Component manufacturer Cypress is touting a new wireless standard designed to free keyboards, mice and game controllers from their cables. Wireless USB allows any of these USB peripherals to operate wirelessly with your PC. Wireless USB's can connect you to a whole new world of PC experiences. Using wireless USB we can connect you to others through video conferencing and PC-telephony.

WUSB, appropriately named, is a new chipset designed to facilitate point-to-point wireless USB. WUSB is the fastest available wireless USB solution in its cost-class. It targets both existing product integration, like printers and cameras, and also point-to-point wireless USB dongles. WUSB is ideal for point-to-point connections from PC to PC, PC to a peripheral like a printer or camera, and peripheral to peripheral, like a digital camera to a printer. WUSB is built using Xing Multithreaded processor technology and a 3 Mbps RF front-end for an ultra fast, ultra reliable, and ultra secure invisible link. The overhead required for maintaining hardwired networks - cost of cabling, manpower and time - is virtually eliminated using wireless technology.

Wireless serial technology creates virtually endless new opportunities in the way companies conduct business. No longer are your serial devices 'tied' to a PC. Wireless connectivity provides mobility that was previously unavailable without the cost and inconvenience of installing new cabling. One example is a retailer using a wireless kiosk with a bar code reader attached, communicating with the main store computer from a remote location either in the store, or even in a mall. The flexibility of wireless makes WUSB is an ideal solution for many applications, including point-of-sale, industrial control and simplified LAN expansion."

Cypress Semiconductor 's Wireless USB family of products is now underway, with the Cypress CY694X being the first solution that enables manufacturers of human-interface devices (HID) including PC mice, keyboards and gaming consoles to eliminate cords whilst maintaining compatibility with existing USB accessories.

operating at 2.4 GHz, the same frequency Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless networks use, the CY694X can connect as many as seven devices up to 10 meters (30 feet) apart, making Wireless USB a low-cost wireless RF solution - and possibly an alternative to Bluetooth. With an average latency of less than 8 milliseconds with four concurrent devices connected and less than 20 milliseconds with the maximum number of devices connected, Wireless USB is also capable of serving the high-demand gaming market where a latency of 30 milliseconds is generally the maximum allowed. I is possible to use multiple Wireless USB devices in crowded offices and classrooms without fear of interference between devices.

WUSB incorporates a highly reliable RF protocol and an advanced USB management scheme to facilitate transparent USB transactions. The WUSB firmware incorporates several layers of error protection including DSSS forward error correction encoding, packet re-transmits, and CRC. Latency is also kept negligible with lightning fast data turnaround time.

Features wireless USB includes:

Transparent Wireless USB Connection.
Full-Speed USB 1.1 Compliant.
2.4 GHz RF for use in most regions of the world.
Range Up to 300m(outdoor), up to 100m(indoor)
3 Mbps to 11Mbps data rate
Data Stretching providing no drop in throughput compared to a wired Full-Speed USB device.
Low power consumption for portable devices
Complies with other 802.11b/g devices
Highly-Efficient Chip Antenna
USB Plug & Play
Supports Window 98SE/2000/ME/XP
Low power consumption

RADIO CHARACTERISTICS
Frequency Band :- 2.4 - 2.4835GHz
Modulation Technique :- 11Mbps and 5.5Mbps CCK; 2Mbps: DQPSK; 1Mbps: DBPSK
Spreading:- Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Driver Support :- Windows 98/Me/2000/XP

WUSB Applications
WUSB is ideal as a standalone product to connect two USB devices together. Simply plug one USB device into the first transceiver, and the other device into the second transceiver. Instantly, WUSB negotiates a wireless connection that is just as fast and responsive as if there were a wire in between.

Wireless PC USB. Connect a WUSB receiver to your PC and connect any WUSB compatible devices to it. These include the WUSB dongles and integrated WUSB devices.

The WUSB chipset is highly compact and versatile giving you the ability to build it directly into your product. Whether it is a digital camera or USB printer, WUSB makes USB connectivity easier than ever before.

WUSB is ideal for all kinds of USB applications including the following:

· Wireless USB dongles
· Wireless Internet Connection sharing through USB
· Wireless printer sharing through USB
· Wireless PDA synchronization
· Wireless Digital Camera
· Wireless printer connectivity

Point-To-Point USB Dongle - WUSB is ideal as a standalone product to connect two USB devices together. Simply plug one USB device into the first transceiver, and the other device into the second transceiver. Instantly, WUSB negotiates a wireless connection that is just as fast and responsive as if there were a wire in between.

Wireless PC USB - Connect a WUSB receiver to your PC and connect any WUSB compatible devices to it. These include the WUSB dongles and integrated WUSB devices.

General Product Integration - The WUSB chipset is highly compact and versatile giving you the ability to build it directly into your product. Whether it is a digital camera or USB printer, WUSB makes USB connectivity easier than ever before.

Wireless LAN - A wireless LAN links network users to LAN services without the hassle of cabling or wiring, which significantly brings mobile workers the freedom of staying connected to the network while roaming around a building or multiple buildings maintaining access to the Internet, e-mail, networked applications, and print services. WUSB device is the perfect solution for your wireless network applications based on the IEEE 802.11b standard that offers a data rate up to 11Mbps in a wireless LAN environment. It is a high-speed wireless network card that plugs into your notebook or desktop PC and accesses to the LAN or peer-to-peer networking easily without wires or cables.

The wireless USB adapter is perfect for anyone that wants to add wireless networking to a desktop PC without opening the case.

Bluetooth and WUSB
Bluetooth is a short-range cable replacement technology. Originally conceived by radio engineers as a low-cost, convenient and flexible communications technology that would enable any manner of electronic devices to communicate with one another using a common protocol. Bluetooth is regarded by most as a truly all-pervasive technology that will enable users to experience 'out of the box' communications with unknown, public or shared electronic devices. Bluetooth uses the unlicensed 2.4 - 2.483 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical band.

Unlike Bluetooth, Wireless USB provides a high level compatibility with existing USB human interface device software stacks, making it easier for peripheral and PC developers to roll out the technology. WUSB is primarily targeting keyboard, mouse and game controller makers, but it's not hard to see the technology being extended to other roles, such as wireless printing, where Bluetooth has had relatively little success.

Wireless USB isn't much use for some of other Bluetooth applications, most notable digicam picture transfers and PDA synchronization, largely because these all demand more bandwidth than Wireless USB can supply. Sync'ing a PDA using Bluetooth is slower than using a USB cable, but not enough to outweigh the benefit of eliminating cables.

The current 27 MHz technology for the HID markets offers limited capabilities for mice and keyboards and does not address the gaming market at all. The technology is however still far from entering shelves, the current treat to existing and competing technologies remains low for the time being.