Thursday, August 8, 2002
The beauty of mesh networking
Posted by Jason Dunn in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 02:13 PM
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020808.html
This is the first time I've heard of mesh networking, although the concept has certainly been kicking around for quite some time. This column by Robert X. Cringely is, as always, fascinating. It makes the geek blood within me boil over with excitement! Give it a read to understand why.
"More good news: XtremeSpectrum has started shipping samples of its UltraWideBand (UWB) chipset with full production slated for early next year. You'll recall I wrote several months ago about UWB, which is an unlicensed high speed data service that is purely digital with no analog components at all. This means that UWB -- unlike even WiFi -- can take full advantage of Moore's Law. Over time, just changing to new semiconductor manufacturing processes will make UWB faster, cheaper, and consuming less power. The XtremeSpectrum chip, which is the first UWB product to ship aimed at customers like you and me, carries 100 megabits-per-second for a distance up to 10 meters. Think of this as Bluetooth on steroids. Better still, think of it as the eventual Bluetooth killer.
UWB will do for home entertainment what WiFi is about to do for home computer networking. Computers are simple compared to wiring up your stereo system or home theater. When we talk about computer network cabling it means CAT5 and almost nothing else. But a look behind my AV receiver shows RCA plugs, optical plugs, DIN plugs, mini stereo plugs, and others that I can't even identify because they are hidden behind a tumbleweed of twisted speaker wire.
But UWB will change all that. Buy a new component, plug it in, and it will discover the rest of the entertainment network and simply install itself. Look behind your AV receiver and all you'll find is a powerstrip and surge protector. Of course this will take time. The XtremeSpectrum chip costs $19.95 in volume and you need one for each device, so it is still too expensive for true mass consumption. But then it takes time to design new components that have this capability. If Moore's Law holds true, three years from new UWB will be down to less than five dollars, and will be included in just about every device. The eventual elimination of all those plugs can save that much per device in reduced manufacturing cost alone."
This is the first time I've heard of mesh networking, although the concept has certainly been kicking around for quite some time. This column by Robert X. Cringely is, as always, fascinating. It makes the geek blood within me boil over with excitement! Give it a read to understand why.
"More good news: XtremeSpectrum has started shipping samples of its UltraWideBand (UWB) chipset with full production slated for early next year. You'll recall I wrote several months ago about UWB, which is an unlicensed high speed data service that is purely digital with no analog components at all. This means that UWB -- unlike even WiFi -- can take full advantage of Moore's Law. Over time, just changing to new semiconductor manufacturing processes will make UWB faster, cheaper, and consuming less power. The XtremeSpectrum chip, which is the first UWB product to ship aimed at customers like you and me, carries 100 megabits-per-second for a distance up to 10 meters. Think of this as Bluetooth on steroids. Better still, think of it as the eventual Bluetooth killer.
UWB will do for home entertainment what WiFi is about to do for home computer networking. Computers are simple compared to wiring up your stereo system or home theater. When we talk about computer network cabling it means CAT5 and almost nothing else. But a look behind my AV receiver shows RCA plugs, optical plugs, DIN plugs, mini stereo plugs, and others that I can't even identify because they are hidden behind a tumbleweed of twisted speaker wire.
But UWB will change all that. Buy a new component, plug it in, and it will discover the rest of the entertainment network and simply install itself. Look behind your AV receiver and all you'll find is a powerstrip and surge protector. Of course this will take time. The XtremeSpectrum chip costs $19.95 in volume and you need one for each device, so it is still too expensive for true mass consumption. But then it takes time to design new components that have this capability. If Moore's Law holds true, three years from new UWB will be down to less than five dollars, and will be included in just about every device. The eventual elimination of all those plugs can save that much per device in reduced manufacturing cost alone."
