Developers at the North Carolina State University have developed software that could improve Wi-Fi performance substantially depending on the weight on the network. The piece of software is called WiFox, and it works by diverting traffic away from clogged Wi-Fi channels allowing for improved data flow and maximum Wi-Fi performance.
Although the idea of it seems a little farfetched, the developers insist that WiFox does work. In a test, the team was able to obtain results that proved that WiFox improved the speed of the Wi-Fi connection they were testing between 400 and 700 percent. It should also be noted that with the more people trying to connect through a single channel, the quicker the software reacts to the congestion.
Additionally, we know that a project proposal for WiFox’s implementation will be discussed at the ACM CoNEXT 2012 conference in Nice, France, between the 10th and 13th of December, so we’ll have more to share around that time.
The best and most important fact about this piece of software, is that should the software exit its final testing phase and the proposal is accepted, we could see this being offered to existing Wi-Fi networks via an update; meaning the hassle of manually reconfiguring networks and tweaking hardware will be out of the question. This could mean the end of ridiculously slow wireless hotspots for us all.
Source: Engadget