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Aug 24, 2016

“Interscatter” Tech Converts Bluetooth For WiFi-Connected Implants

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, internet, mobile phones, neuroscience

Nice.


Engineers at the University of Washington (UW) have devised a new method of wireless communication that converts Bluetooth transmission from mobile devices into Wi-Fi signals. Using this “interscatter” communications technology allows medical devices and implants with limited power sources to gain the ability to send data using low-power Wi-Fi signals to smartphones and smartwatches.

The UW team previously described the technique of “backscattering” ambient RF signals — repurposing existing RF signals in the environment — to enable device-to-device communication without the need for onboard power sources. Now, the team builds on that prior research to introduce “interscattering,” the inter-technology, over-the-air conversion of Bluetooth signals to create Wi-Fi transmissions.

The researchers wrote in a paper that novel medical devices, such as smart contact lenses and neural implants, currently have power constraints that limit their ability to generate Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or ZigBee transmissions to communicate with smartphones, watches, and tablets. To overcome this, the researchers suggest an interscaterring communication system.

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