Wi-Fi has been around for years, and it’s become a staple of modern society…so it only makes sense that a major Wi-Fi upgrade is in the works now. After years of well-known tech companies like Apple, Comcast, Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, and many others working together in a group known as the Wi-Fi Alliance, The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the newest Wi-Fi technology, what essentially amounts to a huge Wi-Fi upgrade: Wi-Fi Aware. This new technology makes it so that Wi-Fi Aware certified devices will be able to interface with each other without even being connected to a hotspot.
What is Wi-Fi Aware?
Wi-Fi Aware is a major Wi-Fi upgrade that will enable devices to connect to each other in a peer-to-peer system without having to access a Wi-Fi network first. This will have great usage for proximity-based apps and games, among other things. For instance, two strangers playing a particular game in the same room can use Wi-Fi Aware to find each other and start playing the game together.
Another application for this new Wi-Fi upgrade would be to send information back and forth between devices, such as finding out if there are faster lines available when a person with a Wi-Fi Aware device approaches a security checkpoint at an airport.
How Does This Wi-Fi Upgrade Work?
Wi-Fi Aware works through automatic service discovery, but it does so in a way that is designed to be more efficient and easier on a user’s battery life than the currently accepted methods of connectivity. Typically, proximity-based applications work using a combination of a device’s GPS signal, Wi-Fi network, and cellular data information, which, if used for a while, tend to drain a user’s battery. Wi-Fi Aware bypasses this problem by using the radio of the device’s Wi-Fi system to broadcast little messages over its normal channels until it finds another Wi-Fi Aware device in the area.
When devices find each other, they come together and go into a “heartbeat mode” which turns on and off periodically as communication with the other devices in the group occurs. This system makes it so that devices no longer need to constantly be using a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular data information to communicate with other devices, which is a known battery killer.
The Future of Connectivity
Wi-Fi Aware will revolutionize the way devices communicate with each other and lead this generation of tech-savvy kids into a greater world of connectivity. The technology is already certified to work with Broadcom’s BCM4358, MediaTek’s MT 6630, Intel’s Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260, and many more. The Wi-Fi Aware Wi-Fi upgrade is expected to roll out later this year.
