Photonics Corp, the San Jose, California-based producer of wireless local networking products, has developed new adaptor and access point products that use diffuse infra-red technology to enable users to set up wireless peer-to-peer networks in any indoor environment. Scott Schnell, vice-president of marketing, says the product is like an ‘updated television remote control’ using infra-red light, except it does not have to be pointed in any specific direction to work as the light is emitted diffusely and reflected off the ceiling and walls of the room. It enables the extension of wired or Ethernet users to mobile users. The device is attached to the PCMCIA card or the AT board that is slotted into the computer. The infra-red signal is received by the access point, the Collaborative EtherPoint. The EtherPoint consists of a 80386/33 processor with an NE2000 compatible Ethernet adaptor, and provides the wireless access to the remote users. The system will work at a range of 25 feet, which the firm says is sufficient for the average sized meeting room. It has the added bonus of security because the infra-red beams do not penetrate the wall or windows. A single Access Point can handle up to 1M-bit of bandwidth, which can either be shared between several users at any one time or one user can use the full amount. One drawback is that the system will not work in bright sunlight, but the firm says that in naturally-lit rooms there would only be a problem if the sun was so bright that the user could not see anyway. The nature of the device means it can be used in any country, without the special regulation requirements of radio-based systems. And unlike radio systems, it avoids two users who are sending mesages to each other clogging up two radio bandwidths and having to go via the backbone system to communicate. The product was released in the US two months ago and since then the firm has established worldwide distribution agreements including Gomark Ltd in the UK, TCI in France and HSD GmbH in Germany. NTT Intelligent Technology Co Ltd will be the sole distributor in Japan. The Adaptors cost UKP487 upwards depending on the configuration and the Collaborative EtherPoint costs UKP1,290. The company also has a Collaborative EtherPoint Kit that costs UKP186 and enables a 80386 or higher personal computer to be used temporarily as an access point.
