Leveraging the ability to integrate complex digital functions in CMOS along with other functions in the SiP, WiMedia-based solutions provide maximum flexibility to implement high-speed MB-OFDM-based wireless across different environments — using the same basic hardware design.

As illustrated in Figure 4, the underlying WiMedia PHY and MAC layers are designed to interface with various protocol-specific application environments, such as USB, Bluetooth, WiNET or emerging standards. In addition to providing OEM designers with a common WiMedia radio platform integrated within a complete PHY/MAC solution; this approach allows designers to simultaneously support multiple protocols in software.

Today, the typical wired USB system is centered on a single host PC with a number of peripherals that connect to the host, either directly or through USB hubs. In this PC-centric model, the host controls all of the information flow to and from the various devices. Originally intended to simplify connectivity of peripherals by reducing the number of different types of connections that needed to be supported by a PC, over time USB has evolved into the de facto standard for connecting PCs to peripherals such as printers, scanners, keyboards/mice, and external storage. It has also become the standard method for interfacing consumer devices such as digital cameras, camcorders, webcams, PDAs and mobile phones.

Certified Wireless USB is designed to seamlessly replace these PC-centric applications, as well as laying a solid foundation for the evolution of new-generation interconnection topologies. Initially, most implementations will use a host wire adapter (HWA) on the PC and device wire adapter (DWA) endpoints for connecting to existing wired USB devices. As wireless USB adoption ramps up, developers will also introduce “native Certified Wireless USB” devices, with the complete DWA interface embedded within the end product. These unleashed Certified Wireless USB environments will quickly evolve into mixed interface topologies, with legacy devices connecting through wired USB to DWAs and other devices connecting directly through embedded Certified Wireless USB interfaces (Figure 5).

As end-user environments become increasingly unwired, new approaches will emerge with more openness and less dependence on a central PC. For example, “handset-centric” models will use a mobile device such as a cell phone or PDA to directly handle all of the CWUSB interfaces to various peripherals and manage connectivity/synchronization to host PCs or other servers.

WiMedia's ability to handle multiple protocols with a “common radio platform” using the same underlying PHY/MAC layers also opens the door for mixed environments that will support wireless USB alongside other standards such as Bluetooth and/or IP-based WiNET communication stacks. For example, the same embedded UWB solution can simultaneously handle multiprotocol scenarios such as laptop-to-laptop data transfer and laptop-to-CWUSB printer interfaces, allowing information to flow seamlessly between devices and connected peripherals. The same interface can support handset-to-handset sharing of media such as MP3 audio files, ring tones or other information. Embedded UWB functionality also opens up new innovations, such as enabling fluid “personal area social networking” applications between handheld devices.

The key to success and widespread adoption of these emerging applications will be delivering a high degree of transparency and ease of use for end users. Instead of asking users to think about which protocol to use for various connections, the underlying UWB wireless interfaces must be able to make such interconnection decisions automatically. Here again, the standardization on all-CMOS UWB solutions and the WiMedia standard lays a solid foundation because it brings together built-in multiprotocol support with inherent programmability and extendibility of the digital compute engine functions.

By standardizing on an all-CMOS single-chip WiMedia transceiver implementation from the beginning, product designers will be able to leverage a more cost-effective product migration path for supporting near-term migration of PC-centric connectivity applications and emerging embedded-wireless multiprotocol implementations. Even developers that start out by using SiP-based complete solutions to maximize their time to market can later migrate to directly embedding the single-chip CMOS devices within their applications — all while leveraging the same development learning curve and underlying architecture.

As the market for standards-based UWB-enabled wireless functionality really heats up, the race will definitely go to the swift and to those who started out in the right direction from the beginning.

Roberto Aiello is a co-founder and CTO of Staccato Communications. He is credited for making ultrawideband (UWB) a commercial reality. Aiello also served as CEO for the first two and a half years. Prior to Staccato, he was founder, president and CEO at Fantasma Networks, a UWB product company. Aiello joined Interval Research in 1996 to work on advanced wireless technologies where he led the wireless research and built the first documented UWB network. He also held senior positions at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and the National Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory in Texas. A recognized leader in the UWB community, he is involved in regulatory and standards-setting committees. Aiello has contributed to the spectrum regulations since 1996, and his efforts were instrumental in getting UWB spectrum allocated in the United States. He holds a Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of Trieste. He has served and serves on several advisory boards, such as iPASS. Aiello is the author of more than 20 patents on UWB technology.

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