The Wi-Fi network vendor is initiating all three projects under the banner of , a project that has been in stealth mode for about two years but is now going public and adding a broad program called the , said Aruba spokesman Michael Tennefoss. Aruba Labs helps third-party software providers develop new applications for wireless LANs and will assist some academics and even grade-school students in studying the emerging wireless world, according to Aruba.

Wireless LANs are now taken for granted in homes, public hotspots and some parts of enterprises, but they are relatively new as a mainstream technology. Standardized WLANs have only been on the market about 10 years and proliferated beginning earlier in this decade. Aruba said it wants to help researchers explore "blue-sky" problems on the frontiers of wireless networking and study the potential impact of an all-wireless workplace.

Part of the benefit of Wi-Fi offices is power savings, according to Aruba. For example, Aruba claims using wireless to connect client systems allows for smaller switches with fewer ports, cutting power consumption and the need for copper wiring. In addition, WLANs can open up more possibilities for designing buildings because there's no need to allow for wiring to each employee's computer.

Aruba Labs encompasses both research and development, in three main programs.

Under its Developers Program, Aruba Labs writes and distributes open-source SDKs (software development kits) and APIs (application programming interfaces) for software developers and Aruba customers to quickly develop prototypes of new wireless applications. These might include uses such as Wi-Fi digital signs that could warn of hazardous weather or missing children, or security and environmental sensors around a building, Aruba said in a press release.