Wi-Fi-proof paint

The BBC is reporting on Wi-Fi-proof paint, developed at the University of Tokyo. The paint is said to block frequencies to 100 GHz. The BBC touts the security applications, noting, “The makers say that for businesses it’s a quick and cheap way of preventing access to sensitive data from unauthorized users. Presently, most companies have to invest in complicated encryption software to deter hackers.” But the news service quotes Mark Jackson, a security engineer at Cisco UK, as saying, “Paint that blocks RF based Wi-Fi transmissions does not in any way remove the need to ensure a robust security model is deployed. Surely the thought of having to redecorate a building in order to provide Wi-Fi security is more costly and complex than security functionality available in even the cheapest of Wi-Fi access points.”The security angle does seem pretty tenuous, unless you are in a windowless, doorless room. But there are other applications: Speaking on the BBC World Service’s Digital Planet program, project leader Shin-ichi Ohkoshi said, “In a medical setting, you could transmit large volumes of data from a medical device, such as an endoscope, to a computer. By painting a solution containing our magnetic particles on the walls, you would quickly, and effectively, shield the room from stray electromagnetic radiation from outside.”

Perhaps best of all, the BBC notes that the paint could provide much-needed relief during nights out at the cinema. It quotes Ohkoshi as saying, “Our current mobile phones work at much lower frequencies, around 1.5 GHz. But, our material can also absorb frequencies that low, so you could block phone signals from outside and stop people’s phones ringing during the movie.”

Maybe we could paint cars with it to stop people from talking and texting while driving.