Wireless technology to help health and travel

Ofcom report could be straight out of a science fiction novel

Wireless technology will be used to improve road safety and aid medical care within the next 10 to 20 years, according to research by Ofcom.

The report, Tomorrow’s Wireless World: Future communications technology, looked at technologies being developed.

In the health sector it said wireless sensors implanted in the body or worn outside can monitor a range of conditions including diabetes, heart conditions and asthma.

Ofcom said these wireless monitors could send medical information to devices such as doctors' mobile phones or hand-held computers.

Other useful wireless applications include “smart drug dispensing”, which could be used on pill boxes or bottles to sense if they had been opened each day at the appropriate time.

If they had not, an alarm would remind a patient, or a text message sent to notify a doctor. Ofcom said this technology could be important for older people living alone.

The regulator also suggested that radio frequency ID tags could be put on food products to allow allergy sufferers to screen ingredients more safely.

Transport was also another area predicted to benefit from wireless technologies. Ofcom said that by 2015 cars would be able to communicate with each other using wireless devices so, for example, a driver knows if the car in front has its brakes applied.

The report said some cars would also be installed with sensors that could automatically inform emergency services in the event of a crash, or warn drivers of traffic congestion.

Professor William Webb, Ofcom's head of research and development, said: “Our lives continue to be transformed by developments in wireless technology.

“Ofcom’s research and development report highlights how a range of innovative new technologies could enhance transport and healthcare.

"It helps Ofcom plan for future spectrum use to benefit citizens and consumers."

According to the report, most of the applications identified would rely on existing technologies such as Wifi and mobile networks, of which there is already spectrum available. Eventually, however, new spectrum would need to be released to cope with the growing demand new technologies would bring.