Illustration: Sean Mccabe; Original Photo: Joshua Dalsimer Vanu Bose, founder, and John Chapin, CTO, of Vanu Inc. Software-defined radio is one of those promising but elusive ideas that’s been anticipated for quite some time. The concept is elegantly simple: get rid of the specialized electronics used to process radio signals and instead do everything with …
Illustration: Chad Hagen Space seems empty and therefore the perfect environment for radio communications. Don’t let that fool you: There’s still plenty that can disrupt radio communications. Earth’s fluctuating ionosphere can impair a link between a satellite and a ground station. The materials of the antenna can be distorted as it heats and cools. And …
Cognitive Radios Will Go Where No Deep-Space Mission Has Gone Before Read More »
For decades, the astronomical cost of launching a satellite meant that only government agencies and large corporations ever undertook such a herculean task. But over the last two decades or so, newer, commercial rocket designs that accommodate multiple payloads have reduced launch costs dramatically—from about US $54,000 per kilogram in 2000 to about $2,720 in …
Building an Orbiting Internet Just for Satellites Read More »
Illustration: Harry Campbell We do love our cellphones. And we hate them, too, of course—when they drop a call, go dead in the middle of a conversation, or simply fail to work in another country. Soon we’ll probably be complaining about other things—perhaps that our handsets can’t receive satellite TV broadcasts or last more than …
Radios With Micromachined Resonators – IEEE Spectrum Read More »
SPECIAL REPORT: DO-IT-ALL DEVICESLike the idea of a handheld device that can be any of about 10 different gizmos, depending on your mood? You could soon have one if the ideas described in this two-part report become reality. In this article, Nick Tredennick and Brion Shimamoto of the Gilder Technology Report tell why only programmable logic devices …
