Scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed software that makes possible direct wireless (WiFi) communication between computers without intermediary devices (such as Internet routers). The software is available as a free download at http://www.wipeer.com.
The user-friendly software enables simple communication between computers in close proximity – up to 300 feet inside buildings to more than 900 feet in the open. The scientists say that direct communication between computers was not widely explored previously because of the long, complicated configuration process involved.
The WiPeer software makes possible the transfer of dozens of pictures from one computer to another in less than a minute, and a 700 MB file can be transferred in 15 minutes or less, depending on variables such as the age of the computer and the speed of its wireless network card. It is also possible to carry conduct private online chats or to play collaborative games such as chess.
"We want to bring this to as many people as possible," says Professor Roy Friedman of the Technion Faculty of Computer Science. "When there are two computers in the same room, it doesn't make sense that they must go out to the Internet to communicate. WiPeer’s main added value is the ability to keep things local.”
Prof. Friedman says the next stage is to develop WiPeer for the cellular phone. This would allow users to bypass the cellular operator, and to make free calls to anyone within close proximity (for example, in a shopping mall, school or stadium).
WiPeer was developed as part of the doctoral dissertation of students Vadim Drabkin, Gabi Kliot and Alon Kama under the direction of Prof. Friedman.
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