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Linksys WRT 1900AC. Curvier, and with four antennae.

Telling someone to take off their tinfoil hat isn't typically a compliment; it implies that a person subscribes to various conspiracy theories regarding aliens, telepathy, brain-implanted fries, and/or the healing powers of aluminum foil. Seriously–Google "Aluminum foil electrosmog" if you want to accept a cute trip down Crazy Lane. Now, researchers from Dartmouth and Columbia have released a new written report on how ordinary aluminum foil tin can exist combined with 3D printing to create a directional antenna that improves Wi-Fi operation.

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If you've ever lived in an apartment building or closely packed neighborhood, you're probably familiar with the Wi-Fi connection issues that can plague such living spaces. The number of people with wireless modems has risen sharply in the past decade, while the number of devices connecting to those modems has risen exponentially. To solve this problem, the enquiry team proposes WiPrint, described as follows:

A new computational approach to control wireless coverage by mounting signal reflectors in advisedly optimized shapes on wireless routers. Leveraging 3D reconstruction, fast-wave simulations in acoustics, computational optimization, and 3D fabrication, our method is low-cost, adapts to unlike wireless routers and physical environments, and has a far-reaching touch by interweaving computational techniques to solve primal bug in wireless advice.

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Translation: Thermoplastic + aluminum foil = better, more secure Wi-Fi.

To test its theory, the research team used a Linksys WRT54GL modem and tested overall signal propagation strength both from the 'native' Wi-Fi (no directional antenna) and with the directional antennas shown above. The antennas and their shapes were chosen based on a conscientious 3D modeling of the space in which the antennas would operate. The modeling approach the squad took was like to that used for caustic pattern, merely with ray traced radio waves as opposed to visible light. Equally the scientists point out, other solutions, like the antennas commonly institute at the dorsum of a modem, offer only coarse-grained adjustments to signal strength.

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The consequence from the tests was quite positive. Non only did the imitation model of point propagation closely match experimental results, the corporeality of Wi-Fi signal leaking into other, less-desired points of the room was reduced equally well. The total cost of materials for the test (not counting the 3D printer itself) came to about $45, compared with $9,000 for a directional antenna.

It'south not clear when this type of technology would or could come up to market place–the wide availability of such solutions would depend on both 3D printing condign widespread and the development of consumer-friendly radio ray tracing applications that could make a flooring program in a 1-3 story building, including a potential basement.