Ten Wild and Wonderful Wireless Gadgets - Wearable and Ubiquitous Wi-Fi
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8. ThinkGeek Wi-Fi enabled T-shirt
Surely the ultimate accessory for the lazy hacker in the family this Christmas, this T-shirt takes the donkey work out of identifying hotspots. Equipped with a built-in Wi-Fi detector and dynamic signal strength beacon, the wearer will no longer have to open a laptop or consult a detector watch to see whether network access is available. Neither will anybody else in the vicinity, as the beacon is emblazoned across the front for all to see.
Among the shirt’s key features are the ability to show the signal strength for both 802.11b and 802.11g networks, an easily removable animated decal for easy washing, and a concealed battery pocket for the three AAA batteries it requires. Be very careful if you choose to wear this shirt in airports.
The ThinkGeek Wi-Fi detector T-shirt is $29.99 from thinkgeek.com.
9. Vocera B2000 Communications Badge
It’s been around for a while now, but the Vocera B2000 Communications Badge is still a remarkable application of Wi-Fi technology. Designed for self-contained networked environments such as hospitals and college campuses, this little lapel badge has an embedded Wi-Fi chip and VoIP capabilities that allow hands-free voice communication wherever there’s a wireless network running the Vocera server software.
There are no numbers to remember, no keypad or handset, just a discreet little gadget operated by voice recognition. The badge can be set up to interface with a PBX, allowing it to be used to make regular phone calls. It can even display text messages on a small built-in OLED screen.
More information about the Vocera Communications System is available from vocera.com.
10. “WiTricity”
The holy grail of wireless technology surely has to be cable-free electricity. If this sounds to you like science fiction, you’d be wrong. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have managed to illuminate a 60 watt light bulb using a power supply designed around the principles of magnetic induction and located two meters away from the bulb. Needless to say, there were no wires connecting the two.
The researchers caution that this method is unsuitable for high-power applications due to the large amounts of energy that are distributed into empty space and wasted. Nonetheless, this represents an extraordinary achievement. Sadly, no wireless power supply is commercially available – yet. But who knows? Perhaps the wireless iPod charger will be the big seller for Christmas 2009.
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