“Getting good WiFi at a sporting event isn’t easy,” Matt McFarland reports for CNNMoney. “But researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory think they’ve solved this problem. In crowded areas — be it a concert, airport, conference hall or sports stadium — a bunch of wireless routers need to be installed to deliver Internet access to everyone. Having so many routers can create interference, leaving a frustrated crowd with painfully slow Internet access.”
“In a new paper published online, the MIT team described a method for managing networks that causes the routers to collaborate better. The researchers developed algorithms that process a router’s signal so that multiple routers can send information on the same wireless spectrum without causing interference,” McFarland reports. “Ezzeldin Hussein Hamed, one of the MIT researchers, said that the data could be transferred 10 times as fast if his team had tested with additional routers.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes! Bring it on!
In my apartment, I see about 25 wifi networks listed, all with full signal strength. Ugh.
I wish I were that lucky. I get over 70. On my iMac, the list scrolls for two pages. When guests come and want to connect to my WiFi, they struggle to find my SSID in the long list. It is quite annoying.
Change the name (SSID) to AAAA_5 or AAAA_25
One of the strong signal routers in my WiFi neighborhood is a Linksys Extender that jumps around to different channels according to whatever its algorithm determines is the best channel bandwidth at any one time. It’s a big PITA. I used to set my router’s channel according to what was reasonable open in the neighborhood then leave it. Now I have my router set to perform its own channel roaming algorithm in order to avoid collisions with the PITA Linksys Extender router. IOW, it’s algorithm warz. Thankfully, it’s an improvement.
This is an excellent example of how we develop what we euphorically call ‘artificial intelligence’. It’s baby steps on an incredibly long road. Baby falls down quite a lot, getting scars and bruises. But we prop baby back up and the toddling along continues. It’s reminiscent of how most technology progresses. Fumble, bumble, breakthrough. Fumble, bumble, solution…
FYI: The ‘Fresh Air’ program on US National Public Radio yesterday (2016-08-22) discussed an excellent example of the Stumble, Fumble, Bumble process in technology. This example is stunning and entirely contemporary. Here we are delving into the era of sustainable energy generation, and this rubbish impediment shows up. Oops. Well worth a listen:
Aging And Unstable, The Nation’s Electrical Grid Is ‘The Weakest Link’