I Just Saw the Wireless Body-Transmitting Network That My Future Wearables Need

How many wearables could you realistically use at once and still have them work together reliably? A demo from Ixana showcased multiple devices running on a low-latency Wi-R personal wireless network that could outperform Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Scott Stein/CNET

I've seen enough smart glasses, watches and rings to know that they don't usually like playing together well. And it's not just a question of combining interfaces -- connection issues come up, too. Bluetooth connections can be janky, for example, especially when handling multiple devices.

I wasn't aware of Ixana or Wi-R before. It's a wireless protocol and chipset designed for extremely short-range connections, with higher bandwidth and lower latency between devices. For several years, the Indiana-based startup has been advancing these device-connecting ideas, including defense-focused work with the US Air Force and US Army. But now Ixana's team says it's ready to develop a more advanced version of its chipset that would allow glasses, watches, rings, earbuds and other wearables to share up to 20 megabits per second of bandwidth with one another, as long as they're in close proximity on your body.

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I met with Shreyas Sen, Ixana's founder and CTO, and Bob Twomey, VP of worldwide sales, at CES 2026 to break down the idea of the technology and what it could achieve. It genuinely sounds like the next-generation local wireless personal network I've been hoping for -- one that would let my wearables communicate directly without relying on Bluetooth.

Me testing Ixana's prototype pendant and wireless earbuds for audio streaming over the Wi-R body network. The connection dropped just a few centimeters beyond my body but automatically reconnected once back in range. Scott Stein/CNET

The demos I saw in the in a Las Vegas hotel suite were limited, but they already have me excited about the possibilities the technology opens up. I wore special prototype earbuds and a music pendant equipped with Wi-R compatibility and heard music playing, although it cut out when I moved the earbuds a certain distance away from my body.

In another demo, an Ixana team member wearing prototype dual smart bands, a pendant, smart glasses and earbuds showed me how information could be shared across all the devices with a combined 5 Mbps data throughput. While that isn't much bandwidth for data-heavy tasks like streaming video, it could be enough to let sensor data, music and other information flow between wearables without breaking their connection.

Some of the military communication equipment tech Ixana currently works on. Wi-R promises no radiation of information beyond a small personal radius, making operations more secure. Scott Stein/CNET

Wi-R can work at distances of up to 5 centimeters from your skin, so it should still function through clothing or even heavy jackets. Some of the military equipment Ixana showed me already is made to work in that capacity.

It doesn't radiate a signal beyond that short range, which could make it a more secure and private personal body network. That's something Ixana leans on for its military-focused projects, Twomy and Sen tell me.

The goal for Ixana now is to enable more continuous streaming of video and audio data in always-on AI wearables such as smart glasses with cameras or smart pendants. Activating always-on live AI modes in today's smart glasses, like the Meta Ray-Bans, drains battery fast. That's partly because of active network activity. Ixana says Wi-R is much more power-efficient than either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so a pair of glasses could stream live for up to 8 hours.

Fist-bumping data between wearables: The demo showed information transferring from one device to another as soon as both hands came into close range. Scott Stein/CNET

I also saw a local data transfer demo between two phones and two people wearing prototype wristband wearables, with information exchanged only when they were in close range. This local conduit is what Ixana sees as an alternative to AirDrop, and similar technology. But what interested me is how this it could possibly let multiple low-power wearables -- health sensors, neural inputs or anything else -- recognize and talk to teach other.

I'm already wearing smart glasses a lot. I wear a smart watch. I sometimes wear a smart ring. I wear earbuds. They don't all connect with each other, and they often fall out of Bluetooth connection, or have connection problems in crowded places. If we're heading toward an era of mission-critical, continuously data-streaming wearable networks -- ones constantly funneling information back and forth for AI analysis -- I'd want those wearables to be as reliable as possible. Could Ixana's Wi-R offer a faster, more reliable, lower-latency option (under 1 millisecond, according to its performance tests) that helps the next generation of wearables simply work better?

A live dashboard of data moving between connected wearables, worn by someone in the room with me. Five devices share one network that could connect with glasses. Scott Stein/CNET

Ixana appears poised to make a move into consumer products, but a new wireless protocol that isn't yet a standard would require broad industry agreement, or companies choosing to adopt the idea within their own wearable ecosystems.

I am now sort of obsessed: Could Ixana's idea be exactly what the next wave of smart glasses and peripherals needs? I'd love if my own wearables had fast cross-awareness like this. While the idea of a data network passing through my body is a little intimidating, I'm intrigued to see what happens with this tech next.

Of all the things I saw in my scattered time at CES this year, it might be Wi-R that I think about the most. Ixana's already in talks with what it says are all the major tech companies, although whether anything will manifest anytime soon is unknown. If it's all as good as it sounds -- more power efficient, less laggy, more secure and multidevice-friendly -- I hope it happens soon.