TDK Corporation today announced that its subsidiary TDK Ventures, Inc. has decided to invest in wireless communications disruptor XCOM Labs to accelerate the development of their 5G and wireless communications solutions, which prioritize bandwidth capacity, latency reduction/elimination, and compute load balancing. XCOM is developing wireless technologies to allow smart manufacturing, automation, off-site training, and more immersive telework experiences in the future of work and Industry 4.0. This extends beyond medical, entertainment, and even defense applications to aid in the training and preparation of military troops. Many of the breakthrough technologies seen in the 2G/3G/4G revolutions were developed by XCOM's leadership team, which included Dr. Paul Jacobs, Derek Aberle, and Matt Grob.
As present infrastructure cannot keep up with the need for 5G and wireless infrastructure, there is a large demand for further growth and adoption of supporting technologies. Each "G" generation signifies an effort to increase wireless transmission speed, capacity, and overall value. This necessitates not only hardware and software improvements, but also the use of either frequency spectra in new and novel waves or very new frequency bands. The balance of energy, frequency, and transmission is one of several compromises. Higher frequency – and consequently energy signals – can transport more information in less time but degrade faster over distance. In terms of infrastructure, this implies that more transmitting "nodes" in the network are required to convey higher frequency signals over a given region.
XCOM is developing technologies that will level the playing field. Their solutions aim to increase spectrum capacity and utility by more than tenfold, allowing the potential promised by 5G and next-generation developers to become a reality. XCOM, for example, is developing further to take digital transformation to the next level via extended reality (XR). They are building a high throughput, low latency wireless technology to enable seamless virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences utilizing a globally accessible 60GHz millimeter wave spectrum. What was previously constrained by the necessity for heavy processing equipment nearby or the poor throughput of smartphone processing is now becoming a full system capable of immersing the user in a metaverse or digital world environment. This will be a significant advancement in the integration of edge computing processing to deliver a more natural user experience.
The XCOM team is set on continuing our tradition of excellence and innovating in the wireless space. We understand how important high throughput/low latency is for the future of compute-heavy applications and are working to deliver those capabilities to create real and positive change in our world and industry applications. Our XR technologies are evidence of this progress and show that seamless processing through edge computing can deliver a truly immersive and agile VR/AR system fit for business, entertainment, and more."
XCOM's Dr. Jacobs
TDK Ventures shares XCOM's dedication to digital transformation for a better, more sustainable future. TDK Ventures will assist XCOM with scaling the effect of their technology by using their network connections, industry partners, and linking XCOM to other TDK business divisions. The platform team at TDK Ventures also offers early product validation, pilots, customer/channel/ecosystem access, market knowledge, operational experience (e.g., materials, manufacturing, fabless, supply chain), and go-to-market/branding coaching.