What is Full-Duplex?

When we’re talking about radio communication systems, duplex refers to the transmission of digital signals (or data) between parties or devices along two paths. Information can be communicated to connected parties in both directions along the same frequency/channel.

Your typical walk-talkie, for instance, is referred to as a half-duplex communication system using two paths to transfer data in only one direction at a given moment. Devices such as these have listeners (individuals receiving data) and talkers (individuals transmitting data) that utilize a “push-to-talk” communication system.

While a half-duplex system allows for only one speaker at a time, full-duplex systems enable communication to happen simultaneously, similar to cellphone communication. In this regard, there are several advantages of using full-duplex technology.

Transmission Efficiency

• Full-duplex radios are digitized, using a compression technique* that greatly saves digital data processing to increase efficiency in speed of data transmission, range, power, sound quality, and group size. This greatly improves communication by allowing information to be transmitted and received instantaneously.

* Digital signal compression is dependent on specific algorithms used in the development of full-duplex radio communication systems. A better algorithm will yield better results.

Multiple Parties

• Depending on your product choice, full-duplex radio communication systems typically allow for an unlimited amount of listeners and multiple talkers (of up to 8), further increasing the reach of information between parties.

Homogeneous Environment

• While it may seem that having multiple users on the same frequency/channel would likely interfere with signal quality, full-duplex radios operate in an environment that uses no base station (like a cellphone tower) to broadcast signals. Transmission of data is strictly peer-to-peer, where the loss of signal from one device does not disrupt the connection of others. Connection is automatically resumed once the device is within range, enabling high mobility among units.

Application

• Similar to the current use of half-duplex systems, full-duplex radios can be used recreationally and can be applied across industries that rely heavily on communication in real-time. This not only increases efficiency and productivity among users, but provides a hands-free, convenient solution for relaying information.

Privacy and Security

• Each radio system uses a specific algorithm to connect its devices, as well as a unique serial number for each device. Users can be paired to one another as long as they share the same properties and are synchronized to a particular group or channel.