Sony R&D develops new single wire technology for mobile phone data and power

Sony Corporation has announced a new technology that has been developed in its R&D center that uses a single internal cable rather than multiple cables inside a phone to transmit data and power inside the device. The new tech will improve the flexibility for designing products and the reliability in the mobile devices that have movable mechanisms like a flip or slider phone.

Sony calls the tech "single wire interface technology" and transmits the data and power through a single copper wire. That single wire is able to communicate bi-directionally with several signal types including video, audio, and control signals using time division duplex and multiplex. The tech also uses a unique encoding technology that allows DC power and high-speed data to be transmitted within a limited frequency bandwidth.

Sony reports that the tentative specs for the new interface shows a transmission speed of 940Mbps and a power consumption rating of 10-80mW during transmission and 0.3mW when on stand-by. The power supply voltage is 1.5V/3.0V and the data and power can be transmitted for a distance of 60cm. There is no word on when the tech will find its way onto the market inside a new mobile phone.