The Purdue Exponent's Phaedra Ellington reports that recent startup Broadband Antenna Tracking Solutions (bats) uses software to help an antenna find and lock onto a source for a wireless broadband connection. If the user is in motion, the software helps the antenna stay connected as it moves over land or water.

"We tested (the auto-aiming antenna) with the coast guard and we had a distance of over 10 miles," says Purdue University professor Anthony Smith, one of the founders of BATS. "In an agricultural environment, we got seven or eight miles with just basic antennas; we will get better distances with better antennas."

Smith says the solution was developed to solve the problem of aiming antennas over long distances. "Aiming an antenna is difficult, so we had the idea to come up with software that can automatically aim the antennas from point to point," he says.

Co-founder Phil Hockema says the software could help create opportunities for wireless networks in remote areas, or anywhere else where it's difficult to establish connectivity. "Basically, (the product is different) because it gives access to broadband in areas they wouldn't have it in," he says.

More here from NetworkWorld's John Cox, and here from Engadget's Darren Murph.