How do you communicate faster and lose as little data as possible? This is the question that ESIGELEC’s Research Institute IRSEEM’s researchers and their British partners from the Universities of Kent and Surrey intend to answer. The basic idea is simple: the Wi-Fi network as homes know it now isn’t powerful enough for the growing needs of users in terms of transmission flow.

In simple terms, a Wi-Fi network works like a funnel. The diameter is Wi-Fi’s theoretical power, the cone is the bandwidth and the tube is the rate. Whatever the funnel’s diameter, the speed at which the liquid goes through is limited by the tube’s diameter. The same goes for Wi-Fi: no matter the power of the network, the bandwidth limits the data transfer rate. This can result in errors or information loss.

Current Wi-Fi standards work at 2.4 or 5 GHz (theoretical power) for data transfer limited to 54 Mbps. As part of the HOMES (HD indOor coMmunication tErminal with flexible Substrate) project, researchers hope to develop new 60 GHz standard technologies providing 7 Gbps transfer rate. This would be 12 times the current speed thus enabling future applications to feature more multimedia content (TV, video etc.) as well as minimising errors during data transfer.

The HOMES project will see scientists using energy and cost saving technologies. The aim is to provide homes with new Wi-Fi equipment in line with Europe’s goal to protect the environment at low cost. The project began in July 2013 and should continue until July 2015.

Contact : Moncef Kadi, Head of the Electronics & Systems Department, moncef.kadi@esigelec.fr