Products: Overview

Bandspeed sells AirMaestro™ Spectrum Analysis solutions to OEMs for integration in their system-level products, enabling systems to automatically detect, classify and log interference from non-802.11 devices and dynamically adjust configuration settings to avoid the interference and improve network performance.

The AirMaestro Spectrum Analysis platform consists of the AirMaestro RF Signal Analyzer Integrated Circuit and AirMaestro Software that are designed to produce unparalleled radio-frequency interference detection, classification and management.

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• Superior detection and classification performance using dedicated hardware and embedded RISC processor
• Robust interference avoidance algorithms
• Highly-integrated: low-cost, low-power
• Can be integrated into systems with off-the-shelf 802.11n chip-sets

The Bandspeed AirMaestro RF Signal Analyzer supports scanning of all 802.11 channels, as well as 4.9 GHz Public Safety channels.  The embedded interference classification engine currently detects and classifies many interferers, including:

• Microwave Ovens (conventional)
• Microwave Ovens (inverter)
• Wireless Video Cameras (digital and analog, 2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• Analog Cordless Phones (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• FHSS Cordless Phones (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• DSSS Cordless Phones (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
• Bluetooth Devices
• Wireless Baby Monitors (FHSS, DSSS, Single-carrier)
• Wireless Game Controllers (PS2 and Xbox)
• RF Jammers (both narrowband and wideband)
• Wireless Mice
• Zigbee Devices
• Motion Detectors (S-band, radar-based)
• AirHORN Wi-Fi Signal Generator
• 802.11 Frequency Hopping Devices
• Canopy Wireless Devices
• Non-Wi-Fi Wireless Bridges

New interferers are added regularly through firmware upgrades. The RF Signal Analyzer also provides estimates of channel utilization based on both Wi-Fi and non-Wi-Fi devices.

Bandspeed utilizes the information captured from the RF environment to qualify all Wi-Fi channels and dynamically adjust a WLAN access point's channel setting to avoid interference.  This is part of the Listen+Learn(R) AICS (Automated and Intelligent Channel Selection) algorithm, which is policy-based and configurable.  This is far superior to alternative approaches that simply detect unclassified energy on the current channel and change to another channel.  With a simple energy-detect approach, the WLAN access points can change to channels that have worse performance over time.  By classifying interference on all WLAN channels and basing the channel selection on both current and historical interference detected, the system can automatically and intelligently select the best WLAN channel.  This prevents unnecessary channel hopping by the WLAN, adding more stability and performance to the network.

AirMaestro RF Signal Analyzer software was designed to easily integrate into existing OEM/ODM software stacks.  Local and remote user applications interface to the Embedded RF Signal Analyzer IC through Bandspeed Signal Analyzer (BSA) Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

AirMaestro Spectrum Analysis user application software allows the user to visualize the RF environment in a range of different ways:  from a dynamic channel management/quality display to advanced spectral analysis displays including scanning spectrograms, channel utilization over time plots and persistence displays.  Multiple AirMaestro RF Signal Analyzer-enabled products can be centrally monitored with this software.