How Low Can Ultra-Low–Power Connectivity Go?

Wireless connectivity has become ubiquitous. As consumers, we have a sound appreciation of the battery life of our favorite connected tech, with some of the wearable gadgets requiring daily charging. Connectivity is the essential ingredient in the rise of the internet of things and its industrial twin, IIoT, placing much reliance on low-power wireless communication, especially for battery-powered devices. As microcontroller and wireless vendors continue to optimize their devices to consume even less power, the number of potential IoT/IIoT use cases grows further.

With Ixana, it is the body that acts as an antenna to connect electronic devices worn on the body

Wi-R, for Wire-like Wireless, is the name chosen by the young American company Ixana, founded in 2021 and based in Seattle, to describe a non-radiative near-field communication technology that uses non-radiative near-field communication technologies.

Meet Wi-R: Data Transfer Technology That Works… by touch

Wi-R, a technology developed by startup Ixana, is based on quasi-static electro fields (or EQS). In detail, this means that a simple handshake is enough to transmit information between two individuals, the body then acts as an antenna.

Wi-R works wirelessly at a distance of 10cm (and 2 to 5 meters with a driver), but of course simple contact data transfer remains the most spectacular aspect of this technology.

Forget Bluethooth and Wi-Fi, here comes Wi-R… It consumes almost nothing, because the antenna is you

Wireless technologies, led by Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, have become the norm for transferring photos, streaming music or synchronizing information. However, these technologies are not without flaws. They are sometimes sensitive to interference and accessible to everyone within a radius of a few meters, and especially to malicious individuals

The Wi-R protocol relies on body for data communication, consumes up to 100x less than Bluetooth

The Wi-R protocol is a non-radiative near-field communication technology that uses Electro-Quasistatic (EQS) fields for communication enabling the body to be used as a conductor and that consumes up to 100x less energy per bit compared to Bluetooth.

CES2023 technology inventory paper batteries, blue quantum dots, and other enabling technologies

CES is the largest annual conference, showcase, and trading venue for the international consumer electronics industry, and it’s not just about shiny new product introductions.

Here are four of these enabling technologies that I (the author, hereafter referred to as me) discovered at CES 2023 (in no particular order). It may be a year or two before they are used in the product, or it may not be used, but all of them are still worth paying attention to.

Virtual Worlds, Real-Life Use Cases: How Web2 and Web3 Tackled the Metaverse at CES 2023

What is the metaverse? Well, it depends on whom you ask, as the loose term referring to a future immersive virtual world continues to morph across industries. Will it be a social platform? Will virtual reality (VR) headsets be the gateway to entry? Will it blur the line between reality and technology?