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Application Areas

• Radio Network Management and Systems Innovations

Quick Pitch

A software solution for automated and real-time RF diagnosis of non-WiFi interference to WiFi devices

Abstract

Airshark is a software-based solution that provides real-time interference diagnosis capability to WiFi devices. In particular, Airshark provides continuous detection of various sources of interference in the RF medium, their approximate location, and their relative impact on ongoing WiFi communication. For example, the system can inform a WiFi user that a nearby microwave oven is primarily responsible for all its poor performance, but a further away cordless phone is not.

The unique problem solved by Airshark is that it implements an ability to detect non-WiFi sources of interference and their impact using commodity WiFi hardware. As a consequence, this solution can be implemented in any WiFi device. Unlike Airshark, existing products in the market (such as WiSpy by Metageek and Spectrum XT by Fluke Networks) rely on custom spectrum analysis hardware to solve a more limited version of this problem. Airshark, thus, makes it practical to integrate spectrum analysis capabilities in any WiFi-capable device alone eliminating the need for custom additional hardware.rnrnAt the current time, we have already developed preliminary prototypes of Airshark in our laboratory environment with great success. Our results indicate high accuracy of interferer detection.

Airshark has great commercial applications in the continuously growing commercial and enterprise WLAN markets. We anticipate rolling a client side standalone version of Airshark in the near term. In addition, we also plan to create a SDK based on Airshark that will allow for easy integration of this capability into existing offerings of other vendors. Such integration will open licensing opportunities for our solution. The solution itself can be deployed either as a client side solution (like WiSpy and Spectrum XT) or an Access Point side solution (by an enterprise WLAN vendor).rnrnIn September 2011, our work was reported by the broad technical community through a number of different forums. Examples include Network World, Slashdot, Boing Boing, The Register (UK), and many more. A complete list of such media coverage is available at:
http://research.cs.wisc.edu/wings/projects/airshark

Airshark falls in the radio network management and systems innovations emphasis area of this competition. The solutions developed by us has significant and valuable Intellectual Property. We are in the process of filing for patent protection for this technology through the USPTO.

Recent studies by organizations such as Infiniti Research indicate that the market size for such wireless network management technologies is anticipated to reach $718 million in the year 2014 only in the enterprise network space. Further, quick profitability and success of some existing incumbents (Metageek and Fluke Networks) indicate the viability of improved products in this space.

Technical Proposal

Personal Statement

Suman Banerjee: A tenured professor in CS/ECE @ UW-Madison and one of the co-inventors of the Airshark. Along with students, I have been intrinsically involved in all aspects of its design and implementation. In recent months, I have started exploring the commercial viability of this solution.rnIn the past, I have been involved in other technology commercialization effortsrnpast, serving as the CTO of a small startup (called Harvest Power Technologies, inrnthe smart energy domain). In June 2011, another technology from my lab (WiRover) was the grand prize winner of Wisconsin Governor\'s Business Plan Competition, which eventually was also the recipient of a National Science Foundation SBIR grant. have strong ongoing collaborations and interactions with all leading networkingrncompanies in the mobile and wireless networking space.

Ashish Patro: PhD student of Prof. Banerjee in CS @ UW-Madison also involvedrnwith all aspects of the project with strong expertise in wireless systems.

Online References

• Wi-Fi Cards Can Now Detect Microwave Ovens - Slashdot
  An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at UW Madison have used regular WiFi cards to detect non-WiFi interference sources like microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, Xbox controllers and video cameras. They call their software Airshark. Current products like Wispy, Spectrum Expert are...
  source: mobile.slashdot.org
• Interference-dodging app sidesteps Wi-Fi band-hoggers • The Register
  source: www.theregister.co.uk