Lan Barnes wrote:
On Fri, Nov 18, 2005 at 11:04:08AM -0800, Paul G. Allen wrote:
FKI (for KPLUG's Information), we (QUAKE Global, Inc.) now have modems
capable of fairly high wireless bandwidth. They use both satellite and
cellular connections. Think of them like an external dial-up modem only
with DSL speed. Drawback - they're not cheap (brand new product line means
low quantity which translates to higher production cost).
We are also working on higher bandwidth, lower cost satellite modems (think
Iridium). For someone willing to put in the development effort, these
things have a great potential.
PGA
I should say! As a wannabe cruiser, the idea of having internet access
on a sailboat in mid-Pacific is delicious. Not just a geek issue --
contact with friends and family (and emergency response), live weather
feeds, and the ability to order parts and have them meet you at the next
port of call.
So how does this satellite thing work? Is the satellite company my ISP?
It depends upon the network. We currently have ORBCOMM and Inmarsat D+. Both of
those are low bandwidth, small message size products mainly used for asset
tracking. Both are higher latency. With ORBCOMM you'd pay someone else for the
bandwidth, but the satellite company handles all the traffic. With Inmarsat D+,
you'd pay Satamatics (I think, I'm not 100% sure which company provides the
actual connection service) for the connection.
The cellular technology is akin to what Verizon and Cingular are now providing
for wireless broadband. The difference is these are data only, and can fall back
to ORBCOMM for lower bandwidth applications (e.g. - e-mail). To connect via
cellular, you would connect the modem to a server on the Internet, there are a
couple of companies that provide service. Airsis is one of them. You could also
connect to your own computer through a direct IP connection (the modem must know
the IP of the server it's connecting to). The satellite side of it operates via
e-mail. I'm probably going to put one in my car one of these days (though it
would be easier if I had an SUV with room for a LCD monitor and keyboard).
1Q 2006 we will be introducing our first Iridium product, of which I am
currently working on the software for. It's a more reliable network and has the
potential for higher bandwidth.
Most of our "modems" have ARM7TDMI processors, 2MB of DRAM, a meg or more of
flash, and various I/O (analog, digital, RS-232, and I2C), and onboard GPS. They
can (and in most customer applications they are) be used for data processing for
things like SCADA, alarm systems, tracking, e-mail, SMS, etc. We even have
modems in space sending pictures of the Earth back to ground stations. All but
the Inmarsat D+ and our newest modem (the Q1000 - the lowest cost satellite
modem in the world) use VxWorks as the OS.
We're also looking at developing other products as well for higher bandwidth,
lower cost, and lower latency, and greater coverage area (like the sailboat you
mentioned).
It's all a lot of fun, even more so since I just got a raise.
PGA
--
Paul G. Allen
Owner, Sr. Engineer, Security Specialist
Random Logic/Dream Park
www.randomlogic.com
--
[email protected]
http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
