University of Washington researchers have created a new Wi-Fi system called ‘Passive Wi-Fi’ which is said to use 10,000 times less energy than conventional methods, and offers speeds of up to 11 Mbps. The development, which has been named in the 10 breakthrough technologies of 2016 by MIT Technology Review, will be commercialized by a University of Washington spinoff company. As well as being compatible with existing Wi-Fi standards, the team believes this will revolutionize the Internet of Things and potentially enable new types of communication that were previously too energy intensive.