Posted 07.01.2011 at 12:55 pm
26 Comments
DIDO Proposal
Steve Perlman
Steve Perlman, founder of the cloud-based gaming-on-demand service OnLive, claims to have discovered a new method of wireless communications that would not only drastically outpace what we have now, but would actually disprove many of the accepted rules of how wireless communications in general work.
First things first: This theory popped up in a presentation Perlman gave at the NExTWORK conference, and only received a small mention. There was no demonstration, no real proof given, and since his proposal flies directly in the face of the Shannon-Hartley Theorem, a guideline for wireless technologies, we're not inclined to really believe his claims. But! Sometimes somebody says something so crazy with such confidence that you have to sit up and take notice, and this particular idea would have such massive effects on communications technology that we're bound to at least encourage discussion about it. That's not to be taken as an endorsement, though.
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, here's what Perlman (all to briefly) proposed. DIDO is an entirely new radio system, with different towers and different chips that work in an (as yet undisclosed) entirely different way. He claims that DIDO would also be able to broadcast through solid objects that usually block cell signals, that it needs no bigger tower than a small base station "the size of a router," and that the base stations can broadcast a signal much farther than usual towers--up to 30 miles, at which point they'd be dealing with the curvature of the Earth, which Perlman says does not deter them.
Perlman said that his DIDO (distributed-input-distributed-output) system overcomes the traditional broadband system in which each user gets a small piece of the overall bandwidth of the tower to which they're connected. Instead, with DIDO, each user would be able to access the full speed of the tower.
Wired interviewed an electrical engineering professor who noted that elements of the Shannon-Hartley Theorem have in fact been disproved, or at least altered, with multiple-input-multiple-output systems, currently being used in the latest 4G tech. But nobody has yet seen Perlman's DIDO system in action, though he has patented it and insists he is "as confident" about DIDO as anything else he's ever designed. Us? We're skeptical--but that doesn't mean we wouldn't welcome a revolutionary wireless system.
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Of all the things PopSci trumpets THIS is what they hold back on? Give me a break!
There is a video of Perlman on youtube at a lecture at Columbia on June 4 2011 where he explains why he is not violating physics or the Shannon Law.
D*** it, whenever I think of a new idea, someone with money figures it out also. I know exactly what he is doing, and this new radio tech is what makes it possible.
@ marcopolo:
unfortunately for you, and others, this is how the world works.
just be glad it's happening.
Anybody can make rediculous claims, proving them is another matter entirely. Just look at how Republicans keep claiming that giving tax-breaks to the filthy-rich will somehow increase tax revenues, despite the growing debt because of tax-cuts!
@thomasmc, yes all due to the tax-cuts. I'm sure the gross amount of Wahington spending had nothing to do with it.
@thomasmc, its not just "giving tax-breaks to the filthy-rich", its giving breaks to everybody (yes including the rich). Reagan did it, and it worked, less taxes = more revenue(because it actually does stimulate the market, and those same people make more and businesses grow more and therefore pay more in taxes despite the cuts). Make sure you do some research before making a statement.
@thomasmc
Please keep drinking the kool-aid...it is quite tasty!
Getting off the Internet Trolls Politicoracism train for a second. Hope you guys don't mind.
This is interesting. While I'm a software guy, and hardware usually flies over my head, anything that can increase the speed of data transfer is A-OK with me. Hell, if every user can get full bandwidth simultaneously (not sure how he's going to manage that), I'd pay for that tech.
-IMP ;) :)
Demos talk, BS walks...
http://www.rainydaymagazine.com
"We Entertain When It Rains"
Good point, Rainy..
but even BS is good advertising.
Please keep your comments on topic.
but BS is the topic
Many people also dished skepticism about how OnLive would never work and what he proposed was impossible.
I say we should incline an ear.
I don't fully understand why every doubts him but it does sound like what he's proposing may be out there due to the reactions of the community. But it should be tested and examined before the final say. Give the man a break, alot of great achivements that were claimed were crazy talk at first. History shows us this and we shouldn't completely shoot someone down just because his new idea is out there. Give the man a chance. Besides the benifits it would bring sound freaking awesome
More info about the patent covering this tech: http://onlivespot.blogspot.com/2011/06/patent-covering-onlive-ceo-steve.html
The patent appears to back these claims.
Here's the video where OnLive CEO Steve Perlman speaks about this wireless tech: http://onlivespot.blogspot.com/2011/06/steve-perlman-unveils-amazing-new.html
The part about the wireless tech starts at 55 minutes.
Great article!
Don't be fooled by patent claims! There are millions of useless patents registered. They are only somewhat plausible and will never see the light of day.
However, typically there is no need for secrecy after the patent has been registered. So, where is a demo of the devices involved in this new wireless paradigm shift?
On the other side, the OnLive model is in it's infancy and has many pros and many cons. It needs all the promotion it can get.
@popfa
Thank you.
ROTFLMAO ! ...
Next?, ... You are going to be telling me that man will, some day, land on the Moon *and* return safely !
What incredulous tripe will you wishful dreamers come up with next ? Free Energy ?
HA!
Serioulsy, tho ... What will the power-players, who have invested so heavily in the current architecture "do" about such a development ? ... Better get some Threat-Level-V body armor and a food taster, guy.
the problem may not be weather it will work or not, but weather people accept it or not. all of this could be achieved by a super strong signal, but what about the radiation? there might not be very much, but if it produces more than what phones currently produce, then people won't want it, it will never make money, and will fail, even if it IS more efficient.
@-my name here-
*cough* whether *cough* *cough* f***ing whether, mate!
this is amazing, and this guy is the real deal, hope they can make it safe.
This tech would only work if all wireless devices were DIDO enabled. Pretty much all you are doing is creating a scatternet with WIFI. 1 tower broadcasts, each receiving device receives and transmits the original broadcast. So users well down the line can still receive the original signal that's being picked up and re-transmitted. At least this is how see it... I didn't watch the video mentioned, but I've worked with distributed operations before...
Playing Devil's Advocate since 1978
"The only constant in the universe is change"
-Heraclitus of Ephesus 535 BC - 475 BC
@codezero If you watch the video, he says that the signal isn't being retransmitted at all.