Information Communications Technology

n-hop technologies Limited

🌍 Official Website 🏢 HKSTP Source
58 Potential

Decision Maker

Professor Wai Ho Raymond Yeung
info@n-hop.com
+852 2805 8328
Unit 316, 3/F., Building 8W, No. 8 Science Park West Avenue, Hong Kong Science Park, Pak Shek Kok, N.T.
Raw Description
Product | It is a well-known problem that in a wireless multi-hop network, the transmission throughput drops drastically when the number of hops exceeds 5 or 6, due to the accumulation of packet loss. BATS is a disruptive communication technology that can break this "multi-hop curse". With BATS, the transmission throughput can sustain after tens or even hundreds of hops. | BATS can dramatically increase the throughput of a lossy multi-hop network over any physical layer, be it short-range wireless (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee), medium-range wireless (e.g., LTE), long-range wireless (e.g., VSAT for satellite communication), or even underwater communication (e.g., acoustic, optical). A very wide range of applications will benefit from BATS. In particular, BATS has been successfully deployed in the Hong Kong Government's pilot smart lamppost project, in which BATS provides the smart lampposts with wireless Internet connection without the need to lay optical fibre to every lamppost. | Follow Us || n-hop technologies has developed BATS, a revolutionary communication technology based on the fundamental research on network coding at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The two main founders of our company, Prof. Raymond Yeung and Prof. Shenghao Yang, are the inventors of this technology. | In loT, most devices cannot be directly connected to the wireline network, but rather need to go through many other wireless loT devices. Thus wireless multi-hop networks will be in great demand. BATS can dramatically improve the performance of such networks. The gain brought about by BATS, which increases with the number of hops, is unbounded. With BATS, the transmission throughput can sustain after tens or even hundreds of hops. | BATS has already been proven successful in the Hong Kong Government's pilot smart lamppost system. A very wide range of other applications can benefit from BATS, including 5G, loT, V2X, satellite communication, and underwater acoustic communication.

Strategic Analysis

Executive Brief

n-hop technologies is a telecommunications firm specializing in BATS (Batched Sparse) code, a disruptive network coding technology that solves the "multi-hop curse." Their software-defined solution allows wireless signals to maintain high throughput across hundreds of nodes (hops) without the typical exponential decay. They focus on Smart City infrastructure (Smart Lampposts), 5G/6G backhaul, Satellite communications (VSAT), and IoT/V2X ecosystems.

Strategic Fit & Lead Score

Lead Score: 58/100 (Adjacent Tech / Infrastructure Partner)

Why this Score? While n-hop is primarily a software/protocol company, their technology is deployed on high-density hardware (5G Small Cells, Satellite Transceivers, and Smart City Nodes). These hardware platforms suffer from extreme thermal throttling and RF signal loss. 6C's Diamond technology provides the physical substrate necessary to support the high-power, high-frequency hardware that n-hop's BATS protocol is designed to optimize. Furthermore, as n-hop moves toward Quantum-secure networking, 6C's Single Crystal Diamond (SCD) becomes a critical material for quantum repeaters.

6C Solutions Proposal

Application Area 6C Solution Technical Value Prop
5G/6G Edge Nodes PCD Heat Spreaders BATS enables high-density multi-hop nodes. These nodes generate significant heat in GaN-on-SiC amplifiers. 6C Diamond (Thermal conductivity > 2000 W/mK) allows for 3x higher power density without thermal failure.
Satellite (VSAT) Diamond RF Windows n-hop's protocol is used in satellite links. 6C's ultra-pure diamond windows offer the lowest dielectric loss and highest radiation hardness for high-frequency satellite communication (Ka-band and beyond).
Smart City Sensing BDD Electrodes n-hop is already integrated into Hong Kong’s Smart Lampposts. 6C can provide Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD) electrochemical sensors for real-time water quality or pollutants sensing to be integrated into the same lamppost infrastructure.
Future-Proofing (Quantum) SCD (Quantum Grade) For n-hop's next-gen secure multi-hop networks. 6C provides Single Crystal Diamond with controlled NV-center density for quantum memory and repeaters to extend range in quantum key distribution (QKD).
Ruggedized IoT Custom Diamond Coating Multi-hop IoT nodes in harsh environments (underwater or industrial) benefit from 6C's direct diamond coating for chemical resistance and thermal dissipation of the processing unit.

Engagement Hooks

  • Technical Question: "As the BATS protocol enables throughput over 100+ hops, the bottleneck shifts from software packet loss to hardware thermal saturation at the edge node. Have your hardware partners considered Diamond-on-GaN architectures to handle the increased power density required for these high-traffic multi-hop backhauls?"
  • Value Statement: "6C's MPCVD Diamond technology provides the thermal and RF foundation to ensure that the hardware running your BATS protocol can operate at 100% duty cycle, even in the high-temperature environments of Smart City lampposts or compact satellite transceivers."