New Technique Turns Any Object into an FM Radio
Transmitters? We don’t need any stinkin’ transmitters. Or encoders. All we need is to harness a technique called “backscattering” which can turn any object–even your jacket–into an FM radio. Tom points to this article at The Stack.
A new technology is enabling everyday objects, such as posters and clothing, to be transformed into FM radio stations, according to research from the University of Washington.
The team has introduced a technique called ‘backscattering’ which uses ambient low-power radio signals to broadcast messages from random objects to smartphones in the local vicinity. The researchers hope that the development could help support various smart city applications, and picture a future where anything from a poster at a bus stop to a road sign can transmit audio updates and information to passers-by.
During testing, the researchers were able to use the backscattering technique to create a ‘singing poster’ which could send out the music of an advertised band to smartphone users at a distance of up to 4 metres and to cars in an 18-metre radius.
