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Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California have developed a “reflective” microchip which could reduce the power needed to communicate wirelessly.
Wireless transmission and reception of information, whether via cellular networks or Wi-Fi, requires quite a bit of energy, which can be a problem for smaller devices like wearables which have limited room for batteries.
The researchers at JPL and UCLA say it is possible to get more mileage by reflecting wireless signals, rather than generating them conventionally. The solution is said to transmit information up to three times faster than regular Wi-Fi.
The wearable device would only reflect the signal from a router or cell tower, reducing the power consumption associated with generating wireless signals and transmitting them.
The microchip either absorbs the incoming energy, or reflects it. Where the energy is absorbed, that indicates a 0. Reflected signals indicate a 1.
Because the mechanism to switch between absorbing and reflecting is simple, it uses very little power and allows for the fast transfer of information between a wearable device and a computer, smart phone, tablet or other technology capable of receiving the data.
An obvious challenge is the interference of other devices, or even objects that reflect signals, like walls, doors, ceilings and furniture. The chip in the wearable device needs to differentiate between the real Wi-Fi signal and the reflection from the background.
To overcome background reflections, the researchers developed a wireless silicon chip that constantly senses and suppresses background reflections, enabling the Wi-Fi signal to be transmitted without interference from surrounding objects.
The technologists have tested the system at distances of up to 6 meters. At about 2.5 meters, they achieved a data transfer rate of 330 megabits per second, which is about three times the current Wi-Fi rate, using about a thousand times less power than a regular Wi-Fi link.
A base station and Wi-Fi service are still required for the system to work. The energy load is merely transferred to the router, and the other end of the communication chain: those devices will need to be plugged in, or have longer battery life. The next step in the research will be to research this issue to reduce overall power usage.
This technology could allow astronauts and robotic spacecraft to transmit images at a lower cost to their precious power supplies. This might also allow more images to be sent at a time.
It could also have implications for implants and other medical technology.