We use cookies and other tracking technologies to provide services in line with the preferences you reveal while browsing the Website to show personalize content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audience is coming from in order to improve your browsing experience on our Website. By continuing to browse this Website, you consent to the use of these cookies. If you wish to object such processing, please read the instructions described in our Cookie Policy / Privacy Policy.
Interested in blogging for timesofindia.com? We will be happy to have you on board as a blogger, if you have the knack for writing. Just drop in a mail at toiblogs@timesinternet.in with a brief bio and we will get in touch with you.
Venkat Kodavati, SVP, and Chief Product Officer, Synaptics.
It’s hard to imagine a world without wireless connectivity. While 5G continues to proliferate, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth both sit at the heart of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices we connect to in our daily lives, at home, in the office, and on the go. As we look to improve the IoT experience for end users, it is clear that the capabilities of wireless technologies, particularly Wi-Fi 7, must evolve rapidly toward greater network coverage, higher throughput, lower latency, lower power consumption, and higher user density. Only through dramatic improvements along these vectors can users be assured of a seamless, intuitive, and reliable IoT device experience.
The current state-of-the-art for Wi-Fi is known as Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. This is the focus of product developers worldwide, particularly in India, where talented engineers are working at the bleeding edge of Wi-Fi, driving new levels of innovation. The progress being made with Wi-Fi technology development here will ensure the performance required for upcoming applications in IoT, cloud gaming, video streaming, augmented reality (AR) , virtual reality (VR) , automotive, and enterprise communications applications is delivered rapidly and reliably.
The evolution of Wi-Fi to its current state has resulted in expanded-bandwidth, high-throughput connections with greatly reduced latency. These improvements provide the performance, response time, and reliability required for a seamless, intuitive IoT user experience.
But the innovations are only beginning. On the horizon is Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), which holds even greater promise. It is on track to be certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance ® in early 2024 and will push these gains even further. While Wi-Fi 6/6E brought incremental speed increases over Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 7 data rates are expected to reach 7.2x compared to Wi-Fi 6/6E. Along with extended coverage range, wider bandwidth, and ultra-low latency, Wi-Fi 7 is well suited to address challenges in India with better performance and its ability to cater to high-density urban environments with even lower power consumption.
Coexistence and interoperability are critical
In looking at this evolving landscape, product developers must deal with an expanding array of wireless protocols and versions of standards, making coexistence and interoperability a top concern. Managing that challenge requires a flexible semiconductor and software foundation that simplifies and enhances the user experience while meeting application-specific requirements for product size, power, and performance.
Solutions that have recently emerged from India use advanced techniques to ensure multi-protocol, same-band coexistence on a single chip to avoid packet loss and reduced network performance. Another coexistence case is where Wi-Fi is operating near a 5G cellular channel and the signal cannot block a cellular channel as an aggressor, or vice versa. Advancements in software algorithms and hardware filtering techniques are being developed to address that.
Interoperability across heterogeneous connected products operating in different bands with different protocols is another key issue that is being addressed. For example, next-generation chips are emerging that support 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi at 5 GHz and 6 GHz, and IEEE 802.15.4, with support for the newly evolving Matter protocol. These will allow IoT device interoperability — regardless of each device’s underlying wireless interface.
New applications and use cases will emerge
With India Inc. in pursuit of Industry 4.0 and smart cities to elevate the digital experience for factory automation, economic and social development, and public safety, the demand for more bandwidth and reliability is insatiable. These applications will benefit from the rapid evolution of Wi-Fi, particularly with the shift to lower latency and higher throughput. Likewise, for the home, where users are distributing more content at faster rates and across an increasing variety of both tethered and untethered devices. The home that once had a hard-wired, single set-top box may now have multiple devices streaming simultaneously, while others are scrolling, gaming, monitoring, sensing, video conferencing, creating, and distributing content, and enjoying multi-channel audio.
Similarly, offices, factory floors, malls, commercial buildings, and public transport systems depend upon reliable, high-throughput wireless connections for applications ranging from hotspotting to public safety, automation, robotics, and smart signage. All those device users and applications expect a seamless, immersive experience, free of bandwidth throttling, pauses, dead spots, and lost connections resulting from interference, obstacles, too many users, or the wireless pipe’s own bandwidth and range limitations.
Wi-Fi 7 will open up new capabilities for online gaming, multimedia, and eventually VR applications such as real-time concerts. The higher performance and lower latency will improve experiences in all these real-time video application areas, and we expect to see early adoption in areas such as virtual reality, automotive and industrial connectivity, 8K video, and online gaming.
End users will soon start to see these benefits. While Wi-Fi 7 will not be certified until 2024, as mentioned earlier, developers at the cutting edge of design in India are already incorporating key elements of Wi-Fi 7 into their designs to enable “pre-certified” solutions that will be in place when certification begins. It is expected that commercial availability of equipment supporting Wi-Fi 7 will begin in 2025, with Wi-Fi 6/6E and Wi-Fi 7 coexisting as complementary technologies for several years as Wi-Fi 7 market penetration increases across the home and office with early adopters, and then soon after with commercial and industrial deployments.
{{{short}}} {{#more}} {{{long}}} ... Read More {{/more}}
Views expressed above are the author's own.
The Gati and the Shakti: Writing on the occasion of PM’s birthday, Union road and highways minister says the speed and scale of infrastructure-building owe much to Modi’s inspiring leadership
After all, the Raj is dead: Colonialism was horrific. But a confident India should move past the decolonisation debate
Making in India. But how? PLI aims to create a manufacturing base. More evidence is needed before extending the scheme
Lessons from Gyanvapi: Courts cannot offer solutions to all religious disputes. Communities must work out compromises
The peace principle: Modi’s words to Putin didn’t mean a change in stance. India’s ability to wage peace is set to increase
Can wordsmith Tharoor teach the grand old party some new tricks?
Let’s put things in perspective with a towering Gandhi statue
India’s Russia problem will grow: Locked out of semiconductor supply, Moscow will be hard-pressed to fulfil New Delhi’s military needs
Big bosses just don’t get Gen Z techies: Though Wipro has sacked 300 staffers for moonlighting, the punishment won’t really arrest the trend
The real story of how Narmada dam oustees became crorepatis
Interested in blogging for timesofindia.com? We will be happy to have you on board as a blogger, if you have the knack for writing. Just drop in a mail at toiblogs@timesinternet.in with a brief bio and we will get in touch with you.
Right & Wrong,TOI Edit Page
Copyright © 2022 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service