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An open source WiFi chip would be super cool. I wonder how easy it would be to take the FPGA code from openwifi[0] and combine it with a radio on the same chip?

An open source WiFi chip would be super cool. I wonder how easy it would be to take the FPGA code from openwifi[0] and combine it with a radio on the same chip? [0] https://github.com/open-sdr/openwifi https://github.com/open-sdr/openwifi

pjc50 6y ago
The problem is that analogue IC design is a field that even digital IC design people regard as black magic. It's clearly possible for that to happen but the set of people who have the skills to do it is very narrow and most of them are probably prevented from doing it in their spare time by their employment agreements. I wonder how many "test chips" Google will let a non-expert team do to get it right? And whether they provide any "bringup" support?
- Taek 6y ago
  A big part of the "black magic" really comes down to insufficient tooling. And at least in hardware, insufficient tooling comes down to the fact that everything is open source and trade secret, and teams pretty much refuse to share knowledge with each other. An open source community would go a long way to fixing an issue like this, and these "black magic" projects are actually a fantastic place for the open source world to get started, because it's an area where there's a ton of room for improvement over the status quo.
- monocasa 6y ago
  They're only allowing parts that stay within the bounds of the PDK (which only allows digital designs) for now.
  - madengr 6y ago
    How does the PDK limit it to digital? Unless they are limiting you logic cells and not allowing scaled transistors.
yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
Even if you could technically make it work, I'd be very nervous around the legalities of that. Or is the Wi-Fi spectrum so unregulated that you can run without any certification at all?
- manquer 6y ago
  Certification has to do power of the signal and frequency. licensing is not required in some frequency bands like in 2.4 GHz used by WiFi.
  - ac29 6y ago
    WiFi equipment (and pretty much every other radio) requires certification in order to be sold in every country I am aware of. WiFI doesn't require a license to operate, but that doesn't mean you can just use any hardware you like (though I think there may be exceptions for hardware you build yourself, at least in the US).

pjc50 6y ago

The problem is that analogue IC design is a field that even digital IC design people regard as black magic. It's clearly possible for that to happen but the set of people who have the skills to do it is very narrow and most of them are probably prevented from doing it in their spare time by their employment agreements. I wonder how many "test chips" Google will let a non-expert team do to get it right? And whether they provide any "bringup" support?

Taek 6y ago
A big part of the "black magic" really comes down to insufficient tooling. And at least in hardware, insufficient tooling comes down to the fact that everything is open source and trade secret, and teams pretty much refuse to share knowledge with each other. An open source community would go a long way to fixing an issue like this, and these "black magic" projects are actually a fantastic place for the open source world to get started, because it's an area where there's a ton of room for improvement over the status quo.
monocasa 6y ago
They're only allowing parts that stay within the bounds of the PDK (which only allows digital designs) for now.
- madengr 6y ago
  How does the PDK limit it to digital? Unless they are limiting you logic cells and not allowing scaled transistors.

yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago

Even if you could technically make it work, I'd be very nervous around the legalities of that. Or is the Wi-Fi spectrum so unregulated that you can run without any certification at all?

manquer 6y ago
Certification has to do power of the signal and frequency. licensing is not required in some frequency bands like in 2.4 GHz used by WiFi.
- ac29 6y ago
  WiFi equipment (and pretty much every other radio) requires certification in order to be sold in every country I am aware of. WiFI doesn't require a license to operate, but that doesn't mean you can just use any hardware you like (though I think there may be exceptions for hardware you build yourself, at least in the US).