Global Positioning System Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
Whereness and the Future
This concluding chapter is about the longer term aspects of Whereness. The first
part will continue with the technologies that were discussed in Chapters 6, 7, and
8, and will concentrate on more advanced and speculative topics which are still in
the research phase. Although they may not all become commercial successes, they
have the potential to be very significant.
The second part will focus on applications, users, and businesses in the 2010s:
first, a longer term vision discussing devices and services, followed by a to-do list
for business so that the Whereness vision may be, hopefully, followed by action.
9.1
The Future of Wireless and Whereness
Wireless science is still being researched and there are many new developments to
come. Devices will increase in the upper frequency of operation so that new
mobile bands will become available in the region of 60 GHz and beyond.
Terahertz radio is in its infancy but is finding applications in radiography. New
techniques based on the application of ubiquitous computing are developing [1]
and also new approaches to the management of spectrum. Antennae are becoming
smart and many military techniques will become cheap enough to use for
consumers and for business applications.
9.1.1
Atmospheric Absorption Bands
In the region of 57 to 65GHz, radio signals resonate with oxygen molecules in the
atmosphere and are severely attenuated. In normal radio practice, environmental
attenuation is a major problem but in this case it can be an advantage, particularly
for Whereness systems in the future. A new coverage paradigm could be
implemented in this band, which would result in very dense localized hotspots,
each with massive bandwidth capabilities.
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