Monday 14 May 2012

Wi-fi-blocking wallpaper set for launch

 Wi-fi-blocking wallpaper set for launch

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you. Or, indeed, trying to fry your brains with electronic waves.

If you come out in a cold sweat at the thought of all the invisible waves pinging around your four walls - and don't fancy clambering into a Faraday cage for some protection - then you might be due a spot of redecorating.Wi-fi-blocking wallpaper (image © Centre Technique du Papier)

Researchers at the Centre Technique du Papier have come up with a wallpaper that blocks wi-fi and mobile phone signals. Slap this stuff all over the walls, floor and ceiling of your bedroom and you'll create a haven that takes you back to a time before phone networks and the mobile internet even existed.

Well, it's one way to stop your partner from making those bedtime Facebook updates.

The wallpaper - dubbed Metapaper by its creators - only blocks wi-fi and mobile phone signals. So your incoming FreeView TV signal, for instance, can still get through your walls.

Although it's likely to be most useful in places where ringing mobiles and other electromagnetic disturbance is a genuine problem (such as theatres, concert halls and hospitals) Metapaper is also set to be made available for private purchase.

As well as blocking signals coming in, it also blocks your own signals from going out - so you could also look at this as adding an extra level of security, since your wi-fi network could potentially be limited to just your own home.

The team behind the wallpaper says it works by using conductive ink that filters out the specific frequencies that carry mobile phone (GSM) or wi-fi signals (0.9, 1.8 and 2.1 GHz for mobile phones, 2.45 and 5.5 GHz for wi-fi).

It's set to go on sale next year at a price that should be no higher than what you would expect to pay for mid-range wallpaper. The technology could also be integrated into plasterboard, wood or floor coverings.

 http://tech.uk.msn.com/blog/tech-and-gadgets-blogpost.aspx?post=505e6c3e-8d2a-40d3-88a1-4b521fda21b2