Researchers Have Created a Curved Wireless Data Link

Researchers at Brown University have pioneered a way to bend a data signal to essentially curve around objects.

They achieved this by manipulating terahertz waves, a frequency range that may become a part of future 6G technologies where new innovations will be likely be required to keep up with bandwidth demand.

The research, supported by the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, is still in very early stages. Thus questions as to how far the curved beams could travel and how much data could be transmitted are still unknown at this point.

So how did they do it?

“Essentially, the light beam adjusts to the blockage by shuffling data along the patterns the researchers engineered into the transmitter. When one pattern is blocked, the data transfers to the next one, and then the next one if that is blocked. This keeps the signal link fully intact,” said the news release. “Without this level of control, when the beam is blocked, the system can’t make any adjustments, so no signal gets through.”

6G and Terahertz

Most in the industry are in agreement that terahertz will be a crucial part of 6G.

Nevertheless, challenges remain in this frequency range, which is more susceptible to being blocked by objects than other frequencies, such as microwave, currently used in 5G and wi-fi.