Over
the last ten years, the emergence of license-free wireless networking
technologies has been one of the most exciting developments in the
communications area. These technologies are already widely used in
wireless
local area networks, which provide local area connectivity in computer
networks. Wireless personal area networks (WPANs), which communicate
using
license-free radios over much shorter distances, are emerging to bring
ubiquitous network connectivity to consumer electronic devices. First
generation WPANs based on the Bluetooth technology are already widely
deployed
in cellular telephones, audio headsets, and personal digital
assistants. In the
next few years, high data rate WPANs, especially those employing ultra
wideband
(UWB) transmissions, will increasingly provide multimedia connectivity
to home
entertainment systems. This presentation will describe the advances of
WPAN
technologies from Bluetooth to high data rate WPANs. Research results
in
Bluetooth and high data rate WPANs accomplished at the