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"GiFi" — Short-Range, 5-Gbps Wireless For $10/Chip
mickq writes "The Age reports that Melbourne scientists have built and demonstrated tiny CMOS chips, 5 mm per side, that can transmit 5 Gbps over short distances — about 10 m. The chip features a tiny 1-mm antenna, a power amp that is only a few microns wide, and power consumption of only 2 W. 'GiFi' appears set to revolutionize short-distance data transmission, and transmits in the relatively uncrowded 60GHz range. Best of all, the chip is only about a year away from public release, and will only cost around US $9.20 to produce."
I believe BlueTooth's max transmission rate is 2.1 Mb/sec (for BlueTooth 2.0). 5 Gb/sec > 2.1 Mb/sec.
USB 1.1 adapters are pretty cheap, too...how much are they being used today?
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
How about simply setting your ipod or smart phone near your computer and having everything sync up lickety split without having to use a cable.
...
Or how about a wireless connection between a set-top box and the TV that is mounted a couple feet up on the wall? Or a wireless connection between a computer and the display.
Or instantly creating a local network of all computers in a room?
Or
Here's some more info. Yep it's just a brand name. The WIFi alliance referred to it in slogans as wireless fidelity though, even though it doesn't mean anything, and apparently now they're trying to backtrack on it.
http://www.teleclick.ca/2005/12/what-is-the-true-meaning-of-wi-fi/
Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity as per the Wi-Fi Alliance.
While they are the first ones out of the gate with an all-in-one CMOS solution, I doubt they will be the only ones. Look for Intel to have something available later this year (with the marketing power to make it successful). What we need now is someone like Sony or Toshiba to jump on board so that TVs (er, should I say monitors now) and audio receivers are integrated as well.
I mean WOW... $10 for something that has the transceiver and antenna on ONE single CMOS chip is awesome. Prior technologies required so silicon and multiple chips, etc. This will be huge!
Set-top-boxes will be the LAST ones to get involved. This is unfortunate since they are essentially what 90% of the population will be looking for (cable, satellite, IPTV).
I've seen a lot of responses whether this will be a replacement for blue-tooth or USB. Well, it's not really in the same category, so NO, it won't be either of those. USB is wired, bluetooth is not, but GiFi could really be so much more (I really hate the term GiFi and prefer "WirelessHD"). In that respect (see http://www.wirelesshd.org/), it should really be thought of as an ad-hoc wireless network... not a TCP/IP network, but one dedicated to the coordination of media transmitters and receivers. At least that is my hope, because if it gets shoe-horned into something that already exists like WiFi, or bluetooth it will be a total waste of energy.
programming myself into obsolescence
It's basic RF. The higher the frequency, the worse the penetration. 700MHz and 900MHz go through just about everything (except dirt and metal). 2.4GHz (802.11b/g) can go through wood panels, drywall, and some forms of metal (not many). I don't know what the mathematical description is for the ratio of frequency vs rates of absorption/penetration, but it gets pretty bad at about 5.8GHz (802.11a). I can't imagine what it is at 60GHz and only 2W of output power.
Linky
"Indoor wave propagation is also affected by the building material. The density of the materials used in the construction of a building determines the number of walls the RF signal can pass through and still maintain adequate coverage. Paper and vinyl walls have little effect on signal penetration. Solid walls, solid floors and pre-cast concrete walls can limit signal penetration to one or two walls without degrading coverage. This can vary widely based any steel reinforcing within the concrete. Concrete and concrete block walls can limit signal penetration to three or four walls. Wood or drywall typically allows for adequate penetration of five or six walls. A thick metal wall causes signals to reflect off, which results in poor penetration. Steel reinforced concrete flooring restricts coverage between floors to perhaps one or two floors.
The higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength is. Shorter wavelengths have more probability to get absorbed and distorted by a building material. Therefore, 802.11a, which operates in a higher frequency band, is more prone to the building material effect."
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." -Anon.
Little problem with your math there. I=P/V, not V/P.
3.7V * 1.1Ah = 4Wh. If that were just powering the chip, thats 2 hours, not 1/2 hour.
Now a pessimistic guess that a 5Gbps link will actually get something like 500Mbps of data throughput, thats 62MB/s. At that speed it will take about a minute and a half to copy a DVD image. 2W*1.5s=50mWh, or roughly 1% of the phone's battery life. Seems like it would be perfect for use on a mobile phone.
This is all assuming their claims as relayed by the media are accurate.