|
Newsletters
|
|
|
|
|
Wireless Developer Network - Daily News
View Today's WirelessDeveloper NewsWire
Today's News |
WirelessDevNet DevZones |
Yesterday's News |
Submit News |
News-"wireless" Top Stories! |
Around-The-Web
| Wireless DevZones!
Vanu, Inc. Debuts the First Hand-held Software Radio
Customized iPAQ promising as public safety and homeland defense interoperability solution
Washington, DC - May 12, 2003 - Vanu, Inc. is demonstrating the first hand-held software radio device today at the "Wireless Innovations: New Technologies and Evolving Policies" Showcase in Washington, DC. The event, hosted by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the FCC and the U.S. Department of State's International Communications and Information Policy group, brings together premier wireless technology demonstrations and facilitates policy discussions about the state of technology and innovation in the wireless telecommunications industry.
Vanu, Inc., selected by show organizers as a "leading edge" participant, is a developer of software radios. Unlike traditional hardware radios, which are limited to one specific type of communication service, software radios allow a single wireless device to provide multiple services. This means one software radio can now support a range of capabilities that previously required multiple hardware radios.
Featured among Vanu, Inc.'s demonstrations is the first hand-held software radio using general purpose processors. "This device is the culmination of nine years of software radio research, coupled with the advancements in processing power promised by Moore's Law," says Dr. Vanu Bose, founder and CEO of Vanu, Inc.
The standard off-the-shelf Hewlett-Packard iPAQ, runs on a Xscale processor from Intel and a Linux operating system. The radio transceiver operates from 100 MHz to 475 MHz and is housed in a standard iPAQ expansion pack. The iPAQ utilizes Vanu Software RadioTM to implement all of the signal processing. The current configuration of the device supports commercial analog FM radio service, including Family Band Radio, as well as the public safety APCO 25 digital standard. Future prototypes under development include operational capabilities of up to 900 MHz and support for cellular and PCS standards such as TDMA and GSM.
Such a device has great appeal in the public safety community, where decentralized purchasing decisions, legacy systems and advancements in technology have left first responders unable to communicate with other agencies at an emergency scene. A handheld software radio with the capability of operating among several standards and frequencies alleviates the communications problems caused by incompatible radio systems.
"Someday, most public safety radios will be software-based," said David Coursey, executive editor of ZDNet AnchorDesk, an online technology newsletter. "Making the best use of spectrum while improving compatibility and multi-agency connectivity are problems that software radios seem best-suited to solve Vanu, Inc. is way ahead of this curve."
"I want this kind of technology for my own emergency communications work," added Mr. Coursey, who also has nearly 20 years' experience working with emergency services agencies.
In addition to the hand-held software radio, Vanu, Inc. is also demonstrating their software radio GSM basestation and a multi-mode laptop system with the ability to support multiple standards on a single system. The second day of the event features a roundtable on Unlicensed Wireless Technologies. Dr. Bose is participating as a panelist for the Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Issues discussion, along with business leaders, policy makers and experts from industry, government and academia.
About Vanu Inc
Vanu, Inc. has revolutionized SDR through the development of Vanu Software Radio. Their approach applies modern software engineering techniques to the high-speed signal processing elements at the core of wireless devices to create portable software radio applications that will greatly increase the pace of innovation in wireless devices. Vanu, Inc. licenses software radio components and applications and provides design-consulting services to wireless OEMs, system integrators and service providers. Vanu, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. www.vanu.com
|
|
|
|
