Two-dimensional Communication Sheet Provides Simple, Secure LAN Connection

(Business News & Technology News, 13 Oct 2009)

At a time when the communications trend is headed away from one-dimensional cable and toward three-dimensional wireless, Japan's Teijin Fibers has developed a unique medium for two-dimensional communication. Could this possibly be a step backward? Hardly.

Conventional one-dimensional communication transmits information through wires, which offers high security but requires complicated wiring, whereas three-dimensional communication uses wireless signals　for mobile communication, which poses security risks and occasional problems with interference because signals are transmitted through open space.

Teijin Fibers’ new two-dimensional communication sheet, called the CELL FORM, employs an entirely new technology that confines electromagnetic waves to a cell within and around a special thin sheet. Connection between the sheet and a laptop equipped for wireless local area networks (WLANs) is established when the PC is placed on the sheet. The sheet can be several meters long and accommodate multiple PCs at the same time.

As the microwave signal is transmitted in the sheet, a shorter wavelength signal wave seeps from the surface into vicinity of the sheet. Known as an evanescent wave because it is not dispersed widely, the highly localized signal helps to prevent signal theft sometimes associated with WLANs. The result is a secure, high-speed, low-power signal between the computer and the sheet. CELL FORM also helps to create a clean, smart-looking office by eliminating the complicated cabling needed to connect hard-wired computers to a network, a common eyesore in many offices.

The communication technology of CELL FORM, called @CELL, was developed by Cellcross Co. Ltd, a spin-off venture company from the University of Tokyo in which Teijin Fibers owns approximately 10 percent share and has contributed specialized material and manufacturing know-how.

One of the most promising applications of CELL FORM which Teijin Fibers is co-developing with Cellcross is its potential use with products containing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, an automatic-recognition technology that passively transmits information stored in tags. Tagged products can be instantly identified as they are taken off the sheet, making CELL FORM ideal for anti-theft or real-time inventory applications in a variety businesses, including retail stores selling medicines, books or many other kinds of products. The RFID signals are picked up via　the CELL FORM sheet that functions as an antenna. Stable reception is possible even when metal objects are nearby, as well as in environments unfriendly to radio waves.

Teijin Fibers envisions many other potential applications, including substitutes for wire harnesses and signal cables in cars and airplanes, artificial skins for robots, wearable computing, gaming systems in amusement parks, wireless power supply and much more.