packethop ad hoc networking

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MANHASSET, N.Y. - Wireless ad hoc mesh networking will get a boost on two levels this week with the unveiling of startup PacketHop Inc. and the announcement that wireless home networking and automation proponent Zensys A/S has entered into a business partnership with Intel Corp.

The separate announcements bring into sharp relief the immense work that has been underway to achieve a more robust, efficient, low-power and scalable wireless network than the centralized Wi-Fi and cellular network architectures now used in homes.

Derived from military-funded research into mobile networks, mesh networking eliminates the need for a central controller with its associated reliability and efficiency issues. Instead, mobile ad hoc mesh networks use peers in the network to transmit data from source to destination employing multiple hops.

While the Internet-like concept and its advantages are straightforward, one problem is deriving an optimum routing protocol to minimize the number of hops while ensuring security, seamless mobility within both homogeneous and heterogeneous networks as well as quality of service. Fewer hops translate into lower latency and overall power consumption.

To date, companies such as MeshNetworks (Maitland, Fla.) have
dominated the mobile ad hoc networking with its mesh-enabled
architecture (MEA). It includes an air-interface-agnostic
multihopping routing protocol and a proprietary QDMA radio.

Now, PacketHop Inc. is entering the fray with an implementation that Michael Howse, president and chief executive, claimed surpasses anything to date with its emphasis on enhanced security, quality of
service, device management, dynamic addressing and session management and integration of both centralized and distributed control.

A spinoff from SRI International, PacketHop's routing protocol was earlier used as a means of overcoming the line-of-sight issues associated with fixed wireless access. Since then, Howse said DoD's mandate was for an infrastructureless network without the need for proprietary radios and the ability to perform Layer 3 routing.

Embedded within wireless client, the software decreases infrastructure dependency by allowing users to carry and retransmit data to other users. Should a connection fail, Howse said, "the proactive protocol can dynamically recreate routes, with the ability to ensure application and session maintenance and quality of service for data and multicast video." The initial target is Wi-Fi.

Though a product is not available right now, Howse said the protocol is "in trial" with a major commercial operator and will debut in the first quarter of 2004. Specifics on the patents were unavailable.

Meanwhile, Zensys's (Berkeley, Calif.) deal with Intel targets low-data-rate, low-cost wireless ad hoc networking, specifically for home automation applications. In the deal to be announced Monday (Nov. 10), Zensys will cooperate with Intel in developing a universal platform for seamless home control based on Zensys's Z-Wave mesh-networking technology. The system includes Universal Plug-and-Play (UPnP) drivers.

The goal is to enable everyday devices such as light switches, thermostats, alarms and appliances to be networked along with televisions, PCs, PDAs and mobile phones via an ultra-low-cost wireless connection.

"The deal validates our technology, based on two-way mesh networking, and overall approach to home networking and automation," said Michael Dodge, vice president of marketing at Zensys.

The technology is based on a low-cost mixed-signal ASIC integrating an 8051 processor with a proprietary narrowband radio operating at 868 MHz (Europe) or 908.4 MHz (U.S.) and the company's routing
protocol. It can support up to 254 nodes and costs $6.50 for a full package on a pc-board measuring as small as 2 by 3 cm.

According to Dodge, the radio and mesh protocol eliminate the high processing overhead associated with other proposed radios for automation and control. "Unlike ZigBee [based on IEEE 802.15.4 physical layer] we're here and now - the ZigBee standard hasn't even been ratified yet," said Dodge.

Founded in 1999, its list of customers includes Sylvania, IBM's HomeDirector, ACT and Intermatic.

The Intel partnership allows Z-Wave-enabled devices to interact and extends the full capabilities of UpnP to small devices that do not support TCP/IP stacks. Part of this effort also includes continued development of open API device class descriptions for home control products based on Z-Wave.

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