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About CSIRO

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

CSIRO's core areas of impact

Contact Enquiries: Phone - 1300 363 400 | Email - Enquiries@csiro.au | Contact Us

Capability

 
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The centre of the image is red, radiating out to orange and blue at the edges.
Simulation of the signal strength of a wireless local area network operating at 5 GHz (red is a stronger signal, blue is weaker).

Creating a wireless world

CSIRO is working on enabling technologies for future mobile and wireless communications networks and developing next generation imaging and sensing systems.

We are entering the era of ubiquitous communications networks, where everything is always connected, and this means increased demand for reliable, wide bandwidth wireless connections.

CSIRO's wireless and networking technologies researchers (some 80 scientists and engineers) are working on innovative solutions to the problems of unreliability, incompatibility and low data rates associated with traditional wireless networks.

Our capabilities

Our research focuses on:

  • antennas and propagation
  • signal processing and communications
  • network science.

Our Research

Our research is applied in areas such as:

Communications

We are investigating:

  • increasing wireless network capacity, throughput and the robustness of signals by, for example, developing antennas that reconfigure themselves to make the most efficient and flexible use of the radio spectrum 
    Our communications research aims to increase wireless network capacity, throughput and the robustness of signals.
  • better utilising the microwave and millimetre-wave spectrum (the wider bandwidth at millimetre frequencies allowing data-rich information like video to be transmitted wirelessly at up to 20 gigabits per second)
  • improving quality of service across networks with new network protocols and bandwidth optimisation techniques
  • new communication protocols for wireless sensor networks so they use less power but have improved coverage and higher data rates
  • new generation wireless backhauls for connecting a fibre backbone to a radio access node.

We are particularly interested in cognitive networks. In cognitive networks, intelligent nodes, equipped with technologies like those detailed above, cooperate among themselves to deliver information with improved link reliability, capacity and coverage – even in rural and remote areas.

Positioning and sensing

We are developing radio technology to locate and track people and assets in technically challenging environments, such as underground and in built-up areas.

Applications include monitoring:

  • emergency services personnel
  • elite athletes
  • people and equipment in underground mines.

Supporting radio astronomy

Together with CSIRO’s Australia National Telescope Facility, we’re developing antennas and associated technology for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

Track record

Our major achievements include:

  • world's first six Gigabits per second wireless link, for which we won the 2007 CSIRO Chairman’s medal and the Australian Engineering Excellence Award
  • the most spectrally efficient and multi-user multiple input, multiple output system in the world, 2006
  • smart feed for Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope, 2008
  • two-way surface-to-underground mine safety communications, 2006, and technology transfer to MineSite Technologies
  • invention and of non-contact radio frequency vital signs sensors licensed to HD Medical, 2005-2007
  • high precision ad hoc positioning and tracking system for the Australian Institute of Sport, 2009.

Read more about how our capabilities are applied in Broadband for Australia.

 
 

Contact Information

Media Contact

Ms Jo Finlay
Communications Manager
ICT Centre
Phone: 61 2 9372 4309 
Alt Phone: 61 4 4763 9688 
Business Contact

Mr Iain Walker
Business Development & Commercialisation Manager
ICT Centre
Phone: 61 2 9372 4410 
Alt Phone: 61 2 9372 4226 
Fax: 61 2 9372 4111 
Science Contact

Dr Iain Collings
Research Director, Wireless & Networking Technologies Laboratory
ICT Centre
Phone: 61 2 9372 4120 
Alt Phone: 61 2 9372 4226 

Location

CSIRO ICT Centre - Marsfield
Corner of Vimiera and Pembroke Roads
Marsfield NSW 2122
Australia

PO Box 76
Epping NSW 1710
Australia