DIGITAL GEAR - Wireless USB makes a splash

Cables connecting Universal Serial Bus devices to PCs may soon disappear thanks to Wireless USB, a short-range wireless communications technology developed by nonprofit USB Implementers Forum, which also developed the USB 2.0 standard.

Combining wireless and USB connectivity, this technology allows for high-bandwidth wireless data transfers between PCs and USB devices such as printers, scanners and portable hard drives. A new set of peripherals based on the standard was introduced in July, including Certified Wireless USB kits from D-Link Systems and Iogear.

Both kits come with a wireless USB adapter that wirelessly communicates with a hub that holds multiple wired USB devices. There are more than 2 billion wired USB installs globally, according to the USB-IF. These kits are geared to serve them in addition to supporting full wireless connectivity between USB devices.

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Cables connecting Universal Serial Bus devices to PCs may soon disappear thanks to Wireless USB, a short-range wireless communications technology developed by nonprofit USB Implementers Forum, which also developed the USB 2.0 standard.

Combining wireless and USB connectivity, this technology allows for high-bandwidth wireless data transfers between PCs and USB devices such as printers, scanners and portable hard drives. A new set of peripherals based on the standard was introduced in July, including Certified Wireless USB kits from D-Link Systems and Iogear.

Both kits come with a wireless USB adapter that wirelessly communicates with a hub that holds multiple wired USB devices. There are more than 2 billion wired USB installs globally, according to the USB-IF. These kits are geared to serve them in addition to supporting full wireless connectivity between USB devices.

As product life cycles change, wired USB ports could be replaced by Wireless USB chips embedded in hardware, said Jeff Ravencraft, technology strategist for Intel and president and chairman of USB-IF. Lenovo and Dell have already embedded Wireless USB chips in the Inspiron 1720 and ThinkPad T61 laptops respectively.

Using ultrawideband technology, Wireless USB devices can communicate in a 10-meter range at up to 480Mbps. Data transfers top out at 2 to 3 meters, with throughput reaching 110Mbps at 10 meters, Ravencraft said.

Data is transferred in the 3.1GHz to 10.6GHz spectrum and interference with other wireless devices is minimal. "In a particular given spectrum area, if there is conceived to be interference, the radio can turn off the particular segment of that frequency and use other bands to communicate," Ravencraft said.

USB-IF is built on WiMedia Alliance's ultrawideband Common Radio Platform. In addition to its own WiNet, WiMedia Alliance's radio platform is also being implemented into Bluetooth Special Interest Group's Bluetooth 3.0 and 1394 Trade Association's Wireless 1394 wireless technologies. UWB was approved for use in the United States in 2002, Japan and South Korea in 2006, and Europe in March 2007, according to a WiMedia Alliance spokeswoman. Canada is reviewing UWB and China is under development, she said.

"The high data rate of the UWB wireless technology will enable consumers to transfer audio, video and large data files from USB peripherals to their PCs more efficiently," A.J. Wang, D-Link's CTO, said in a statement.

The goal was to make Wireless USB as easy to use as wired USB, Ravencraft said. "Wireless USB was designed by the same companies that defined Hi-Speed wired USB," he said. Future iterations of the technology will boast higher speeds and better ways to associate a device with a host.

In the meanwhile, early adopters can drool over the Certified Wireless USB kits from D-Link and Iogear.

D-Link's take on Wireless USB

D-Link's UWB DUB-9240 Wireless USB Kit comes with a USB hub and adapter, which allows multiple USB devices to connect wirelessly to a PC. A plug-and-play Wireless USB adapter plugs into a PC's USB port, and communicates wirelessly with a USB hub that holds up to four wired USB devices.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.