Ethertronics wants to make in-home Wi-Fi issues a thing of the past

Smart antenna maker Ethertronics is taking active antenna technology it originally developed for mobile phones and applying it to Wi-Fi routers and gadgets. Its hope is to create consumer wireless networks that can make that leap to the furthest reaches of your home where Wi-Fi signals typically never penetrate. Ethertronics unveiled a new chip on Tuesday that will bring its active steering algorithms to Wi-Fi antennas, increasing their range and boosting their throughput in less than optimal conditions. Active steering essentially creates multiple radiation patterns around the same antenna and then selects the ideal pattern to hit its targeted device with best signal. Ethertronics developed the technology to overcome the frenetic movements and rapidly mutating radio conditions of a topsy turvy mobile world, but with the newest version of its EtherChip, active steering helps signals navigate the multiple walls and ceilings that often separate a router from a Wi-Fi device, Ethertronics Chief Scientist Jeff Shamblin told me.