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Microsoft Working on 'Vi-Fi': Brings Seamless Internet and VoIP to Vehicles
Posted by Sean Fallon at 3:30 AM on August 29, 2008
As if you didn't already spend enough time on the internet, Microsoft is looking to feed your addiction even further by developing a reliable "Vi-Fi" system for automobiles. The major problem that must be overcome is the fact that current Wi-Fi networks suffer hiccups in service as you pass through. This is especially true when moving out of the range of one base station and into another. To smooth the transition process, Microsoft and a team from the University of Massachusetts are working on building a network based around a base station anchor that is backed up by several auxiliary base stations in the area.
In other words, a computer or other wireless device that taps into the Vi-Fi system would select one base station at a time as an anchor. Using a complex algorithm, the system will calculate the probability that a packet received by an auxiliary base station was not received by the anchor. If the probability is high, the auxiliary will relay the packet to the anchor as a backup.
Microsoft hopes that their research will lead to the first truly reliable Wi-Fi system for vehicles, and recent tests conducted on their campus have been extremely successful. The next step is to scale up the project around the campus, but how or when a Vi-Fi system could be implemented in the real world has not been determined. Of course, one major hurdle would have to be that a serious municipal Wi-Fi infrastructure would be required to get the project off the ground. [SeattlePi via DailyTech via Newlaunches]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
WrecklessRich
Posted 4:21 AM 29/8/08
Come on guys, no comments on the hot chick.
WrecklessRich
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 4:18 AM 29/8/08
You guys have no vision... no imagination. Now this guy - this guy's a winner:
OMG! Ponies!
dc-united
Posted 4:13 AM 29/8/08
Why is this a tech breakthrough?
For decades, as airplanes travel their flight path, their radio signals have been handed off from ground station to ground station. Other than adapting to the protocol, why do they have to invent anything?
I don't get it.
dc-united
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Posted 3:59 AM 29/8/08
@GeekyNerdGuy: These days it is. Seems people are getting a disturbing appreciation for the value of a dollar.
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
Posted 3:59 AM 29/8/08
@dman0586: The WiFi at Hunter College requires you to log in with your student ID. If you're not a student, you get no interwebs.
Kaiser-Machead on the Edge
GeekyNerdGuy
Posted 3:57 AM 29/8/08
@dman0586: It's not THAT expensive to bribe a middle schooler for his password.
GeekyNerdGuy
Hectorvex
Posted 3:56 AM 29/8/08
@dman0586: None, but they all have rules about perverts with no pants sitting outside.
Hectorvex
dman0586
Posted 3:53 AM 29/8/08
@Hectorvex: What area are you in that all the high schools have wifi? Only a few in my area are getting around to this, and it is limited to faculty and students.
dman0586
Ike_Skelton
Posted 3:51 AM 29/8/08
Vehicle fidelity...?
Ike_Skelton
Hectorvex
Posted 3:44 AM 29/8/08
@GeekyNerdGuy: So between that, Starbucks and every High School in the county... you're pretty limited huh?
Hectorvex
UofITom
Posted 3:44 AM 29/8/08
So, like... cell towers....
UofITom
GeekyNerdGuy
Posted 3:42 AM 29/8/08
@Hectorvex: I can't park there anymore. Too many calls to the cops about the creepy guy in his car with no pants.
GeekyNerdGuy
Hectorvex
Posted 3:40 AM 29/8/08
@Junginator: People can already play on the computer (or watch porn) while they are driving thanks to the wireless internet cards offered by your friendly local wireless company.
Of course, you have to pay for those. If something like this was free, it would be chaos. But who can imagine Microsoft giving it away? Shit, you gotta pay for Wi-Fi access in airports.
Just go park outside a Panera.
Hectorvex
strider_mt2k
Posted 3:38 AM 29/8/08
Plank, I also have a comment utilizing the word driving.
strider_mt2k
PC+Mac Coexist
Posted 3:36 AM 29/8/08
Sweet, more stuff to distract me from driving.
PC+Mac Coexist
Junginator
Posted 3:35 AM 29/8/08
Yes, because we need more self absorbed jerks on the road doing other things besides driving.
Junginator
GadgetPlay
Posted 4:35 AM 29/8/08
She really should inflate the autopilot.
GadgetPlay
OneMHz
Posted 4:49 AM 29/8/08
Maybe this will finally distract me from how crappy everyone else drives!
OneMHz
Logan5
Posted 5:21 AM 29/8/08
This doesn't make sense, at least not for consumer applications. Rather than constructing a new wireless infrastructure based on Wi-Fi wouldn't it make more sense to use 3G-4G phones to pump data to on board dash systems for audio streaming? This is a solution looking for a problem to solve.
Logan5
TBM-Fan
Posted 5:49 AM 29/8/08
It will be something like this:
in case the html tag img won't work, well here is the link: [www.ubergizmo.com]
TBM-Fan
urbanturban666
Posted 6:07 AM 29/8/08
i dont know if thats a good idea... theres enough rich daddies girls quacking on cellphones while making careless manouvers in there yukons and escalades while ignoring hands free laws and tailgating...
urbanturban666
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 6:45 AM 29/8/08
@dezinewiz: It's called XBOX Live. Maybe you've heard of it.
OMG! Ponies!
dezinewiz
Posted 6:36 AM 29/8/08
Since when has Micro$oft ever developed anything that was seamless?
dezinewiz
MINI Driver
Posted 7:16 AM 29/8/08
MS re-invent the cellular data network..... Sounds like a great use of everyone's time @ Redmond.
MINI Driver
poedgirl
Posted 11:44 AM 29/8/08
I am building a PC into my car dash at the moment and this seems utterly pointless to me. I already have it set up so that when I enter my car, the PC communicates with my phone via BlueTooth and connects to the net, which then shares that connection with the PC. I get in excess of 3.5mbps on my phone so it's not really an issue.
poedgirl
hagrun
Posted 11:13 PM 29/8/08
@Kaiser-Machead on the Edge: I agree I just turned $3 into a chocolate croissant!
hagrun
b33g33
Posted 12:16 AM 30/8/08
@poedgirl: Where the heck do you live that you get 3.5 mbps on your phone? I want to live in this utopia. Is it a town called Eureka?
b33g33