Routers

Wi-Fi security usually means keeping virtual intruders out, but a new system claims to use Wi-Fi networks to detect physical intruders. Gamgee’s Wi-Fi Home Alarm System can learn to recognize people who belong there and alert you to strangers.

By modifying an off-the-shelf Wi-Fi router with a firmware update and using a deep-learning algorithm, scientists have been able to detect breathing patterns that indicate respiratory distress in a medical mannequin.

It's not cheap, but this twin-unit router system floods a bigger area with a stronger, faster WiFi connection than anything else on the market. Netgear's Orbi system is super quick and easy to set up, and offers exceptional performance for homes with lots of high-bandwidth devices.

Various kinds of repeaters and mesh networks are available to patch gaps in Wi-Fi​ coverage throughout your home, and back in October Google announced its intention to stick a finger in that pie with Google Wi-Fi.

Well, it's certainly been a busy day for Google. As well as launching two new Pixel phones and the Daydream View VR headset, the tech giant also had time today to introduce an updated 4K-capable Chromecast, tell us more about its Amazon Echo competitor, and unveil a new take on the router too.

Ubiquiti Networks has announced AmpliFi, a system comprising a sleek-looking router, two extenders, and a smartphone app designed to deliver a high-degree of control over usage​ and the devices on the network.​

Using locally-transmitted FM broadcasts, researchers at Northwestern University have created a way to improve the speed and reliability of Wi-Fi networks.

Though many people may have a home Wi-Fi network, most will also have little control over it and little info about how good it is. Luma is aimed at providing users with fast, secure and safe home Wi-Fi. Multiple units ensure network strength throughout the home and an app provides info and control.​

The humble home router may not have the same kind of buzz associated with smartphones, but it's still a very important bit of kit. Google today announced its very own take on the router: Called OnHub and built by TP-Link, it's designed to provide a secure, simple internet experience for everyone.

Have you ever wondered what that USB port on your Wi-Fi router is for? Most modern routers have at least one or maybe two, and today we'll take a look at how Windows users can set it up with a hard or flash drive to share content across a local network.

At CES 2014 in January, Quantenna Communications revealed that the first consumer product to include its new QSR1000 4x4 Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) chipset would be the Asus RT-AC87 home router. The second generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi device is now being readied for shipping.

Rather than imposing blanket bans or restrictions using a device's built-in parental controls or through a third party app, the Kudoso system allows parents to set goals for their children with unlocked surf time as a reward.