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the future of wireless management ... today!
wireless ad-hoc mesh networks
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date:
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Disclaimer: Applications
introduced in this template webiste are feasible, development is ongoing.
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Mesh Technology
- sht 1 of 3
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The WLAN operational platform that supports several
MeshLink products,
comes from a privately held company based in Ottawa. They have developed new knowledge
and technology in the field of very low-power miniature Radio Frequency (RF)
transceivers. The inventor has assembled a team of some of the leading RF
Integrated Circuit (IC) hardware and software designers in the world to further
develop and adapt this technology to meet the needs of emerging markets.
The inventor initially set out to create a single product. Following extensive R&D
on low-power miniature Radio Frequency transceivers, patents were obtained, and work
began on a portable personal alarm system. The inventor's Personal Alarm System warns
the user about impending loss of personal items. It provides up to six
slim small cards, each inserted in, or attached to objects to be safeguarded. These
cards raise an alarm in a corresponding device worn by the user, if their distance
from the user exceeds a distance selected by the wearer. The signal can be received
up to 60 meters (200 feet) indoors and 1 Km (0.6 mi) outdoors [can be bumped to 3Km].
It also travels through most walls.
Main components of this 'smart' device are an RF (radio frequency) transceiver that
transmits and receives data, a microprocessor to control the transceiver, and some
innovative software to control the microprocessor. Specifications for the component
parts are very stringent. They need to be tiny, with minute power consumption, have a
sufficiently high data rate, and have significant processing power to support the
required data communication and processing.
The inventor undertook the challenging custom design of the RF circuitry. This has been
successfully completed, producing what we believe is the "best of breed" among the few
comparable devices. The exercise did not come without difficulties. Some problems needed
to be overcome in the course of producing an unprecedented low-power design. As one
example, if one lays a radio antenna flush on the ground, it will not work. Similarly,
when an antenna is placed directly against a human body, it ceases to function normally.
In cooperation with the inventor's antenna designer, they have found a solution to
this problem through a combination of approaches.
For the microprocessor component, criteria include lowest possible power, sufficient
processing speed and memory management, analog and digital sensor interfaces, and
availability of intellectual property. This last consideration is a provision to ensure
that the design and tooling of the microprocessor the inventor is currently using
will be available to be transferred to, and incorporated in, the inventor's ASIC
(Application Specific Integrated Circuit or custom chip), thereby safeguarding the
inventor's considerable investment in proprietary software that can be reused and
ported over to our custom chip when it becomes available.
Having arrived at this stage, the inventor has achieved rigorous implementation of
a viable product, and a working platform that is a general purpose RF communication
engine that can support other applications that can take advantage of card-size
devices that can communicate with each other.
It is important to note that the inventor's tags are drastically different that RFIDs
(Radio Frequency IDentification). There is a significant ongoing media coverage of plans
by Wal-Mart, the US Department of Defense, major car manufacturers, etc., to use RFIDs.
RFIDs' have the potential to replace Bar Codes in tracking inventory, point of sale, and
other applications. Bar Codes are read by a laser scanner that
require line-of-sight to function, whereas RFIDs do not. They can be interrogated by a
reader/antenna within radio range without having to focus a beam on the tag.
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