Satellite2006: StealthRay
I’m not exactly what anyone would call a “car guy.” As long as it has four wheels, a radio, and A/C (a necessity in the South), I don’t need to know much more. But when I saw a car at the Sattelite2006 exhibit hall, I figured it must have something to do with satellite radio. Besides, if it involves any sort of gadgetry, that’s enough to get my attention as long as I don’t have to look under the hood.
This particular car was sitting at the RaySat booth, and the woman there was nice enough to take minute off from her setup supervising to give me permission to snap a picture and ask a question. (Just one question. She was kind of busy.) It wasn’t until I read the literature I grabbed when I walked away that I was a bit off in my satellite radio assumption. I needed to aim higher.
The car pictured above, according to the RayStat rep. I chatted with briefly, is going to get outfitted with a product called StealthRay, a “low-profile antenna” (i.e. so flat it looks like a roof-mounted spaceship) designed to bring high-speed internet to moving vehicles (among other things). Like I said, I’m not a “car guy,” but RaySat also has a product that brings high-speed internet to trains. If they could get something like that working on the D.C. subway system, I’d be forever grateful. And I wouldn’t even blame them when inevitably miss my stop while surfing the web.
