Recently in Hyperconnectivity Category

Hyperconnectivity includes all sorts of mobility modes and networking technologies.

I recently heard a BBC interview with Giovanni Pau of UCLA. He was discussing an innovative wireless mesh networking technology that he has deployed in a number of vehicles across the UCLA campus.

What he demonstrated was car-to-car video conferencing system, though perhaps this isn't the best example of how this technology could be used. The protocol that made this all happen across standard WiFi radios was what he called SWARM, a Swarming Protocol for vehicular Ad-Hoc Wireless Networks.

You might be aware that Nortel is partner in the MIT-initiated One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program, and in fact was a major contributor in the area of ad hoc wireless mesh networking.

Hyperconnectivity will be enabled by a whole range of technologies, many existing and some yet to be invented.

Thirteen people were killed on Aug 1 2007, when an Interstate bridge collapsed in Minneapolis. This was just another wake up call of the aging of the highway infrastructure in US and elsewhere.

But there's a plan.

Many of the 600,000 bridges in the US will be equipped with wireless sensors to monitor loads, stresses, strains and cracks, and changes in chemical and electrical properties related to deterioration (e.g., corrosion and fatigue).

This is just another example of the Hyperconnectivity mega-trend.

Last month I introduced you to the most hyperconnected sport in the world.

On Sunday Nov 9, thirty solo racers left in an around the world solo, non-stop race (the Vendee Globe) in their 20m/60 foot 'formula 1' racing yachts. The fasted time todate? 87 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes and 55 seconds. During the first 24 hours, two boats were dismasted! Today, 18 boats remain and the leaders are just south of New Zealand (about half way).

Well, there's another race taking place for a 10,000 euro prize- a virtual one with over 250,000 participants! That's my boat, in the Southern Atlantic (I started late to try it out).

Based on where you want to go and 12/24/36-hour-wind forecasts, you choose your tack using one of seven sails. This race too will take months if you stick with it. Amazingly, the leader is also just south of New Zealand.

It's free, sorta- if you want an autopilot is will cost you 10 euros- sale optimization another 10 and timed-steering another 10. The advantage is that you don't get sea sick, you get to eat home cooking and there are no icebergs to dodge.... O yes, and you never get dismasted.

All in all, a nice distraction for the holidays.

All the best for 2009. Tony

Previously, I asked the question "In which sport, is human endurance pushed to the limit (athletes have died), and does Internet Hyperconnectivity trump TV?"

Thirty solo racers (including 2 women) left Sunday in an around the world race (the Vendee Globe) in their 20m/60 foot 'formula 1' racing yachts. A good portion of the 27Km trek will be in the southern ocean culminating in rounding Cape Horn, sometimes reaching speeds of as high as 40 knots (roughly 80 kph or 50 mph!). They aren't allowed to touch land, or get any assistance.

Four years ago, the #2 boat came just 5 hours past the leader, while the #3 bought limped in a day later having lost its keel.

Why do I call this extreme sport hyperconnected? While TV camera crews stay home, you can follow the race over the Internet, getting video and audio, podcasts, emails etc from the boats.

In which sport, is human endurance pushed to the limit (athletes have died), and does Internet Hyperconnectivity trump TV?

Someday, your neighborhood politician will walk up to, and even though you've never met, will greet you by name. Someday, politicians running for office and heading into debates, may be tested for this 'banned substance'.

Researchers at the University of Washington and Sandia National Laboratories have developed the latest in heads-up displays, combining a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights! So far only tested on rabbits, but future versions may have integrated 2-way wireless, and solar cells for power. Ever focused on something up close- no problem, micro-lenses will make it appear further.

You could link to face recognition software and have a name display appear before your very eyes when you walk up to someone. Opportunities galore- you could say "the eyes the limit".

I haven't heard anyone talk about incorporating a touch sensitive display so that you can interact with it!

The first "speedcabling" competition took place earlier this year in Los Angeles. This new geek game is based on unravelling the rat's nest of wires found beneath most computer desks, as people connect an assortment of storage, scanner, printer, camera etc etc to their PCs.

But this may be a short-lived "sport" as wireless USB, complemented by WiFi and to a lesser extent Bluetooth, emerge as solutions to everyone's below-the-desk Hyperconnectivity challenges.

Briefly Wireless USB (technically USB3.0) is a hub and spoke technology, creating a cluster of up to 127 devices. To achieve up to 480Mbps (equivalent to USB 2.0) at distances up to 3 meters, WUSB uses low power ultra-wideband (UWB) transmission over an extremely wide spectrum (technically from 3.1 to 10.5 GHz), and will coexist peacefully with other wireless technologies such as WiFi and Bluetooth.

How fast can you unravel the rat's nets of cables below your desk?

Hyperconnectivity is upon us, and now here's your WiFi-To-Go, a PDA-sized EVDO router that fits in your pocket.

As long as you're in your cell provider's EVDO coverage area, you just power on (via an AC adaptor or maybe a DC plug for your car) and you can connect any WiFi device to the Internet.

Pretty neat idea- this one from Cradlepoint, but a number of other vendors have solutions addressing variations on this theme.

Imagine how popular you would be with your friends if you created your personal hotspot with free access!

Create your own scenario.

Hyperconnectivity and particularly mobility is largely enabled or encumbered by battery power. Help is at hand from an unlikely source.

Something called Wireless Resonant Energy Link (WREL), a concept championed by MIT.

Intel Corp. recently demonstrated this technology at their Developer Forum. WREL can power various mobility devices without wires.

You still need batteries but you could leave your cables behind. Your handheld would get recharged when you are in a resonant energy hot spot. This could be as simple as putting your device on a table with an embedded transmit resonator.

It's all done through magnetic induction between an antenna (transmitter) operating at a specific frequency and a device tuned to that frequency. It's sort of similar to an opera singer hitting a note and shattering a glass. The demonstration actually lit a light bulb from a few feet away.

When might we see products? Some time after the next summer Olympics!

The 2008 Paralympics are going strong in Beijing. And you can watch the highlights on the ParalympicsSport TV network on YouTube.

Watching these athletes is inspirational to say the least, but it can be tiring on the body, since your PC may not be where your couch is.

How about this ergonomically designed chair from which to watch wheel chair basketball? You could even shoot some stationary baskets!

Good to see the Paralympics is accessible to the Hyperconnected!