Free Australia Wireless » sjors http://www.freeaustraliawireless.com Community-driven free wireless internet, through shared wifi. One Web for everyone. Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:55:23 +0000 en hourly 1 Cars – what do they have to do with free wireless? http://www.freeaustraliawireless.com/2008/07/15/cars-what-do-they-have-to-do-with-free-wireless/ http://www.freeaustraliawireless.com/2008/07/15/cars-what-do-they-have-to-do-with-free-wireless/#comments Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:08:17 +0000 sjors http://www.freeaustraliawireless.com/?p=177 Post from: Free Australia Wireless

Cars – what do they have to do with free wireless?

]]> Robin Chase, founder of Zipcar, the world’s biggest car-sharing business , gave a 13 minute talk on TED last year. She recommends that we leverage the growing communication needs of cars and turn congested streets into a wireless hotspot paradise.

Cars already use wireless technology to communicate with toll roads, etc, but currently this is done via a “black box” that is designed for only one purpose. In stead, she suggests that this kind of communication is done via the Internet. To that end, every car should be equipped with a (dirt cheap) wireless mesh device that extends the Internet into the car and to any other cars nearby.

An additional advantage is that because the resulting network is completely decentralized and powered by car batteries, it is extremely robust: the only network still functioning in New Orleans after Katrina was… guess what: a mesh network.

You can view her talk over at TED: Robin Chase: Getting cars off the road and data into the skies.

Post from: Free Australia Wireless

Cars – what do they have to do with free wireless?

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