Researchers Develop Wi-Fi Transmission That Uses 10,000 Times Less Power

Researchers from the University of Washington have discovered a method of Wi-Fi transmission that uses significantly lower power up to 10,000 times less than conventional methods. Score one for those looking to lower battery consumption for mobile devices as wireless connectivity is one of the largest battery resource drains. The scientists in the research team have been able to transmit up to 11 megabits per second on their tests and the best news of all is that their research efforts dubbed “passive Wi-Fi” also effectively and seamlessly integrates with existing smartphones and routers. The technology works by decoupling analogue and digital, and relegating all analogue RF functions to one single plug in device whereas in a typical mobile device there is a separate digital and analog RF receiver that suck up a lot of power. The video below explains how the group’s design works:

The group has been working on developing the passive Wi-Fi transmission technology for a while now and have shown significant leaps this year. It is also set to be presented at USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation in March 2017. Although the paper has yet to be peer reviewed, the technology presented and the group’s findings are showing a ton of potential and have already been included in MIT’s top breakthroughs of 2016 list.