Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
WUSB uses a portion of the UWB radio spectrum, including 528MHz-wide channels
from 3.1GHz to 10.6GHz. These wideband channels allow for high bandwidths up to
480Mbps(60MBps),whichexactlymatchesthewiredUSB2.0specificationinmaximum
throughput.
WUSB is designed for low power consumption and short-range, high-speed connections,
with performance of 480Mbps (60MBps) at 3 meters (approximately 10 feet), dropping
to 110Mbps (13.75MBps) at 10 meters (approximately 33 feet). This is similar in range
to Bluetooth, but at significantly higher transfer speeds. The radio frequencies used for
WUSB are also designed not to overlap or interfere with the popular 2.4GHz 802.11b/g
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and 5GHz 802.11a Wi-Fi radios as well as common cordless phones
and microwave ovens.
The uses for WUSB are almost endless; basically anything that can be connected via a
wired USB connection can connect wirelessly as well. Imagine merely placing a WUSB
hard drive near a PC and having it automatically recognize and be usable as a high-speed
storage or backup device. A WUSB camera could be placed near a PC, and you could
transfer images or movies quickly with no cables. Existing wired USB devices can even
be connected wirelessly by attaching a special WUSB adapter called a Host Wire Adapter
(HWA) on the PC side and a Device Wire Adapter (DWA) on the peripheral side.
Figure
14.14
shows one possible configuration for connecting wired devices that way.
Figure 14.14
Using a HWA and DWA to wirelessly connect traditional wired USB devices to a system.
