Wi-Fi Goes Long Range on New WiLo Approach
The new technique could underpin agricultural sensor networks and smart cities
Researchers have developed a hybrid technology that would combine Wi-Fi with the Long Range (LoRa) networking protocol, yielding a new long-distance wireless concept called WiLo. The research team has designed their proposed WiLo tech to be used on existing Wi-Fi and LoRa hardware.
The advance may find applications in Internet of Things (IoT) technologies–such as networks of long-range sensors used in agriculture or smart cities.
Demin Gao, a professor in the College of Information Science and Technology at Nanjing Forestry University in China, notes that Wi-Fi has limitations today in its range and its high power consumption. By contrast, LoRa is based on low power requirements that yield long-range communication capabilities and is often used for IoT applications.
In WiLo, the two communications protocols have been combined to maximize advantages of each one, without the need for additional tech to bridge the two systems. “This reduces costs, complexity, and potential points of failure, making IoT deployments more efficient and scalable,” Gao says.
The researchers—hailing from universities in Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom, as well as Intel employees in Germany—conducted their WiLo experiments using an off-the-shelf SX1280 LoRa transceiver produced by Semtech. And while the SX1280’s 2.4 GHz communications band is shared with Wi-Fi (and a host of other standards and technologies), Wi-Fi and LoRa signals are not compatible.
So the researchers developed an algorithm to manipulate the frequency of Wi-Fi’s data transmission signals to match the signals that the LoRa device uses to communicate with other devices. In technical terms, they manipulated Wi-Fi’s data multiplexing standard (called OFDM) to emulate the longer-ranged chirp signals used in LoRa’s chirp-spreading standard (called CSS).
“This enables the use of standard Wi-Fi devices to communicate over long distances using LoRa without additional hardware,” says Gao.
The team tested their new WiLo approach both indoors—in a lab and hallway—and outdoors, over distances up to 500 meters. The researchers reported WiLo achieved a 96 percent successful transmission rate.
Gao says one benefit of WiLo concerns its ability to run on existing, off-the-shelf hardware. As a result, it would not require substantial deployment costs or complexity. On the other hand, one of WiLo’s limitations is the additional power consumption required for Wi-Fi devices to simultaneously handle communication and signal emulation—a problem Gao and his colleagues aim to address in future work.
Moving forward, Gao says, “To commercialize WiLo, the next steps would involve further optimization of the system to improve energy efficiency, data rates, and robustness against interference. This may require additional software development and testing across various IoT environments.”
Ensuring that the system complies with industry standards and integrating security measures for cross-technology communication are also necessary steps, Gao adds.
The team published their research last month in the journal IEEE Transactions on Communications.
The new technique could underpin agricultural sensor networks and smart cities
Researchers have developed a hybrid technology that would combine Wi-Fi with the Long Range (LoRa) networking protocol, yielding a new long-distance wireless concept called WiLo. The research team has designed their proposed WiLo tech to be used on existing Wi-Fi and LoRa hardware.
The advance may find applications in Internet of Things (IoT) technologies–such as networks of long-range sensors used in agriculture or smart cities.
Demin Gao, a professor in the College of Information Science and Technology at Nanjing Forestry University in China, notes that Wi-Fi has limitations today in its range and its high power consumption. By contrast, LoRa is based on low power requirements that yield long-range communication capabilities and is often used for IoT applications.
In WiLo, the two communications protocols have been combined to maximize advantages of each one, without the need for additional tech to bridge the two systems. “This reduces costs, complexity, and potential points of failure, making IoT deployments more efficient and scalable,” Gao says.
The researchers—hailing from universities in Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom, as well as Intel employees in Germany—conducted their WiLo experiments using an off-the-shelf SX1280 LoRa transceiver produced by Semtech. And while the SX1280’s 2.4 GHz communications band is shared with Wi-Fi (and a host of other standards and technologies), Wi-Fi and LoRa signals are not compatible.
So the researchers developed an algorithm to manipulate the frequency of Wi-Fi’s data transmission signals to match the signals that the LoRa device uses to communicate with other devices. In technical terms, they manipulated Wi-Fi’s data multiplexing standard (called OFDM) to emulate the longer-ranged chirp signals used in LoRa’s chirp-spreading standard (called CSS).
“This enables the use of standard Wi-Fi devices to communicate over long distances using LoRa without additional hardware,” says Gao.
The team tested their new WiLo approach both indoors—in a lab and hallway—and outdoors, over distances up to 500 meters. The researchers reported WiLo achieved a 96 percent successful transmission rate.
Gao says one benefit of WiLo concerns its ability to run on existing, off-the-shelf hardware. As a result, it would not require substantial deployment costs or complexity. On the other hand, one of WiLo’s limitations is the additional power consumption required for Wi-Fi devices to simultaneously handle communication and signal emulation—a problem Gao and his colleagues aim to address in future work.
Moving forward, Gao says, “To commercialize WiLo, the next steps would involve further optimization of the system to improve energy efficiency, data rates, and robustness against interference. This may require additional software development and testing across various IoT environments.”
Ensuring that the system complies with industry standards and integrating security measures for cross-technology communication are also necessary steps, Gao adds.
The team published their research last month in the journal IEEE Transactions on Communications.
IEEE Spectrum
Wi-Fi Goes Long Range on New WiLo Approach
The new technique could underpin agricultural sensor networks and smart cities
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Hack a vacuum robot to look through its camera and spy on people!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-04/robot-vacuum-hacked-photos-camera-audio/104414020
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-04/robot-vacuum-hacked-photos-camera-audio/104414020
www.abc.net.au
The world's largest home robotics company has a problem – its vacuum cleaners can be hacked from afar
Without even entering the building, we were able to silently peer through the camera on a Deebot device made by Chinese giant Ecovacs.
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kv4p HT
Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver
Free open source software & hardware
https://github.com/VanceVagell/kv4p-ht
Turn your Android phone into a modern ham radio transceiver
Free open source software & hardware
https://github.com/VanceVagell/kv4p-ht
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A major step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics
By fabricating semiconductor-free logic gates, which can be used to perform computation, researchers hope to streamline the manufacture of electronics.
The devices are made from thin, 3D-printed traces of the copper-doped polymer. They contain intersecting conductive regions that enable the researchers to regulate the resistance by controlling the voltage fed into the switch.
https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-team-takes-major-step-toward-fully-3d-printed-active-electronics-1015
By fabricating semiconductor-free logic gates, which can be used to perform computation, researchers hope to streamline the manufacture of electronics.
The devices are made from thin, 3D-printed traces of the copper-doped polymer. They contain intersecting conductive regions that enable the researchers to regulate the resistance by controlling the voltage fed into the switch.
https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-team-takes-major-step-toward-fully-3d-printed-active-electronics-1015
Making DIY Electronic Calipers
Such calipers work via capacitive coupling between a PCB on the powered slidey display and a passive PCB “scale” in the stationary spine.
https://kevinlynagh.com/calipertron/
Such calipers work via capacitive coupling between a PCB on the powered slidey display and a passive PCB “scale” in the stationary spine.
https://kevinlynagh.com/calipertron/
Kevinlynagh
Making electronic calipers
Have you ever wished for a 500 Hz, millimeter-precise linear position sensing system? Well you're in luck --- all you need is some circuit board, a basic microcontroller, and a wee bit of maths!
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FCC OPENS ENTIRE 6 GHz BAND TO VERY LOW POWER DEVICE OPERATIONS
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-408129A1.txt
#IoT #VLP
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-408129A1.txt
#IoT #VLP
Touchscreens Are Out, and Tactile Controls Are Back
Rachel Plotnick’s “re-buttonization” expertise is in demand
https://spectrum.ieee.org/touchscreens
Rachel Plotnick’s “re-buttonization” expertise is in demand
https://spectrum.ieee.org/touchscreens
IEEE Spectrum
Q&A: Rachel Plotnick On the Return of Tactile Controls
Rachel Plotnick’s “re-buttonization” expertise is in demand
Unisoc
UNISOC-a company focusing on chip design_5G chip supplier
UNISOC is a semiconductor design company specializing in SoC chips for mobile terminals such as mobile phones and various communication chips, which products cover various communication chips
UNISoC's 5G IoT solution adopts the chip design at the industrial level and has the characteristics of wide temperature (working environment temperature can reach -40℃ ~ +85℃), which can be widely used in various vertical industries and terminal forms of 5G, enabling 5G industrial IoT.
https://www.unisoc.com/en_us/sch/T5G
https://www.unisoc.com/en_us/sch/T5G
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No more needles! Tracking blood sugar on your wrist
Waterloo researchers design wearable tech that can sense glucose levels for diabetics more accurately than ever before
“We’ve developed radar technology that can now fit inside a smart watch and sense glucose levels more accurately than ever before,” Shaker said. “Just like you use glasses to improve your vision, our technology helps for better sensing of glucose levels.”
To explain how the new system works, Shaker points to weather satellites that use radar to monitor the Earth’s atmosphere and, for example, measure storm movements and other kinds of cloud cover.
“We’ve figured a way to miniaturize these radar systems on satellites and put them in a wearable device and use the same radar technology that looks at changes in the atmosphere to look at changes in the human body,” he said
The system’s key components are a radar chip, which sends and receives signals through the body, an engineered “meta-surface”, which helps focus these signals for better accuracy, and microcontrollers, which process the radar signals using artificial intelligence algorithms. The algorithms improve the accuracy and reliability of the readings by learning from the data over time.
#CGM
Waterloo researchers design wearable tech that can sense glucose levels for diabetics more accurately than ever before
“We’ve developed radar technology that can now fit inside a smart watch and sense glucose levels more accurately than ever before,” Shaker said. “Just like you use glasses to improve your vision, our technology helps for better sensing of glucose levels.”
To explain how the new system works, Shaker points to weather satellites that use radar to monitor the Earth’s atmosphere and, for example, measure storm movements and other kinds of cloud cover.
“We’ve figured a way to miniaturize these radar systems on satellites and put them in a wearable device and use the same radar technology that looks at changes in the atmosphere to look at changes in the human body,” he said
The system’s key components are a radar chip, which sends and receives signals through the body, an engineered “meta-surface”, which helps focus these signals for better accuracy, and microcontrollers, which process the radar signals using artificial intelligence algorithms. The algorithms improve the accuracy and reliability of the readings by learning from the data over time.
#CGM
University of Waterloo
No more needles! Tracking blood sugar on your wrist
Imagine shrinking satellite technology that predicts the weather into a device that transmits vital information about the health of the person wearing it. University of Waterloo engineers have
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Apple's Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Sensor
https://www.patentlyapple.com/2025/02/a-federal-judge-has-invalidated-an-omni-medsci-patent-which-could-open-the-door-for-a-blood-glucose-solution-for-apple-watch.html
#CGM
https://www.patentlyapple.com/2025/02/a-federal-judge-has-invalidated-an-omni-medsci-patent-which-could-open-the-door-for-a-blood-glucose-solution-for-apple-watch.html
#CGM
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Reverse-Engineering Starlink User Terminal
https://www.darknavy.org/blog/a_first_glimpse_of_the_starlink_user_ternimal/
https://www.darknavy.org/blog/a_first_glimpse_of_the_starlink_user_ternimal/
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Practical_SDR_Getting_Started_with_SDR_David_Clark.pdf
104.1 MB
Getting Started with Software-Defined Radio
by David Clark and Paul Clark
March 2025, 336 pp.
ISBN-13:
9781718502543
#SDR
by David Clark and Paul Clark
March 2025, 336 pp.
ISBN-13:
9781718502543
#SDR
Staying Cool Without Refrigerants:
Next-Generation Nano-engineered Thermoelectrics Peltier Cooling Enable Scalable, Compressor-Free Cooling
A close-up look at the testing and ice buildup on a CHESS-based thermoelectric device. This testing system helps evaluate how efficiently the new materials convert electricity into cooling, paving the way for more effective cooling and energy-harvesting technologies.
https://www.jhuapl.edu/news/news-releases/250521-apl-thermoelectrics-enable-compressor-free-cooling
#Peltier #TEC
Next-Generation Nano-engineered Thermoelectrics Peltier Cooling Enable Scalable, Compressor-Free Cooling
A close-up look at the testing and ice buildup on a CHESS-based thermoelectric device. This testing system helps evaluate how efficiently the new materials convert electricity into cooling, paving the way for more effective cooling and energy-harvesting technologies.
https://www.jhuapl.edu/news/news-releases/250521-apl-thermoelectrics-enable-compressor-free-cooling
#Peltier #TEC
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Nano-engineered Thermoelectrics Enable Scalable, Compressor-Free Cooling
Researchers at Johns Hopkins APL, in collaboration with Samsung Research, have unveiled a breakthrough in solid-state cooling technology, doubling the efficiency of today’s commercial systems. Driven by the Lab’s patented nano-engineered thin-film thermoelectric…
IoT
Staying Cool Without Refrigerants: Next-Generation Nano-engineered Thermoelectrics Peltier Cooling Enable Scalable, Compressor-Free Cooling A close-up look at the testing and ice buildup on a CHESS-based thermoelectric device. This testing system helps evaluate…
In the Samsung Bespoke AI Hybrid Refrigerator, a Peltier device is mounted at the top of the interior, while an AI Inverter Compressor is installed at the bottom.
https://news.samsung.com/global/interview-staying-cool-without-refrigerants-how-samsung-is-pioneering-next-generation-peltier-cooling
#Peltier #TEC
https://news.samsung.com/global/interview-staying-cool-without-refrigerants-how-samsung-is-pioneering-next-generation-peltier-cooling
#Peltier #TEC
How the Apple Watch measures your blood oxygen saturation
The back of the Apple Watch shines light of a specific wavelength into your skin and measures the reflected light. Heart rate sensing uses green (525 nm) and infrared (850–940 nm) light; blood oxygen sensing added a red light at 660 nm in 2020.
The iPhone will now calculate the ratio of absorbed red to infrared light, then apply calibration constants from experimental data to estimate blood oxygen saturation.
https://www.empirical.health/metrics/oxygen/
The back of the Apple Watch shines light of a specific wavelength into your skin and measures the reflected light. Heart rate sensing uses green (525 nm) and infrared (850–940 nm) light; blood oxygen sensing added a red light at 660 nm in 2020.
The iPhone will now calculate the ratio of absorbed red to infrared light, then apply calibration constants from experimental data to estimate blood oxygen saturation.
https://www.empirical.health/metrics/oxygen/
Using Wi-Fi Signals to Measure Heart Rate
These results were found using ultra-low-cost ESP32 chips, which retail between $5 and $10 and Raspberry Pi chips, which cost closer to $30. Results from the Raspberry Pi experiments show even better performance. More expensive WiFi devices like those found in commercial routers would likely further improve the accuracy of their system.
https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/09/pulse-fi-wifi-heart-rate/
#rPi #ESP32 #WiFi
These results were found using ultra-low-cost ESP32 chips, which retail between $5 and $10 and Raspberry Pi chips, which cost closer to $30. Results from the Raspberry Pi experiments show even better performance. More expensive WiFi devices like those found in commercial routers would likely further improve the accuracy of their system.
https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/09/pulse-fi-wifi-heart-rate/
#rPi #ESP32 #WiFi
infineon_bgt60tr13c_datasheet_en.pdf
2.1 MB
60 GHz radar sensors for IoT
Infineon's highly integrated XENSIV™ 60 GHz mmWave radar sensors offer advance sensing capabilities with high precision and low power consumption. Their small form factor enables contactless sensing features for a wide range of applications from simple motion detection and presence sensing to people tracking, gesture control, or vital signs sensing such as heart and respiration rates.
Key Features
Small form factor
Extremely low power consumption
Highly integrated MMICs
Antennas in Package (AIP)
High sensitivity
High accuracy
High resolution
High bandwidth for FMCW operations
Applications
Complete system solutions for smart TVs
Robotics
Heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
Connected and smart LED lighting for IoT
Security camera and video doorbell
Smart thermostat
Presence sensing
https://www.infineon.com/products/sensor/radar-sensors/radar-sensors-for-iot/60ghz-radar
#IoT
Infineon's highly integrated XENSIV™ 60 GHz mmWave radar sensors offer advance sensing capabilities with high precision and low power consumption. Their small form factor enables contactless sensing features for a wide range of applications from simple motion detection and presence sensing to people tracking, gesture control, or vital signs sensing such as heart and respiration rates.
Key Features
Small form factor
Extremely low power consumption
Highly integrated MMICs
Antennas in Package (AIP)
High sensitivity
High accuracy
High resolution
High bandwidth for FMCW operations
Applications
Complete system solutions for smart TVs
Robotics
Heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
Connected and smart LED lighting for IoT
Security camera and video doorbell
Smart thermostat
Presence sensing
https://www.infineon.com/products/sensor/radar-sensors/radar-sensors-for-iot/60ghz-radar
#IoT
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Electron-beam additive manufacturing, or electron-beam melting (EBM) is a type of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, for metal parts. The raw material (metal powder or wire) is placed under a vacuum and fused together from heating by an electron beam. This technique is distinct from selective laser sintering as the raw material fuses have completely melted. Selective Electron Beam Melting (SEBM) emerged as a powder bed-based additive manufacturing (AM) technology and was brought to market in 1997 by Arcam AB Corporation headquartered in Sweden.