14 DAY TRIAL // Wireless technologies work fairly fast these days, but there is always room for improvement, especially with the common sizes of files always growing, so Rohm took it upon itself to enable faster transmissions.
Like with any great milestone, there are good news and bad news.
The bad news is that the new chip that Rohm invented will not enter mass production right away, not even close.
The good news is that the 1.5 Gigabit per second transfer rate that it has, so far, attained is just a small part of what it can achieve.
Rohm is convinced that, with time, it will succeed in getting data relayed, wirelessly, at 30 Gbps, or close enough.
The processor was invented with the help of researchers from Osaka University.
It employs terahertz waves for communications and has a module size of 2 x 1 cm, to which a micro antenna is attached.
1.5 Gbps is already the best there is, or the best there will be, whenever the company gets around to mass producing it.
That will be three to four years from now, which is a lot, but at least Rohm will have time to make it even faster by then.
Either way, there is quite a bit to look forward to, particularly when factoring in the size and price.
The existing terahertz-based wireless chips are about 20cm square in size, have a maximum speed of 0.1 Gbps and cost several million yen each.
The very small, 100 yen (US $1.30) Rohm invention is basically a wonder child in comparison.
We'll let physicians figure out if the signals will become any danger to our health. Given the performance, we imagine them to be quite intense and, with today's cellphones already accused of slowly damaging brain cells, there probably will be a deep investigation into how hazardous more advancements in wireless technologies can be.