Intel comms chip switches wireless protocols in the fly

INTEL RESEARCH LABS are spread across the world. When it comes to future of wireless communciation, there is one in Russia that is setting new standards.

The Communications Technology Lab in St. Petersburg, works on the development of programable radio controllers, or should we say - communication processing units. Not the usual definition of a CPU, but still.

The team was established in 2003, and since then it produced over 50 patents for Intel, a number that keeps lawyers happy.

The lab is currently involved with the development of a chip that is able to change wireless protocols on the fly. It is a "one size fits all" concept, a chip that is able to dynamically switch between WiFi and Wi.Max, 3G, Bluetooth 2.0 EDS and all similar standards. While the number of antennas has to be kept fairly high, with this concept, it is possible to have it all.

Besides reducing the number of chips, the current prototype (in the middle) will significantly cut power consumption and lower interference

The team created a rather simple scripting language that is able to switch between supported standards extremely quickly, with a single line of code. This is, of course, done at micro-code level, but what impresses the most is the amount of chips that it would be needed in the future. With one chip for Wi-fi, one for WiMax, one for Bluetooth and so on, power consumption would just skyrocket.

Simple language that can change standards on the jiffy...

When this product becomes a reality, there is a pretty good chance that it will be a good step forward. µ