What’s IRACON about? A layperson description

Researchers from the IRACON COST Action are developing new technologies that will enable the usage of new services in mobile phones, such as augmented reality games where a 3D view of fantasy scenarios is superimposed to real ones, and also the connection of devices for professional purposes, such as remote surgery where surgeons operate patients in rural areas many kilometres away from hospitals.

To achieve these goals, there are three major parameters that need to be improved: increase data speed transmission, reduce transmission delay, and increase connectivity capacity.

Several techniques need to be improved or developed from scratch, including the way that information is transmitted between the phones and the internet, the embedding of antennas and sensors into daily usage clothes, the optimum location of internet nodes in urban environments, new structures for the communication nodes of the internet network, and an increased usage of computers in communication networks.

Although mobile phones have been around for several decades, the communication capabilities have evolved a lot since their initial use for just a simple phone call to nowadays internet access and videos visualisation.  With the advances being researched by COST IRACON, many new services will be enabled, which will further change people’s daily lives, as well as the way they exercise their professions.

Luis M Correia