NASA researchers have conducted a successful test of Wi-Fi networking in a remote location to simulate terrain on another planet. BoingBoing pal Mike O points us to part of this article which states “Wi-Fi technology currently rates in the 1-to-3 range on NASA’s 10-point technology readiness scale,” and asks, “Does anyone know more about this scale? Is it an official thing or just a soundbite for the article?”
During a September field test at Meteor Crater, Ariz., NASA used Wi-Fi cells from Tropos Networks to measure a reliable 1 megabit/sec of solid data throughput at a range of 1.3 miles. A three-node network of Tropos 5110 Wi-Fi cells was set up over a two-square mile hot zone at Meteor Crater. Engineers used a laptop computer inside a moving vehicle, with no external antenna, and successfully transmitted data from a remote location through two nodes back to the base camp computer. Though NASA has no current plans to send Wi-Fi technology into space, researchers are examining Wi-Fi as a possible future communications support to interplanetary expeditions, including flights to Mars.
Link
Update: Joe Crawford points us to background on the NASA scale here.