Wave Issue 9038 4/8/99 Article 8-01

***Infrared Data Association Approves High Speed Extension to
IrDA Increasing Current Transmission Rates Four-Fold
(March 31)

The Infrared Data Association (IrDA) announced that it has
approved a high-speed specification that allows transmission
rates of up to 16 Mb/s that represents a four-fold increase in
speed from the previous maximum data rate of 4 Mb/s.

Called VFIR (Very Fast IR), this extension brings end-users
faster throughput without an increase in cost and is backward
compatible with equipment employing the current data rate.

VFIR is the lowest cost and highest speed “cableless” technology
available today and is well suited for use in digital cameras,
scanners, portable storage devices, LANs, notebooks, desktops and
Windows CE devices.

The standard is based on a joint proposal from Hewlett-Packard
Company, IBM Corporation, and Sharp Corporation and incorporates
several features.

VFIR features a 16Mb/s Data Rate that is fully backward
compatible with previous implementations of IrDA, with reduced
latency of 100 microseconds. Link Distance (same as previous
versions of IrDA) -- 1 meter minimum and +/-15 degree field of
view.

Encoding—HHH(1,13) with scrambling that optimizes encoding
efficiency, duty cycle and duty cycle variation, and reduced
receiver latency of 100 microseconds for higher throughput. Minor
changes in the IrDA IrLAP protocol include defining a new data
rate bit for 16 Mb/s and increased window size from 7 to 127
(optional).

Optical components that support the VFIR specification have been
demonstrated by the Hewlett Packard Company and Sharp Corporation
at link distances over one meter using commercially available
LEDs. Optical transceivers are expected to be available by the
end of 1999. The price for a 16 Mb/s implementation is targeted
at less than $5.00.

With the standardization of the 16 Mb/s specification, Microsoft
plans to support VFIR in the next version of the Microsoft
Windows 2000 operating system. This will enhance the VFIR
adoption in desktop PC and notebook for applications that require
faster throughput such as LAN access and port replication.

IrDA is a non-profit corporation established in 1993 and headed
by a board of directors with a membership of over 160 companies
representing PC’s, telecommunications hardware, software,
components, and adapter markets. The association focuses on
providing IR standards to ensure the quality and interoperability
of the Infrared Technology.

www.irda.org