A little off topic, but interesting Ultra-Wideband article.
I think I saw the company Time Domain discussed on one of the SI threads awhile back, because they were working on a new type of cell phone, that transmits data, via pulses, over very wide areas. But maybe I am wrong on that. This particular product, is ultra wide bandwidth over short distances.
Friday March 9 5:18 PM ET
Study Finds Room for Ultra-Wideband And GPS
dailynews.yahoo.com
By Tim Dobbyn
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A study issued Friday found a new wireless technology with uses that include ground-penetrating radar can likely operate without interfering with users of the satellite-based navigation system known as GPS.
The Johns Hopkins University assessment concluded that the technology, known as ultra-wideband (UWB), can operate in ways that make its transmissions appear similar to the regular background noise of miscellaneous radio transmissions.
``(S)ignals can be produced that have characteristics similar to white noise...,'' the report by the university's Applied Physics Laboratory said in part.
The aviation community, in particular, has expressed concern that UWB devices could interfere with the reception of signals from the global positioning system (GPS) series of satellites that are becoming the backbone of modern navigation.
UWB devices can detect objects in the ground or behind solid walls, promising advances in mine detection, rescue and police work. They can also support high-speed data transfer over short distances.
The Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) (FCC (news - web sites)) said last year it would consider authorizing UWB for unlicensed operation but asked for further tests before proceeding.
``We're very hopeful now this data is in that the FCC will be able to move forward with the safe deployment of ultra-wideband in a timely manner,'' said Time Domain Corp. vice president Jeff Ross.
As its name suggests, ultra-wideband (UWB) uses a broad swath of the radio spectrum, but in thousands or millions of pulses of low-powered emissions per second. Most other radio technologies operate within narrow frequencies that are assigned to reduce interference.
Huntsville, Ala.-based Time Domain already has FCC permission to sell a limited number of its RadarVision units to police and emergency units.
The Commerce Department (news - web sites)'s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (news - web sites) (NTIA) also released results of a similar study on Friday.
That study, like Johns Hopkins' similarly found that varying the timing of the UWB pulses, a process know as ''dithering,'' could make the signal more ``noise-like.''
Nevertheless it cautioned that some pulse frequencies could interfere with GPS receivers.
Another NTIA study released in January found the potential for interference with microwave landing systems in some circumstances. |
