CWINS / Wireless LAN Research Laboratory: Motivation

While interest in wireless LANs has grown markedly over the past three years, many potential customers and users remain reluctant to explore the possibilities inherent in wireless LAN systems and technology. We believe that user reticence is based on a number of factors:

First, many potential users remain unaware of the benefits of wireless LANs, especially in cost reduction, installation flexibility, and especially mobility.
Second, application success stories have been difficult to find (this being part of a greater industry-wide public-relations problem).
Perhaps most importantly, an unbiased, comprehensive source of technical information on wireless LANs does not exist today. Individual LAN vendors and independent consulting firms cannot devote the single-minded focus necessary to provide the broad range of information briefs, and scholarly work required to build strong technical legitimacy behind wireless LANs.

For these reasons, the authors of this document propose to establish the Wireless LANs Research Laboratory (WLRL) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to help fill this important need. The plans outlined below will result in great benefit especially to participating companies and to the industry as a whole.