UWB To Trigger Software Radios?

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t479-s2137942,00.html' target='_blank'>http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,...2137942,00.html</a><br /><br /></div>Rupert Goodwins has written up a decent history on the evolution of ultrawideband technology, otherwise known as UWB. If you haven't heard much about it, check it out -- if it comes to market, it'll be a very promising short-range wireless technology. In addition, he makes an interesting point about the implications of designing UWB-compatible radios.<br /><br />"Even here, UWB has a trick up its sleeve. The full 13 bands stretch from 3.4 to 10GHz, and any radio that covers such a huge sweep of spectrum will be able to do other things too. UWB could see the first widespread deployment of software radio, where the hardware is flexible enough to be reprogrammed to any standard and set of frequencies you can think up."<br /><br />I'd <i>love</i> to have a software radio in my Pocket PC 5 years from now that can handle every wireless 802 standard, whether it be 11(abg), 15.3a, or even Bluetooth. Long-term, that's got to be the ideal solution.

[beq]

But the single software radio must be able to connect via multiple protocols/frequencies in parallel...?

[konfoo]

UWB's FCC approved 'version' is suitable only for short-distance high bandwidth applications, such as wireless home communication or high-speed video (PVR sharing, home theater wireless networking, etc.).

Radio and TV are in the one-way broadcast market. There is no reason for them to provide market feeds to anything two-way or ip related. It is more likely for radio to follow europe with deployment over DVB/DVB-T or some other broadcast mechanism.

Just as it is more likely that broadcasters are changing to ATSC for digital deployment vs. some mish-mash of point to multipoint chained wifi links.

Sure, a software radio is viable, but not for digital demodulation and data parsing with speed to spare with the current batch of CPUs we have in pocketpcs. I would rather see the work offloaded to a generic secondary demod frontend.

[KayMan2k]

As pointed out the technology has issues but I soooo predicted this technology would hit hand helds in about 5 years!

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14806&highlight=radio

Now, if they just research the other stuff on my list.... :)

[konfoo]

As pointed out the technology has issues but I soooo predicted this technology would hit hand helds in about 5 years!

And you missed our portable Mediascreen DVB-T broadcast audio stations/low bandwidth video stations/file downloads demo at NAB by 4 years. And that was using a Nokia product, shucks! :-)

[MadKing]

I recall reading in Scientific American a few years back about an MIT project called Oxygen (cause it would be totally pervasive).
Their mobile devices would have s/w to allow use as any sort of device, including a number of radio devices (mobile phone, walkie talkie, GPS etc)
Have a look at ... http://oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/H21.html