MIT invented the 'smart surface', promising to improve the strength of the Wi-Fi signal by 10 times

RFocus can help tiny devices capture wirelessly easily.

There is a problem when we try to cram wireless connections into tiny devices: they can hardly maintain the connection signal when there is too little space to accommodate the antennas. However, MIT CSAIL researchers may have found a solution. They have developed something called a "smart surface" called RFocus , "which can act as a mirror or a lens" to focus radio signals on the desired devices even if the device is located. on any side of the "fence". RFocus will improve the average signal strength nearly 10 times, and double the average capacity of the signal channel in an office environment.

RFocus will improve the average signal strength by nearly 10 times.

Instead of just a series of monolithic antennas put together, RFocus's prototype is a combination of more than 3,000 tiny antennas arranged by software to maximize their capabilities. receive. Easier to understand, RFocus acts as an intermediary beamforming controller , taking over the navigation of signals instead of terminals - transmitters and clients, which It's pretty hard to get into tiny devices.

RFocus will be relatively cheap, only a few cents / antenna, and will consume very low power compared to a conventional system. Despite improving the signal strength by nearly 10 times, RFocus does not actually use any signal amplifiers, which means the antennas themselves do not emit energy.

It is not clear when RFocus will be implemented. The team will not only need to optimize the design, but also have to find a way to produce it on a large scale - ideally in the form of a cheap thin wallboard, without the need for wires. At least the purpose of this product is clear. It can bring stronger connections, greater coverage to everything, from Wi-Fi to high-band 5G. However, RFocus will be most useful for Internet of Things (IoT) devices , which are too small to be equipped with a wireless receiver or need some extra components to maintain a stable signal. With RFocus, you can see wireless data appear on more devices, or there will be more beautiful, neat versions of the technology items that you already own are coming soon. .

1. The technique of forming the touch surface on furniture