Good news for users of mobile devices who enjoy accessing multimedia content and social networking applications on the move!
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are exploring ways to bring the speed and quality of wireless network communications up to par with that of wired communications. Better yet, their goal is to develop wireless devices that offer ultra-high-speed mobile broadband services at virtually zero cost to the user!
All these could become possible as NTU and National Instruments (NI) join hands to develop the next-generation wireless communication technologies which are cheaper, faster, more reliable and more pervasive.
Both parties formalised the partnership by inking a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at NTU today.
Under the NTU-NI Wireless Research Programme, NI will provide $2.07 million worth of equipment that will be installed at the Positioning and Wireless Technology Centre (PWTC), a centre under NTU's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE). One key goal of the NTU-NI Wireless Research Programme is to develop future wireless communication protocols. The research team will be using the equipment to research into the practicality and performance of various wireless techniques.
PWTC's Programme Director for wireless network research, Assistant Professor Ting See Ho, explained, "One of the major problems faced worldwide currently is the increasing shortage of usable frequency spectrum, which is further aggravated by current spectrum allocation regulations. My research team aims to address these issues by developing the next generation of wireless communication technologies that are able to relay radio signals and scan for available 'holes' in airwaves without interfering with the incumbent users. This would mean that users can enjoy the highest quality, best performance and most cost-efficient networks."
"This project will not only bring about a technology breakthrough; it will also have a profound impact on current business models and inspire new designs for various wireless applications for the benefit of both mass-market and military users," added Assistant Professor Ting.
"Wireless communication research is gaining tremendous interest from the industry and NTU is a top-notch technological university with strong international standing in this field," said Chandran Nair, managing director for NI ASEAN. "We are pleased to equip PWTC with NI's technologies and support NTU's research efforts towards developing wireless technologies that will impact everyday life."
"This partnership demonstrates NTU's active collaboration and sharing of resources and expertise with our industry partners," said Professor Kam Chan Hin, Chair of EEE, NTU. "We look forward to leveraging NI technologies in our research centre to expand our research and training capabilities at NTU. We will also make good use of the equipment for teaching purposes to prepare our graduates for professional careers in high-tech industries and to expose them to advanced research."
"The NTU-NI collaboration is a testament to our long-term community engagement. We look forward to helping enhance science, technology and engineering education and research through partnerships that will take academic research to a whole new level," said Victor Mieres, NI's vice president of sales for Asia.