| Research using Wi-Fi to make cell phone calls | 
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| Written by Johnathan Silver, The Shorthorn senior staff | ||||
| Wednesday, 04 November 2009 06:06 PM | ||||
| UTA students are helping to find a solution for
dropped cell phone calls. Student researchers at CReWMaN, a computer science and engineering lab, are working on ways to use Wi-Fi to make cell phone calls without wasting minutes. The Wi-Fi network maintains calls in places where calls usually drop, like in buildings’ underground levels for example. Founded in 2000, CReWMaN, which means Center for Research in Wireless Mobility and Networking, focuses on developing products to help move technology forward into the 21st century. The Wi-Fi project is just one of many. For smart phones and other wireless technologies the students work in association with Dallas-based software developer Varaha Systems Inc. Jogen Patak, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, said having phone calls dropped is a risk people shouldn’t have to take. “It gives you alternative communication, for example in the case of an emergency,” Patak said. “This is adding an additional security.” Wi-Fi-based calls are safe and cost effective, he added. Patak said he wants to spread this technology throughout the community and said students were at the forefront. Patak said he chose to work with UTA’s engineering students because they have the ability to work in a real-world setting. “I’m impressed with their tenacity and their ability to take initiative,” he said. Students in the lab attributed their hard work to Sajal Das, the lab’s founder and director. He only chooses the best and most determined students, said Na Li, one of CReWMaN’s researchers and a computer science graduate student. Das helps make the lab welcoming and tough when it needs to be, she said. “In other labs, the working environment is like one boss and a bunch of laborers,” she said. “Here, we’re like children in a big family. We share all kinds of information.” Wireless technology is the tip of the iceberg, Das said. “This is the forefront of wireless communication, the students are satisfied that they are not doing something just out of books,” he said. Demonstrations of the team’s capabilities include making phone calls with iPhones and iPods. The next step – using this technology to conduct video conferences and mobile television. “We’re not interested in developing a product tomorrow,” said Giacomo Ghidini, computer science graduate student. “We’re interested in understanding what the problem is and having directions for a solution.“ Views: 96 | E-mail
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