radio mouse already.
Secondly, how you FCC rule against such a which use of bandwidth? Even though this is low powered?
Anyone remember Bluetooths rival technology that would used 1/100th the power of Bluetooth?
RE: Size Matters....
RE: Size Matters....
First, the FCC has US jurisdiction over all intentional and most unintentional radiators of radio energy, regardless of power level. My gosh... if somebody didn't play traffic cop, communications as we know it wouldn't be possible.
UWB is a compelling technology, but implementation will definely be at a measurable cost to other users of RF spectrum. GPS won't be the only victim - anybody else who relies on sniffing weak signals out of the background static (we call it "noise floor") is going to have a tough go of it. UWB raises the noise floor we've already seen it plenty of times in narrower frequency-hopping implementations (Bluetooth and 802.11 included).
Bottom line is that there are millions of users relying on narrow-band technologies who would be adversely affected by UWB. This is especially true in the current climate, where NB users are being asked (told) to reduce power and increasingly rely on weak-signal acquisition methods. We may get to UWB someday, but not without a large impact and likely a long, drawn-out cutover process.
Funny...
You might say I'm wrong, that you can buy and use both technologies now, and while that may be true, it comes at a rather high-price.
And even if you could afford it, it's under special conditions (I'm still waitting for Bluetooth on my Clie -without having to learn Japanese-).
RE: Funny...
I think everybody would agree that Bluetooth has been taking its sweet-ass time getting here. I stopped waiting for Bluetooth years ago... I'm doing fine with IR between my Clie and Cel phone.
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RE: Funny...
RE: Funny...
UWB cannot be used (commercially) below 3.1 gigahertz.
For the most part, the UWB community, led by Time Domain, a Huntsville, Ala.-based company that develops a UWB chipset, is making the most of this decision to get products into the market as quickly as possible and to prove that there are no interference issues. If interference turns out to have been exaggerated, proponents will go back to the FCC to request the removal of the restrictions below 3.1 GHz. Then, UWB players would be able to offer wide-area services. The spectrum above 3.1 GHz is not very useful for anything other than short-range communications.
MetaGroup: UWB is 3-5 years from market introduction
A potential Bluetooth replacement is already on the horizon in the form of ultrawideband (UWB) technology. Recently approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), UWB uses one-thousandth of the power of Bluetooth, an important consideration for small, battery-operated devices. It is also much more secure than current wireless systems. It works by sending pulses so weak that they are virtually undetectable amid the natural radio "noise" that permeates the environment, unless the receiver is keyed to the same pattern used by the particular transmitter.
However, UWB technology is three to five years from market introduction and has yet to receive licensing approval outside the US. While homeland security activities by the US government may spur UWB development, we do not expect it to become a practical technology for at least three years.
more
www.metagroup.com/cgi-bin/inetcgi/search/displayArticle.jsp?oid=29681
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Size Matters....
From what I've seen, Bluetooth is the only technology right now that can fit in a PDA without you noticing the size. The 802.11 seems to only be in the form of a 'sled' that doubles or triples the size of a PDA.
What kind of size would we be looking at in the future for these devices? Is it feasible for a PDA?
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