• LoRa promises cheap low-power alternative to 5G for IoT devices

    LoRa (Long Range) is among a clutch of narrowband technologies that connect devices cheaply over unlicensed spectrum and vast distances and needs very little power. Unlike 5G networks or Bluetooth, which are more commonly touted as possible technologies for IoT adoption, LoRa’s drawback is that it can only send small parcels of data, rather than the gigabytes most wired and mobile standards aspire to. However, advocates of the platform argue that this may be more than enough. "It turns out you don't need that huge an infrastructure and it can be driven by small devices that are very smart and not very expensive," says Mike Cruse, CEO of Definium Technologies, which is building LoRa-based devices for farmers, universities and mines. The IoT has long promised to hook up devices - everything…

  • A millennium and a half before alien contact astronomers claim

    The scientists performed a calculation based on the likelihood of technological civilisations arising among the stars, and the probable length of time they had been transmitting signals across space. They concluded that while there was no reason to think we are alone in the universe, getting in contact may take some time. US researcher Evan Solomonides, a PhD student from Cornell University, said: "We haven't heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place – but that doesn't mean no one is out there. "It's possible to hear any time at all, but it becomes likely we will have heard around 1,500 years from now. "Until then, it is possible that we appear to be alone, even if we are not. But if we stop listening or looking, we may miss the signals. So we should keep looking." Astronomers have long…

  • Record in wireless data transmission achieved

    The technology, which would allow downloading a whole DVD in less than ten seconds, relies on the so-called E-band of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies between 71 and 76 GHz, also known as the milimetre-waves. The team from the University of Stuttgart, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF, said the system exceeds ten times existing state-of-the-art technology. During the experiment, the researchers sent data between Cologne’s 45-story Uni-Centre and the Space Observation Radar TIRA located at Fraunhofer Institute for High-Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques in Wachtberg some 37km away. To achieve the high data rates together with the unprecedented distance, the researchers built innovative transmitters and…

  • WiFi capacity doubled with a chip less than half the size

    The engineers achieved this feat by implementing the first ‘on-chip RF circulator’ which allows both incoming and outgoing signals to be sent and received using just one antenna. In the era of Big Data, the current frequency spectrum crisis is one of the biggest challenges researchers are grappling with and it is clear that today's wireless networks will not be able to support tomorrow's data deluge. Today's standards, such as 4G/LTE, already support 40 different frequency bands, and there is no space left at radio frequencies for future expansion. At the same time, the grand challenge of the next-generation 5G network is to increase the data capacity by 1,000 times. The new duplex system enables simultaneous transmission and reception at the same frequency in a wireless radio by using switches…

  • 5G smartphones could use radar tech to boost signal

    To take full advantage of upcoming 5G networks, antennas need to be much more advanced than they are today where even the best smartphones actually lose around 90 per cent of the signal. One solution being developed by a Danish team from Aalborg University in collaboration with tech firms Intel and Wispry is to have the antennas directed towards the transmitter. This works in a similar fashion to satellite communications where a dish pointing straight up at a satellite can pick up a signal that is 10,000 times weaker than that picked up by a mobile phone. "If you know what direction the signal is coming from, you have a huge advantage," says Gert Frølund Pedersen who worked on the project. Although it may be known where the nearest transmission tower is, the challenge with smartphones is that…

  • Smallest TV antenna ever boasts 'extraordinary reception'

    The antenna, created by a team from the University of Morelos, weighs 12g, increasing to 80g when coated. The device can be used both outdoors and indoors and is designed to be placed in a fixed spot in the ceiling. Its compact, rectangular shape has proved strong and resistant, it does not require any attachment when used indoors, and by using a signal splitter it can be connected to different TVs. The antenna does not require electricity and it has been tested by one of the largest television companies in Mexico, with promising results. It has already been subjected to very low temperatures and other harsh environmental conditions as part of the testing process. "In the California area it could pick up the signal of about 70 local channels, and after the analogue switch-off in Mexico…

  • 5G data transmission efficiency increased 12-fold

    Engineers at the University of Bristol, the UK, and the Swedish University of Lund in cooperation with technology company National Instruments have demonstrated wireless data transmission of 1.59Gbit/s. This was achieved in a 20MHz channel and represents a 12-fold improvement over the fastest currently available 4G cellular technology. MIMO is a multiple-antenna system used in existing Wi-Fi routers and 4G cellular phone networks. It usually relies on four antennas to cater for multipath propagation of the data signal. In massive MIMO, the number of antennas used in a single router is increased multiple times. The system used by the Bristol and Lund teams used 128 antennas. "We see massive MIMO as the most promising 5G technology and we have pushed it forward together with partners in Bristol…

  • Cambridge initiative aims to create 'hyper-connected' city

    Launched by Cambridge Ahead, the #CambsNotspotter initiative aims to take the information on where mobile phone signals, Wi-Fi and broadband access are poor and encourage telecoms providers to take action to improve them. The plan is to provide the city and its surrounding areas with the connectivity infrastructure it needs to become a “hyper-connected” city of the future. “We are going to improve mobile broadband connectivity across the region,” said Faye Holland, Chair of the Connecting Cambridge group within Cambridge Ahead, at the #CambsNotspotter launch in Cambridge. By becoming a #CambsNotspotter, local people will help identify areas of no or low connectivity, or ‘notspots’, using a specially designed app which collects and analyses mobile data signals. The data will then be used to…

  • Facebook uniting telecom sector for 5G development

    The initiative is said to be "engineering focused" and brings operators, infrastructure providers, system integrators and other technology companies together to collaborate on the development of new technologies to aid the future rollout of 5G communication networks. In a post on its site, Facebook said that with people sharing increasingly data-intensive media, such as high-definition video and even virtual reality experiences in the future, the traditional telecom infrastructure "is not moving as fast as people need it to". Facebook, Intel, and Nokia have pledged to contribute an initial suite of reference designs to the project for improved 5G communication networks that operators can deploy when they need them. Jay Parikh, Facebook’s head of engineering, said the project would “result in…

  • Solution found for GPS hacking

    Currently, attackers can alter the GPS location data, received by satnav systems in cars for example, by using a satellite simulator. GPS also has a number of industrial uses, such as the temporal synchronisation of machines, which could be brought to a standstill in the event of an attack. Satellite simulators generate fake signals that appear authentic, and sends them out to receivers. “This is how attackers can fool the receiver, which then assumes it is located in a different position than is actually the case,” explains Professor Christina Pöpper, who is leading the team developing a solution to the problem. Their proposal involves the installation of multiple receivers in a vehicle, situated at a distance from each other, that are all receiving GPS data simultaneously. If they receive…

  • Flood management: how to hold back the waters

    While unprecedented rainfall in the UK has inundated parts of Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland this winter, the flood-prone town of Pickering in North Yorkshire has (so far) stayed dry.Pickering’s residents, it seems, were protected by relatively low-cost flood defences developed in a project involving Forest Research and Durham, Oxford and Newcastle universities, funded by Defra, Ryedale District Council, North Yorkshire County Council and the Flood Levy. Instead of building a £10m concrete floodwall through the town centre, they spent around £2m on a carefully engineered concrete bund that could store up to 120,000 cubic metres of floodwater upstream of the town. In the catchments of Pickering Beck (draining through Pickering) and the neighbouring catchment of the River Seven…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • EE and BT merger poorly received by the industry

    After being given the green light, the new company will have a combined customer base of around 35 million mobile, broadband and TV customers. Despite the criticisms, John Wotton, who chaired the CMA inquiry into the deal, said the evidence "does not show that this merger is likely to cause significant harm to competition or the interests of consumers". Broadband and mobile provider TalkTalk is one such industry player that is not happy with the new deal. "We are disappointed, although not surprised, that the CMA has waived through the BT/EE merger, even though the new entity will be even more dominant than it was before privatisation 30 years ago," it said. Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, added: "Fewer players in a market is rarely a good thing, but now this deal has been approved…

  • Blackberry pulls out of Pakistan over spying allegations

    In July, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority notified the country’s mobile phone operators that BlackBerry’s BES servers would no longer be allowed to operate in the country starting in December "for security reasons". Blackberry alleges that the government wanted to monitor every email and BBM message sent through its servers in the country, a directive the company was not prepared to comply with. “As we have said many times, we do not support ‘back doors’ granting open access to our customers’ information and have never done this anywhere in the world,” the company said in a blog post. “Pakistan’s demand was not a question of public safety; we are more than happy to assist law enforcement agencies in investigations of criminal activity.” “Rather, Pakistan was essentially demanding unfettered…

  • FM radio can boost Wi-Fi speeds

    Residents of densely packed areas, such as those living in tower blocks, frequently suffer from inconsistent Wi-Fi performance, which the researchers blame on too many networks being located in a small area. "Most people think it's a mystery," said Aleksandar Kuzmanovic, a professor with the university. "They get upset at their routers. But what's really happening is that your neighbour is watching Netflix." When network data is sent at the same time from different networks, it can ‘bump’ into each other. This results in data packets failing to reach their destinations causing unexpectedly slow Internet speeds. Kuzmanovic and his team of PHD students have created a solution called Wi-FM that allows wireless routers to use the FM spectrum to determine the ‘quietest’ areas that will cause the…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Google balloons to offer internet access to Indonesians

    The Project Loon programme was first tested in 2013 in New Zealand using thirty 12m-tall solar-powered balloons designed to reach the stratosphere. They are designed to travel at speeds between 8 and 30km/h and are guided by software algorithms to move up and down the stratospheric layers to control their direction. They contain equipment that broadcasts 3G-like wireless speeds to ground-based antennas, which spreads the signal further to users. About 250 million people live in Indonesia, which is composed of about 17,000 islands, although only 42 million have internet access, according to the CIA's estimates. The project is primarily funded by money that Google makes from digital advertising, although it was recently assigned to an independent lab called X that is run by Google's new parent…

  • Sainsbury's mobile network to shut down

    The supermarket set up its virtual network, which piggybacks a signal from Vodafone’s mobile towers, in July 2013. Under a virtual network agreement, carriers such as Vodafone can opt to rent out some of their network capacity to another party so that it can avoid the high capital costs associated with setting up their own infrastructure. Its rivals Tesco and Asda have set up their own similar services that run on O2 and EE’s towers respectively. However, where Tesco Mobile boasts four million customers, Sainsbury’s had only managed to attract 150,000 to its network. It is understood Sainsbury's and Vodafone pulled the plug on the joint venture after disagreeing over the future of the service. Most of the customers affected are on sim-only pay-as-you-go deals and Sainsbury's said they will…

  • Text message tweak to appointment alerts could save NHS millions

    The research study found that when using the new message text, DNA incidents were reduced by 5,800. This figure could have risen as high as 28,900 if the Trust had a record of every patient’s mobile number. Healthcare providers are increasingly using SMS reminders to reduce DNA rates, with statistics showing in 2012–13 around 5.5 million NHS outpatient appointments were missed in England (9.3 per cent of the total). A recent estimate claims missed first outpatient appointments cost the NHS up to £225 million in 2012–13. If the NHS only had mobile numbers for 20 per cent of patients, this could still potentially avoid as many as 400,000 missed hospital appointments per year, saving the NHS and the taxpayer in excess of £64 million. The research Stating Appointment Costs in SMS Reminders Reduces…

  • EU mobile roaming charges to be scrapped

    At a meeting of the EU Competition Council, the UK’s Business Minister, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, and her European counterparts are expected to give their formal agreement to the legislation. The new rule will mean that mobile phone users will not have to pay any extra for mobile roaming which includes making calls, texts and using the internet while abroad. Although the ending of the charge is not due to be implemented until June 2017, further cuts to roaming will be introduced on April 30 2016 as part of the same agreement. After the 2016 date, the cost of using data abroad will have been reduced by 95 per cent in comparison to four years ago. The UK government said it had led the calls to end roaming charges since the beginning by working with its allies in other EU countries and the European…

  • Apple's iOS 9 mobile software available from today

    The software will be built into the latest generation of iPhones, the 6s and 6s Plus, due for release in just over a week. Users with an iPhone 4s or newer, as well as owners of an iPad 2 or newer, will receive a notification today telling them they can download the new iOS. The update includes improved security features, with default pin codes now six digits long rather than four, which Apple says makes a user's devices more immune to hacking as it increases the possible combinations from 10,000 to one million. Two-factor authentication, where a second layer is added to log-in, is also being introduced, with users now required to enter a code when they log in from a new device for the first time. This code will be sent to and displayed on a user's other Apple products. On the iPad, users will…

  • Smartphone-controlled gaming drones out in December

    Designed by German start-up TobyRich, the new fixed wing drones can be controlled from as far as 90m away via a mobile app, which will let users take part in multi-player air battles and races as well as carry out a number of stunts in single player mode. The firm's entry level model, the tobyrich.vegas, uses BluetoothSmart technology to communicate with the users smartphone as well as GPS for flight planning and will be delivered to customers this December after the firm reached their funding goal of $100,000 on KickStarter yesterday. The firm is also working on two more advanced designs, the tobyrich.tokyo which features an HD camera and the tobyrich.guru, which has larger wings and is 4G/LTE-enabled boosting the drone's range and allowing the user to stream video live on their smartphone…

  • US Government investigating drone take-down technology

    More than one million drones are expected to be sold in the United States this year, compared to 430,000 in 2014, according to the Consumer Electronics Association and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said last week that US pilots have reported more than 650 drone sightings so far this year compared to 238 over the whole of 2014. This surge in drone activity has raised concerns that one could hit a commercial aircraft during landing or take-off, or be used as a weapon in a deliberate attack, prompting the authorities to investigate ways to track and disable drones, sources familiar with the matter said. "We can't shoot it out of the sky. We have to come up with something that's kind of basic technology so that if something happens, the drone or device will just go right back to the…

  • 5G calls for new test strategies

    5G wireless communications brings with it a number of challenges, not least for test and measurement. Not only is the upcoming standard likely to be a sprawling document that covers many different possible frequencies and modes but it will have much tighter requirements for system attributes above the RF interface such as round-trip latency. The tighter timings will be needed to support new applications such as autonomous driving and long-distance robotic control. “The latency of 4G on average is 80ms. For car-to-car communications you need sub-1ms latencies,” says Rahim Tafazolli, professor of mobile and satellite communication systems at the University of Surrey. The need for 5G to expand into new frequency ranges comes from a parallel requirement for higher data rates to support video and…

  • Smartphones become most popular Internet access device

    The phones unseated laptop computers as the most popular device for using the Internet, with the larger devices falling from 40 per cent of online connections in 2014 to 30 per cent in 2015. The multi-purpose handsets however have risen from 23 per cent last year to 33 per cent this year, with younger users the main driver behind the change, said Ofcom's 2015 Communications Market Report. The change was attributed to the expansion of high-speed 4G data networks by the report, which allows users to watch video on the go. It also found that two-thirds of adults now have a smartphone, up from 39 per cent in 2012, and the amount of time we spend using them to go online has risen to one hour and 54 minutes per day. Jane Rumble, director of market intelligence at Ofcom, said: "You can see these devices…

  • Artificial whiskers could help us see in the dark

    Scientists from the University of Illinois, inspired by the way mammals use whiskers to sense their way through dark environments, created an array of five super-elastic Nitinol wires covered with plastic straws about 15cm-long to mimic whiskers, which were then hooked up to strain gauges at their base. Electronic signals from these gauges enabled the researchers to measure movement in each whisker, as motors moved them through an air stream from a hair drier and this data was then used to build up a digital image of the fluid flow past the array. “When it is dark, whiskers play a key role for animals in exploring, hunting or even just living underground” explains Cagdas Tuna, lead author of a paper on the array published today in journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. “For example, seals…

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