WiQuest Communications has developed a wireless docking solution for PC video and graphics transfer applications, and now offers Wireless Docking Station and Mini Card reference design kits. These reference designs are based on WiQuest’s WQST100/101 chipset, incorporating WiDV (Wireless Digital Video) Technology and 1 Gbps data rate for the low-latency, high-speed wireless transmission of digital video and PC graphics. In addition, the reference designs also simultaneously connect data peripherals such as printers and storage devices using wireless USB, eliminating the need for all cable connections between a notebook PC and its peripherals.

Alun Roberts, vice president of marketing for WiQuest, said a major potential impact wireless docking will have for computer OEMs is a demand for two docking stations per laptop computer as opposed to a single docking station. This would allow a user to connect wirelessly to two sets of peripherals, one at the office, and the other at home, for example. A WiDV-enabled notebook computer simply “coming in range” of the Wireless Docking Station achieves a secure, wireless connection with all of the attached peripherals, such as an LCD monitor, printer, external storage, Ethernet network, keyboard, mouse and speakers.

WiDV is essentially a data stream that runs alongside wireless USB on the same WiMedia-compliant PHY layer. The WiDV protocol data throughput is greater than that of wireless USB because it is essentially unidirectional, while USB is interrupt-driven. Thus, even in wired USB, which is rated for a maximum data rate of 480 Mbps, the bi-directional flow of data can de-rate this to below 200 Mbps, according to Roberts.

The WiDV Engine executes a “light” compression algorithm that is optimized for this physical architecture. The improvements derived from minimal data compression extend the overall data throughput beyond the wireless link’s physical data rate of 1 Gbps.

The capability to stream digital video also suits convergence in mobile devices. Roberts stated that while many handsets provide increased amounts of data storage, the display screen for many mobile devices remains small. WiQuest is presently working to develop a mobile WiDV chipset and applications that would allow portable devices to stream digital content to large displays in the same manner as its Wireless Docking Station.

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