A team of scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has developed a wireless chip that can transmit data nearly 50 times faster than Bluetooth wireless standards and comparable Wi-Fi speeds.

Professor Park Chul-soon and his research team said they developed a new type of radio frequency chip that uses 60-gigahertz bandwidth, different from licensed 2.5GHz or 5.2GHz, to wirelessly transmit 10.7 gigabytes of uncompressed data per second.

Downloading a 5-GB two-hour movie takes approximately three minutes with the current Wi-Fi standards, but it takes less than four seconds with the new RF chip, Park explained.

The researcher said the team was also able to minimize the size of the new RF chip for use in mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet PCs, by requiring only one antenna for transmission unlike conventional RF chips.

“Our RF chips are suitable for the smallest devices and require less electricity,” Park told The Korea Herald.

“People now widely use smartphones to take pictures and videos, and the RF chips will allow them to transfer data without cables and other devices to their PCs and TV sets,” he said.

Park, however, admitted that the new wireless technology currently only works within a 1-meter range.

“Still there are many ways to use this RF chips not only in smartphones but also in medical applications, such as a mobile endoscopic camera,” Park added.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)