Imagine that you have access to your favourite TV channels on your handheld device (Blackberry, iPhone, Laptop, etc) and can enjoy watching consistent high quality live broadcasting, such as hockey games or the Olympic ceremonies. Further imagine that as a business owner, you could conveniently upload your video advertising materials to different digital displays throughout a city (highway billboards, shopping mall displays, subway station terminals, etc) all in one shot and targeted to different “time of day” audiences.
Unfortunately, at present time wireless service providers cannot efficiently multicast (send one video stream to many receivers) to the intended receivers due to an intrinsic wireless communications system problem known as “wireless channel fading”. However, the future of wireless multicasting now looks a lot more promising since Dr. Pin-Han Ho (UW – ECE faculty member) and Dr. James She (PhD. graduate) invented the Wireless Media Express™ technology that generates an intelligent multicast signal that maximizes the video quality for all intended receivers, regardless of receiver channel quality status, thus solving the wireless channel fading problem.
The Waterloo Commercialization Office (WatCo) working in partnership with Dr. Ho and Dr. She have filed patent applications on three related and complimentary technologies that comprise the Wireless Media Express™ platform. To take this technology to the next level of commercial readiness, a prototype system needs to be built to fine tune the technical details and to demonstrate the system to potential commercial partners, such as wireless service providers. Khosrow Modarressi, an ICT commercialization specialist within WatCo, has successfully worked with the researchers to secure $180K of prototype development funding from the C4 Network - Proof of Principle, the NSERC-Idea to Innovation, and Ontario Centres of Excellence-Market Readiness programs. Each of these programs involves an independent commercialization due diligence review by a panel of business professionals. Thus, passing three different business due diligence reviews in a relative short period of time (all within 2008) is certainly a strong independent third party proxy as to the commercialization potential of this technology. The first generation Wireless Media Express™ prototype is expected to be up and running towards the end of 2009 and WatCo has begun exploratory discussions with numerous potential commercial partners who will get a first opportunity to see the working prototype system in action.
As a footnote to this story, WatCo nominated Dr. James She as a UW contender for the prestigious NSERC Innovation Challenge Award (a national award that recognizes the impact of the innovation and potential applications of the Ph.D. research). Based on the technical innovation embodied in Dr. She’s thesis and WatCo’s support in advancing the commercial readiness of the technology, Dr. She and the Wireless Media Express™ was awarded a first runner-up prize of $5k.