Nortel Buzzboard

A picture of a prototype wireless mesh enabled robot at the Ashikaga Institute of Technology (AIT)Is it the first sign of robots taking over mankind, or just a really cool application for using Wireless Mesh? I’ll let you decide that. But when I read the headline of Nortel’s latest press release - Nortel Wireless Network Liberates Robots at Ashikaga Institute of Technology - I knew I had to read more about it.

The university has deployed a campus-wide wireless mesh network, and outfitted the mobile robots with wireless capabilities as well — allowing them to send back video and other data while on the move. An example application given in the release is a disaster rescue situation, where robots are being used to venture into places too dangerous (or too small) for people to go. By using a wireless mesh network for connectivity, the roaming robot has more freedom to move than today’s versions, which are commonly tethered using a cable to bring back images and data.

The AIT wireless network is built around the Nortel Wireless Gateway 7250, an enterprise-class router that securely manages mobility within wireless mesh networks, and the Nortel Wireless Access Point 7220, which offers 802.11b/g connectivity and utilizes auto-discovery and self-routing technology to link access points into extensive wireless mesh networks.