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Technology developed by MeshNetworks Inc. will link thousands of kiosks at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the company plans to announce Monday.
Capinfo Co. Ltd., the designated provider of telecommunications solutions for the Beijing Olympics, will announce Monday that the mesh technology will be used to connect as many as 5,000 informational kiosks at the games as part of the Digital Beijing initiative. The kiosks will allow visitors to get information and view recent highlights.
MeshNetworks also will disclose that it has worked with Itochu Technology Inc., the Silicon Valley-based business development and venture investing arm of Itochu Corp., to establish MeshNetworks Japan.
While todays WiFi networks use wireless access points connected by a wired infrastructure, mesh networks are seen as a means to transform access points into both the receivers and transmitters, which can be relocated without fear of disrupting the network.
Technology developed by MeshNetworks, PacketHop Inc. and others dynamically configures the network to accommodate physical changes in location of the access points, interference or other factors.
“As we start the enormous task of preparing for Chinas first Olympic Games, we needed a robust, survivable and cost-effective wireless networking product we could begin deploying immediately,” Chen Xinxiang, executive director and chairman at Capinfo, said in a statement. “MeshNetworks technology is state-of-the-art and will allow us to provide the highest level of service to all the Olympic participants and attendees.”
In March, MeshNetworks announced its MeshConnex software suite, an embedded, radio-agnostic software suite designed to allow virtually any wireless OEM to turn the WiFi radio into an ad hoc network.
MeshNetworks also will announce Monday that it has moved into the Japanese market by forming MeshNetworks Japan in conjunction with the U.S. arm of Itochu Corp., a Fortune 20 trading company based in Tokyo. MeshNetworks Japan will be wholly owned by Itochu and will sell its products directly to Japanese OEMs.
Under the terms of the agreement, MeshNetworks Inc. will license its technology to Itochu, which then will sublicense the technology to MeshNetworks Japan, a Japanese OEM. Itochu Technology Inc., the U.S. arm, will distribute products sold by Itochu subsidiaries.