Telecom Lead America: Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner has demonstrated a working all-digital WiFi radio at the Intel Developer Forum.
“In the future, if it computes, it connects. From the simplest embedded sensors to the most advanced cloud datacenters, we’re looking at techniques to allow all of them to connect without wires,” Rattner said.
All-digital radio follows Moore’s Law by scaling in area and energy efficiency with such digital chip processes as Intel’s latest 22nm tri-gate technology. System-on-chip designs for smartphones and tablet computers will be the most likely spot for the all digital radios to be integrated.
According to Rattner, the small size and lower cost of integrated digital radios will enable a host of new applications from wearable devices to “The Internet of Things” where devices such as home appliances with sensors can communicate with each other, exchange data and can be operated remotely.
Rattner said next-generation wireless standard – WiGig – operates in the millimeter wavelengths of the radio spectrum and delivers bandwidths over 5 gigabits per second. The WiGig standard is an industry-wide effort to consolidate a number of proprietary 60 GHz wireless technologies under the existing WiFi standard.
Users want to receive email and social media updates while their devices are asleep. To bring this always on, always connected capability to the Ultrabook platform, Intel Smart Connect technology wakes up Ultrabook just long enough to receive the incoming packet traffic and then it goes back into standby mode to ensure long battery life.
Intel CTO has also demonstrated Spring Meadow, which manages communication between the cloud and the device more intelligently. By pre-processing incoming network traffic and proactively managing traffic flow, Spring Meadow makes more efficient use of the host processor, allowing it to remain in a low-power state longer without impacting system performance.
To eliminate the need for passwords, Intel Labs has developed a replacement scheme called Client Based Authentication Technology. It replaces passwords, simplifies and accelerates the process for accessing bank accounts, stock portfolios and other cloud-based personal information.
The technology allows the user to authenticate once to the physical device such as an Ultrabook or smartphone using a biometric sensor and then lets the device automatically authenticate itself with one or more cloud-based services. Reading a person’s unique vein patterns in the palm of the hand, the user is then directly taken to his or her bank account, social network page or any kind of secure service. It also provides presence monitoring capability that locks the device and the secure service connection when the user puts his or her device down. A new biometric scan unlocks the platform and immediately restores the previous secure service connections. The whole process is virtually transparent, easy to use and more secure.
Chih-Lin I, chief scientist at the China Mobile Research Institute in Beijing, shared research collaboration between Intel Labs and China Mobile to design and prototype a full-scale Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN). C-RAN technology will reduce both capital and operational expenses for wireless service providers while providing superior levels of wireless services to users with fewer dropped connections during periods of peak demand.
Intel’s Rattner described the benefits of a Video Aware Wireless Network (VAWN), where both service providers and end users will benefit from the latest wireless research. VAWN is the focus of a joint academic research program sponsored by Intel, Cisco and Verizon. VAWN aims to increase the streaming video capacity of wireless networks while improving the viewing experience by optimizing network performance on an end-to-end basis.
