This Promising Wireless Tech Could Help Power the Future Metaverse

In an in-depth feature, CoinDesk highlighted how Ixana’s Wi-R technology, developed at Purdue University, could reshape the way humans interact with computers in immersive digital worlds. Instead of broadcasting like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, Wi-R uses Electro-Quasistatic (EQS) fields to transmit data along the surface of the body, enabling private and energy-efficient communication.

Wire-like Communication for Wearables and AR

The article explains that Wi-R acts as a wireless wire—allowing connected wearables, AR headsets, and sensors on the human body to exchange data securely without radiation losses or interference. This solves a key “last-meter” challenge in Body Area Networks (BANs) and could form the backbone for personal networks powering metaverse devices.

Efficiency and Security

Wi-R’s 100x higher energy efficiency compared with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi positions it as a breakthrough for compact, battery-powered systems. Since the EQS field is confined around the user, the technology also adds a physical layer of privacy, making snooping nearly impossible.

Toward the Metaverse of Things

Dr. Shreyas Sen, the inventor of Wi-R and founder of Ixana, described the technology’s potential to enable “intent-based computing,” where interactions, gestures, and touch can seamlessly trigger communication. CoinDesk notes that Wi-R could allow for low-latency, distributed AI across wearables, turning the human into a high-bandwidth network node.

With prototypes already proving megabit-per-second transfer rates at ultra-low energy, Wi-R could underpin next-generation metaverse experiences — connecting humans and devices in ways traditional wireless standards cannot.

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