Using Wi-Fi for more than web surfing

If you surf the web, chances are you have or are thinking of getting a wireless (Wi-Fi) router. (See our just updated report on wireless routers to help you make your purchase decision.) In the home and office, Wi-Fi routers are great if you want to connect several devices to the Internet at once, and share data and printers among them. However, wireless routers have the potential to do a lot more. Wi-Fi networks can be used in numerous ways -- to control and manage household appliances, or even control brain cells in mice. Here's a look at what wireless routers can do.

Controlling household appliances If you're considering installing a Wi-Fi network in your home to accommodate the needs of your PC, tablets, smartphones and eBook readers, then the trend towards integrating Wi-Fi into household appliances may speed up your decision. At the 2011 Consumer Electronic show, Samsung introduced a WiFi connected refrigerator with a touch-screen panel that "provides access to a series of kitchen-relevant applications," such as recipes, music and news headlines. On their website, Samsung claims that "[n]o other refrigerators keep families better organized and connected to one another." At the 2012 CES, LG took this one step further by announcing its SmartThinq technology. This enables owners to monitor and control their "smart" washing machine or oven from outside the home using their smartphone or tablet. LG is positioning its new Thinq technology as a way to make the consumer's life more convenient, "saving time, money and energy." Controlling brain cells in mice In the scientific realm, biomedical researchers studying the brain can use Wi-Fi to figure out which brain cells control which behaviors in mice. Kendall Research, a start-up company in Massachusetts, has developed a "wireless router for the brain," that allows scientists to turn genetically altered cells in the brains of mice on and off by applying light to them. Observing how the animals respond allows the scientists to find out which brain cells are linked to specific behaviors. This is referred to as optogenetics, a science that is several years old, but until now, has been limited by the need for expensive and bulky physical equipment, including lasers for the light source and a cable attached to the animal. Kendall Research's new device contains LEDs and laser diodes that deliver light wirelessly to the brain of the animal through a very small implant. The device is in beta-testing, with one of the research projects looking at how brain cells affect eating behavior in mice.