In today's episode, we're discussing Wi-Fi Location™ with two special guests, Jonathan Segev, Senior Wireless Standards Engineer at Intel, and Roy Want, Senior Research Scientist at Google. Jonathan and Roy tell us how Fine Timing Measurement helps to measure locations, and how indoor navigation, inventory management, and customer shopping experiences are driving enterprise usage of Wi-Fi Location. We also discuss how indoor and outdoor access points using Wi-Fi Location share their position with Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC). Listen to this episode to learn more about how future applications will be impacted by Wi-Fi Location.

More information on Wi-Fi Location: https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-location

Newly Released IEEE 802.11az Standard Improving Wi-Fi Location Accuracy is Set to Unleash a New Wave of Innovation: https://standards.ieee.org/beyond-standards/newly-released-ieee-802-11az-standard-improving-wi-fi-location-accuracy-is-set-to-unleash-a-new-wave-of-innovation/

Tutorial - Technology & Use Cases for Wi-Fi Location & IEEE 802.11az: https://vimeo.com/827588585?share=copy

IEEE 802.11az provides security enhancements, solves longstanding problems: 
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2023/08/25/jonathan-segev-ieee-802-11az-standard/

IEEE SA Webinar - Redefining Wi-Fi Based Location with IEEE 802.11az: https://engagestandards.ieee.org/80211az-webinar-register.html.html

IEEE Computer Society Webinar - Next Generation Wi-Fi Positioning: An Overview of IEEE 802.11az: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4382600/390DE1BC13493003E602DFB25B798484?partnerref=sab 

Cisco AP Auto Location and Client Side FTM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkkAt90qs6w   

Aruba’s self-locating Access Points: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_lIOvyrs4 

https://www.buildings.com/smart-buildings/article/33017990/new-wi-fi-standard-ieee-80211az-aims-to-upgrade-building-design-and-user-experience 

https://wifinowglobal.com/news-and-blog/wwc-insights-cisco-touts-wi-fi-determinism-and-new-location-based-services-at-wwctoronto/?mc_cid=e6d282d9d7&mc_eid=61a6d204ca%E2%80%9D 

https://blogs.arubanetworks.com/solutions/location-services/bring-the-ease-and-accuracy-of-gps-to-indoor-location-services/ 
 

For Wi-Fi Alliance: www.wi-fi.org

For Membership Info: https://www.wi-fi.org/membership

General Contact: https://www.wi-fi.org/contact-us

The Wi-Fi Alliance® Mexico City member meeting featured a demonstration of emerging XR technology. With numerous augmented, virtual, and extended reality (AR/VR/XR) applications on the horizon, Meta’s presentation of their Wi-Fi® XR technology showcased early stages of Wi-Fi’s impact on virtual experiences.

Extended reality (XR) technologies create an immersive environment that enhances or simulates real-life scenarios. XR applications, which range from gaming to 3D surgical training and education, require a high level of responsiveness and are extremely latency sensitive. Wi-Fi in 6 GHz delivers the stringent performance XR technologies demand. By utilizing the less congested 6 GHz band, Wi-Fi 6E’s contiguous spectrum blocks can support XR’s high-capacity needs.

Wi-Fi and XR capabilities demonstrated

The demonstration included three scenarios featuring the Meta Quest Pro head-mounted display (HMD). Attendees observed as Meta showcased an increasingly common use case, offloading a high-capacity VR gaming application over Wi-Fi from a computer to the Quest Pro using a Wi-Fi 6E access point. Attendees were also able to feel the power of immersive environments first-hand as they were “transported” to Antarctica where they utilized the Quest Pro to “kayak” pristine waters and “climb” icy cliffs. Meta also exhibited their mixed reality (MR) experience and color pass-through technology which allows users to see real-world objects in color within the virtual display, rather than the black and white renderings of previous MR technologies, furthering their engagement in the virtual world.

The devices showcased in this demo included                                                                                     

• Meta’s Quest Pro head-mounted display
• Beat Games’ VR rhythm game, Beat Saber
• Aruba’s Wi-Fi 6E enabled Aruba 615 Access Point
• National Geographic Explore VR application on Oculus Quest

Beyond gaming: the future of XR technology

XR technology is already being utilized in an expanding number of applications beyond gaming. Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine employs virtual reality to train medical students on orthopedic surgical procedures[1], allowing for in-depth practice in an immersive setting. The United States Air Force utilizes virtual reality for aircraft simulations, allowing students to complete the training up to 46% faster[2]. In the field of mental health, XR technology is used to aid in the treatment of patients with PTSD by recreating stressful scenarios in a controlled environment.[3]

Wi-Fi will serve as the foundation of connectivity for a wide variety of AR/VR/XR applications as they continue to emerge. Due to the extremely low latency and high bandwidth demands of these applications, it is vital that 6 GHz spectrum is made available for Wi-Fi. These high-capacity needs are fulfilled by the superwide, uncongested channels that 6 GHz provides, and Wi-Fi 6E and forthcoming Wi-Fi 7 will continue to fuel endless possibilities for XR innovation.

[1] https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2022/12/ar-vr-medical-training-2023-perfcon

[2] https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2706835/tech-training-transformation-modernizes-tech-training-with-virtual-reality/

[3] https://www.xrtoday.com/virtual-reality/the-impact-on-xr-in-mental-health/

In today's episode, we're joined by Greg Ennis, author of “Beyond Everywhere: How Wi-Fi Became the World’s Most Beloved Technology." A leader in the Wi-Fi industry, Greg was the former VP of Technology of Wi-Fi Alliance and wrote the 1993 proposal that was ultimately adopted as the foundational technology for Wi-Fi. Greg tells us more about the early days of hashing out the connectivity protocol and some of the challenges that were overcome to make Wi-Fi the ubiquitous technology it is today. We also discuss the future of Wi-Fi and how opening up the 6 GHz band will support emerging use cases. Join us for this special episode.

Beyond Everywhere: How Wi-Fi Became the World's Most Beloved Technology: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Everywhere-Became-Beloved-Technology/dp/1637587481

For Wi-Fi Alliance: www.wi-fi.org

For Membership Info: https://www.wi-fi.org/membership

General Contact: https://www.wi-fi.org/contact-us

In this episode, we discuss how professional sports teams can gain a competitive advantage by improving their connectivity. Mike Zeto, Chief Commercial Officer at Boingo, joins us to talk about a recent deployment of Wi-Fi 6 at the Washington Commanders' all-weather training facility. Mike explains that sports teams are looking to leverage the latest player training technologies for improved performance, and how VR and wearable technologies are making that a reality. Listen to this episode for more about how Wi-Fi 6's low latency and high throughput will shape the future of professional sports.

Washington Commanders elevate training with Boingo Wi-Fi 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpp-c-PRWPY

5G & Wi-Fi Playbook for Stadiums & Arenas: https://www.boingo.com/commanders

For Wi-Fi Alliance: www.wi-fi.org

For Membership Info: https://www.wi-fi.org/membership

General Contact: https://www.wi-fi.org/contact-us