Even though trains and planes have already become mobile hotspots, very little attention has been given to mobile access to say users in their cars. That might change soon, thanks to Broadband Antenna Tracking Solutions (BATS), a start-up founded by few professors from Purdue University.
The company is reportedly testing wireless antennas that can automatically track and link users. The idea behind these antennas is to basically connect boats and moving vehicles to wireless networks. In tests, the antenna system prototypes have been able to connect 12 miles over water and nearly 9 miles over land, reports say. The tests were conducted using the 900-MHz Motorola Canopy radios, over Lake Michigan.
Network World says the company launched in January with seed money from the university. The patent belongs to the university, but three Purdue professors own the global licensing rights. The company is supposedly looking for investors, so companies interested in wireless hardware–Motorola, Tropos, Earthlink?–or interested VCs, get your checkbooks out.
I don’t know, this seems like a silly way to go about this. If one were to use a beam forming smart antenna instead of a directional antenna on a servo, there would be a huge gain benefit (and consequently increased range/throughput). I guess, in the short-term, the BATS solution might be cheaper, but it just seems so ineligant.