PROVO — People’s lives have become dependent upon wireless technology. But long distances and dense walls block Wi-Fi and other radio signals.
However, a Utah County inventor has developed a signal that solves that problem, and it’s already available commercially.
“Sure-Fi is the world’s first RF (radio frequency) technology in an unlicensed band that’s 100% reliable, like a wire,” said Sure-Fi founder and CEO Mark Hall.
It’s not going to change the way our phones work. But, it will change the way that data is transmitted wirelessly in our homes and at work.
“We can transmit low data very robustly,” said Hall, as he showed off his lab in Provo.
Wireless communication runs into range and reliability limitations because data can only go so far on a radio signal. Hall said his signal transmits less data on a new radio module. So, long distances, concrete and metal won’t block Sure-Fi. It will transmit for a mile through obstructions, 50 miles unobstructed, he said.
Smart homes and buildings can use Sure-Fi instead of wire.
“That will be the big market: building automation,” said Hall.
Sure-Fi is already being used in construction, mining, and congested areas like apartment complexes, stadiums and hospitals.
“In industry and commerce, we have a lot of obstacles that RF needs to penetrate,” the inventor said.
The biggest limitation? Sure-Fi cannot transmit pictures and video. But it reliably transfers quality audio and data.
“It’s going to handle less data. So, it’s going to trade data for distance,” said Hall. “But, it will go further.”
Hall showed off some of the tests that his company is using to assess Sure-Fi’s reliability. In one controlled environment, the signal was blasted with interference.
“You shower all kinds of interference on your product and see how it performs,” he said.
To test the signal, a cellphone and a walkie-talkie system, like first responders might use on the job, were placed in a Faraday cage, which blocks all radio frequencies. Within seconds, the cellphone had no signal and the audio quality of the walkie-talkie system was fuzzy at best.
The audio transmitted over the Sure-Fi line, however, was loud and clear. That kind of clarity in communication could make a big difference to a firefighter or police officer trying to communicate inside a building.
Sure-Fi is being used to operate mechanical gates too far from the controller for a Wi-Fi signal. There’s no need for installers to dig a trench for wire. It can also be a good solution for buildings, like old churches that need to be updated technologically, but are too much trouble to rewire. The inventor said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has expressed some interest.
“All of those kinds of things that are currently wired can now become unwired because they’re in a heavy obstruction environment,” said Hall
That can save installers a lot of time and money.
Comment on this storySure-Fi uses a patented radio technology based on chirp modulation. Chirp is part of a radio signal in which the signal increases and decreases in frequency, creating a pulse or chirp. Those chirps contain the transmitted data. That method helps distinguish the signal from noise, or interference. That can be critical in noisy environments.
“It’s an exciting thing in heavy obstruction environments that we can do wirelessly and have the reliance and surety of a wire,” said Hall.
Four products using Sure-Fi technology are already on the market. Six more products are in development.
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