Innovation Pipeline

The exploding use of wireless has created a traffic jam in the communications ether. It’s getting tougher to find a quiet channel to have a conversation.

That’s got Georgia Tech and Purdue lab researchers, and industry partner BAE Systems, putting their heads together.

They’ve devised a solution: a low-power, low-cost spectral analyzer based on micromechanical circuits for handheld devices. The very early work on this spectrum analyzer is being designed to scan the 20 MHz to 6 GHz frequency spectrum looking for less crowded channels.

That’s a common refrain in the mobile and digital worlds: lower power, lower cost. Even when we slam up against gridlock on the communication airwaves there will be CEOs, CTOs and a herd of technology saviors promising a solution.

But crowded airspace in cities is not the only problem this miniature spectral analyzer promises to solve. It’s also a very useful technology for battlefield communication. And when those kinds of problems need solving, you can bet your lab bench that DARPA is right there with $3.5 million to support the Georgia Tech team.

Even with promising findings and success in the lab, it’s still going to take a few years to get this kind of anti-traffic tech into a cellphone. There are plenty of inefficiencies in getting things out of the research lab and into commercial marketplace. Let’s hope the team here has a good battle plan to bring this to market.

Tech engineers love to make promises, especially when it comes to solving big problems like crowded airspace. Trouble is, it never works out quite as fast or as cost-effective as the marketing slideware persuades. We’ll have to wait and see. By Lee Bruno.