MIT's Technology has an article about a "universal wireless chip" that could be used to recieve just about any kind of radio signal -- television, GPS, cell phone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. All this in a single chip! This would be truly revolutionary technology, taking advantage of what's called software defined radio that uses software to modulate and demodulate radio signals. It would allow for the shrinking of size, energy consumption, and costs of wireless technology. It would also provide engineers with unparalleled options for technological innovation and design trade-offs.
Research out of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has shown that a single wireless chip -- call it the "universal" chip -- could be in cell phones, as well as other wireless gadgets, in as few as three years, extending their battery life, allowing for sleeker designs, and permitting them to access features beyond Wi-Fi, GPS, global phone service, and Bluetooth.
...a phone with a universal chip could access any service on the spectrum -- from local television and radio, to Wi-Fi and WiMax -- in addition to saving power and precious space within shrinking gadgets.
Just think -- having an all-one-device that can be used to look-up a connect to your PC via bluetooth to download a television schedule from the internet. You then call your friends to meet at a cafe and use this to tune into your favorite program to watch together. You'd generate an automatic text message to give everyone the geographical coordinates of the cafe so they can use their own devices to receive a GPS signal to tell them how to get there. Along the way, it could recieve traffic conditions, modifying the GPS directions to avoid delays, all while listening to your favorite music on the radio. The possibilities are virtually endless!
The Future is Now!
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