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CSIRO posts

CSIRO looks to analog TV spectrum for 100Mbit wireless broadband

by Donald Melanson posted Apr 27th 2009 at 3:34PM

Australia has already rolled out its plans to bring high-speed broadband to 90% of the country's population via fiber optic lines, and it looks like the folks at CSIRO are now pitching in with some ideas of their own to bring speedy wireless broadband to that ever present "last mile," and anyone else looking for an extra wireless option. As with others, they're looking to take advantage of all the analog TV broadcast towers that'll become available once the digital switchover in the country is complete, and it seems that they also have a few tricks up their sleeves that could eventually deliver wireless speeds up to 100Mbit per second (though it'd apparently be between 12 and 50 megabits per second initially). To reach those speeds, the group is apparently experimenting with a combination of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (or OFDM), used in basic wireless standards like 802.11g, and multiple input multiple output technology, or MIMO, which uses a range of antennas to transmit and receive multiple data streams. Of course, there's still quite a bit of work to be done before any of that moves beyond the lab, but CSIRO says that field trials could begin in 12 to 24 months, with a commercial rollout possible in the next three to five years.

[Thanks, Aaron]

CSIRO's patent lawsuits conclude with the final 13 companies settling

by Ross Miller posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 12:53AM

Looks like CSIRO's legal days are over -- for the moment, at least. Having already reached an agreement with HP, the Australian government-funded research firm announced this week that it's settled with the remaining 13 companies it sued for patent infringement, claiming it owned the rights to 802.11a/g. For those who haven't been keeping track at home, that includes Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Nintendo, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Netgear, Buffalo, D-Link, Belkin, SMC, Accton, and 3Com. The details of any of the settlements are undisclosed, but as iTnews reports, it's expected CSIRO ended up with some substantial monies now that the dust has settled. Chief Executive Dr. Megan Clark noted that it'll continue to "defend its intellectual property," so if you're a high profile tech company who creates WiFi-equipped gadgets and hasn't been served a lawsuit yet, we don't blame you for being a little nervous right now.

CSIRO settles patent lawsuit with HP, continues fight with everyone else

by Donald Melanson posted Apr 1st 2009 at 4:41PM

As anyone up on their patent fights these days is no doubt aware, Australia's CSIRO (or the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) has been engaged in a long-standing dispute with seemingly every company that makes use of WiFi in their products, and even the organization responsible for the 802.11 standard itself. Now, following a short lived victory against Buffalo, the group has reportedly reached a settlement in its lawsuit with HP, although all of the parties involved are unsurprisingly staying mum on any specifics for the time being. As Australia's Sydney Morning Herald notes, however, the settlement will no doubt give CSIRO a boost in confidence as it continues to challenge the remaining companies now entangled in lawsuits, which includes everyone from Microsoft to Dell to Nintendo, and free up a bit more time for the group to get back to creating even rounder objects and more stylish power-generating shirts.

[Thanks, Greg]

Buffalo's wireless injunction stayed, now free to sell WiFi products in US

by Darren Murph posted Dec 4th 2008 at 6:42PM

Man, we can bet there's some serious celebrating going on at the Buffalo offices today. After being barred from selling its networking gear here in America last June, Buffalo has finally been freed from its CSIRO-given chains. Who's to thank? A federal judge who has stayed the permanent injunction in the ongoing US patent litigation, which opens the doors for the company to sell "IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n compliant products in the United States." Finally, we USers can look forward to buying helicopter inspired routers on our home turf.

[Thanks, Mark]

Scientists create roundest objects in the world

by Darren Murph posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 10:46AM

Okay, so we could pretty much figure out that JVC's breath sphere speaker wasn't exactly the roundest thing we'd ever seen, but we can't say we've really ever given much thought to how round / not round a round object really is. Thankfully, the scientists involved in the Avogadro Project do give it some thought, and they're toiling away as we speak in an attempt to create almost useless silicon balls which serve one simple purpose: to "redefine the kilogram in terms of magnetic fields and electrical forces." What does weight have to do with this? Currently, the kilogram is the "only remaining standard of measurement tied to a single physical object: a 120-year-old lump of platinum and iridium that sits in a vault outside of Paris, France." Trivial? A bit -- but don't tell that to the guys that weigh gold bars.

CSIRO developing power-generating shirts

by Darren Murph posted Oct 28th 2007 at 11:07AM

We've seen a plethora of shirts made for more than just satisfying a core necessity in life, but a team of scientists over at the CSIRO's Energy Technology Division are hoping to have "power shirts" at your local flea market (or other fine establishments) within five years. By using piezo electrical materials, the garb could reportedly "produce electricity as you move," enabling users to juice up their DAPs, mobiles and air conditioned pants just by staying active. Other potential applications include powering battlefield-related equipment on soldiers and monitoring systems on the elderly, but making sure it can handle the oh-so-intimidating wash cycle remains a challenge.

[Via PopGadget, image courtesy of CSIRO]

CSIRO throws 802.11n ratification a curve

by Darren Murph posted Oct 3rd 2007 at 11:12AM

CSIRO and aggravation tend to go hand in hand, so it's no real shock to learn that the organization is playing hard ball in a recent push to get 802.11n closer to ratification. Reportedly, CSIRO "refused to provide a letter of assurance to the IEEE working group developing the much-delayed 802.11n WiFi standard," and it cited legal discord between it and Microsoft, Intel, Dell, HP, Netgear, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Nintendo and 3Com as the primary holdup. The group's senior vice-president of licensing, Denis Redfern, was quoted as saying that "where litigation is involved, CSIRO will continue to reserve its rights in relation to licensing," so it looks like an official 802.11n standard is still that far off from being founded.

CSIRO injunction halts Buffalo sales

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jun 20th 2007 at 6:02AM

As we reported back in November, Australian company CSIRO has been on the offensive in an attempt to establish their role in the creation of WiFi. Last Friday, CSRIO won another round in the battle by bringing an injunction against Buffalo, promptly halting sale of products in the US and making it very difficult for Buffalo to continue scoring tons of easy money from 802.11a/g-based gear. Buffalo is naturally expected to appeal, but this is pretty clearly a litmus test case for the long list of companies CSRIO has its sights set on -- so who knows what fates are in store for the likes of 3Com, Accton, ASUS, Belkin, D-Link, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Marvell, Microsoft, Netgear, Nintendo, SMC, and Toshiba, all of which have their own case pending with today's court victor.

[Thanks, Macris A]

Australians to demo 10 gigabit wireless data link

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 6th 2006 at 6:38AM

We're not exactly sure how we got along before the advent of WiFi (wait, nevermind, we were tethered to our desks), but today we can't wait for the next generation of wireless technology. Well, leave it to Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to come out of the blue and develop gigabit (yes, gigabit) wireless technology. According to CSIRO's website, the new wireless protocol will use the 55GHz band and will transfer at 10Gbps -- the organization will be showing of this tech by transmitting 16 streams of DVD-quality video over a distance of 250 meters (820 feet), which will apparently only be "one-tenth of the capacity of the link." We've got no idea how long it'll be until our friends Down Under send us some of that gigabit love, although they might want to settle those lawsuits against nearly every American wireless hardware firm first.

[Via Computerworld Australia]

CSIRO wins landmark WLAN lawsuit against Buffalo, more to come?

by Darren Murph posted Nov 16th 2006 at 10:14PM

The same folks who brought us fire-proof plastic, air guitar clothing, and wireless air hockey apparently delivered a lot more of the WiFi technology we all utilize daily than was previously recognized. Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization has won a landmark case against Buffalo Technology, "under which it could receive royalties from every producer of WLAN products worldwide." US patent 5487069 -- which "encompasses elements of the 802.11a/g wireless technology that is now an industry standard" -- was granted to the body back in 1996, and has subsequently been utilized in seemingly every piece of wireless kit ever since. Considering their recent victory, CSIRO's pending cases against Intel, Dell, Microsoft, HP, and Netgear definitely have roots now, and if judges continue to rule in the Aussies' favor, the big boys could be shelling out "hundreds of millions of dollars" in back pay to cover their wrongs. Ruh roh.

[Thanks, Phil]

CSIRO unveils fire-proof plastic

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2006 at 12:05AM

In an age where plastic (and aluminum) gadgets are bursting into flames left and right, we'd say it's about time some manufacturers looked into what CSIRO is cooking up. Scientists at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization have devised a plastic that morphs into a flame-denouncing "ceramic" structure when exposed to fire, and although the newly formed substance doesn't cool down the situation per se, it does provide a useful barrier to slow the spread of flames. The polymer transforms into a heat-restricting blockade when facing "temperatures as high as 700 degrees," but we're left to ponder what (presumably not-so-good) condition the hardened plastic would be in should things get any more heated. Considering that fires can ignite and get way out of hand relatively quickly, designers said this plastic reacts substantially quicker than humans can, and it could provide the extra time necessary to reach folks stranded in a high-rise blaze, for example. Potential applications for the two-timing plastic include oil rigs, cargo ships, aircrafts, offices, and other highly populated public buildings, but we're envisioning this going even further; it could presumably show up in flame-breathing robot protective gear or in the construction of electronics that run a bit toasty -- but who knows, maybe we're just blowing smoke.