Unscripted with Ted Rappaport

In this interview with NYU WIRELESS industrial affiliate NI (formerly National Instruments), Theodore (Ted) S. Rappaport, the David Lee/Ernst Weber professor of Electrical Engineering, founding director of NYU Wireless, and member of the National Academy for Engineering, talks about his history as a change agent in the world of wireless telecommunications and the path forward toward 6G wireless and beyond.

Rappaport, in a wide ranging conversation, noted that in 1987, he conducted the world’s first measurements inside factory buildings at a frequency much higher than anyone had thought practicable at the time:  1.3 Gigahertz, far above the stomping grounds of most wireless protocols even today. He added that, in his opinion, “Wireless is really entering its renaissance; it’s going to pervade our life the way pens and paper pervaded today. Wireless will be in the fabric of everything."

In the crystal ball he sees wireless power transfer, the ability to track goods, wireless robotics, and — in 15 to 20 years — operations at data rates close to the human brain.

“I was very fortunate in my career to see very early—to know—the things that most of the world took many many years to know or understand,” he added.