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Wireless Networking Research at Berkeley
zootallure writes "An interesting article about a self-configuring, wireless networking project going on at Berkeley's Wireless Research Center. Apparently, these Berkeley guys are convinced that they're going to leave Bluetooth and 802.11 in the dust."
You're exactly right. The post doesn't even mention power, which is the whole point of this technology. This actually sounds cool. Do Slashdot's editors do this on purpose, or are they just being sloppy?
According to Rabaey, each node in the picoradio network will draw no more than 100 microwatts of power, three orders of magnitude less than 802.11b's 300 milliwatts. The benefits of such a low power network are obvious: no batteries are needed because each node can harvest all the energy it needs from its environment.
Donate background CPU time to fight cancer.
As I was reading the article, I was thinking that picoradio would make an excellent addition to a modern soldier's loadout. As low-power as they are, the transceivers could be used to share data within the small-unit level without radiating enough energy to alert an enemy.
Combine these with the Army's Intervehicular Information System (IVIS), and commanders would have real-time, accurate information on the location of not just every tank, APC, and field artillery piece on the battlefield, but also each soldier. It would definitely work to reduce the number of friendly fire incidents that occur in a future conflict.
Plus, you could connect them to biomonitor equipment that would allow medic teams to both locate and triage injured personnel much faster.
They that would sacrifice their