 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(May 2014) |
Pong Research Corporation was a cell phone accessories company that invented the Pong Case, a cell phone case with an embedded antenna that reduces exposure to cell phone radiation.
| Company type | Corporation, formerly: Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
|
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Fate | Changed Name |
| Successor | Antenna79, Inc. |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Website | BRINKcase.com |
Pong Research was incorporated in 2011 and in 2014 relocated to Leesburg, Virginia to Encinitas, California. The company was financially backed by Catterton Partners, the leading consumer-focused private equity fund with over $4.5 billion under management. In 2014, the company changed its name to Antenna79, Inc. In 2016 Antenna79 merged with Invisible Gadget Guard, Inc. (a cell phone accessories company specializing in screen protection) to become Penumbra Brands, LLC.
The Pong Case antenna technology was created by PhD scientists educated at Harvard, MIT, UCLA and the University of Manchester. Using their knowledge of manipulating radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields, Pong invented a coupling and re-radiating antenna that redistributes cell phone near-field radiation. Pong's first product was for the iPhone 3G. [1]
The cases were made of a hard polycarbonate called Lexan and contain a micro-thin, gold-plated coupled antenna system (CAS) that redirects wireless energy away from the user, thus reducing exposure to mobile device radiation well below the FCC Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) limit—without compromising the device's ability to communicate.
The cases use a passive antenna coupling technology works via a micro-thin gold-plated antenna embedded inside the Pong Case that redistributes the RF signal emitted from a mobile device away from the user's head and body without compromising the device's ability to communicate. Pong has 8 patents granted and 20 filings pending.
In 2017 the Pong Case was renamed alara, which stands for "as low as reasonably achievable", in reference to the technology significantly reducing RF exposure without compromising the device's ability to communicate.
In October 2009, Wired magazine tested the product at Cetecom, an FCC-certified lab in Milpitas, California that tests cell phone radiation levels for handset manufacturers. Using a specific anthropomorphic mannequin head filled with a brain-tissue simulating fluid. After a phone call simulation with and without the Pong case, it was found that the specific absorption rate (SAR) was reduced by 64.7% to 0.42 watts per kilogram. [2]
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz, broadly construed. A more common definition in radio-frequency engineering is the range between 1 and 100 GHz, or between 1 and 3000 GHz . The prefix micro- in microwave is not meant to suggest a wavelength in the micrometer range; rather, it indicates that microwaves are small, compared to the radio waves used in prior radio technology.
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes. Wireless networking allows homes, telecommunications networks and business installations to avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment locations. Admin telecommunications networks are generally implemented and administered using radio communication. This implementation takes place at the physical level (layer) of the OSI model network structure.
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Wi-Fi is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves. These are the most widely used computer networks, used globally in home and small office networks to link devices and to provide Internet access with wireless routers and wireless access points in public places such as coffee shops, hotels, libraries, and airports.
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies below 300 gigahertz (GHz) and wavelengths greater than 1 millimeter, about the diameter of a grain of rice. Like all electromagnetic waves, radio waves in a vacuum travel at the speed of light, and in the Earth's atmosphere at a slightly slower speed. Radio waves are generated by charged particles undergoing acceleration, such as time-varying electric currents. Naturally occurring radio waves are emitted by lightning and astronomical objects, and are part of the blackbody radiation emitted by all warm objects.
A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure used to block some electromagnetic fields. A Faraday shield may be formed by a continuous covering of conductive material, or in the case of a Faraday cage, by a mesh of such materials. Faraday cages are named after scientist Michael Faraday, who first constructed one in 1836.
Base station is – according to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) – a "land station in the land mobile service."
Wireless power transfer (WPT), wireless power transmission, wireless energy transmission (WET), or electromagnetic power transfer is the transmission of electrical energy without wires as a physical link. In a wireless power transmission system, an electrically powered transmitter device generates a time-varying electromagnetic field that transmits power across space to a receiver device; the receiver device extracts power from the field and supplies it to an electrical load. The technology of wireless power transmission can eliminate the use of the wires and batteries, thereby increasing the mobility, convenience, and safety of an electronic device for all users. Wireless power transfer is useful to power electrical devices where interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous, or are not possible.
A cell site, cell phone tower, cell base tower, or cellular base station is a cellular-enabled mobile device site where antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed to create a cell, or adjacent cells, in a cellular network. The raised structure typically supports antenna and one or more sets of transmitter/receivers transceivers, digital signal processors, control electronics, a GPS receiver for timing, primary and backup electrical power sources, and sheltering.
Extremely high frequency is the International Telecommunication Union designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It lies between the super high frequency band and the far infrared band, the lower part of which is the terahertz band. Radio waves in this band have wavelengths from ten to one millimeter, so it is also called the millimeter band and radiation in this band is called millimeter waves, sometimes abbreviated MMW or mmWave. Millimeter-length electromagnetic waves were first investigated by Jagadish Chandra Bose, who generated waves of frequency up to 60 GHz during experiments in 1894–1896.
Specific absorption rate (SAR) is a measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed per unit mass by a human body when exposed to a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field. It is defined as the power absorbed per mass of tissue and has units of watts per kilogram (W/kg).
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