PUTTIN’ ON THE FOIL: Wi-Fi problems? You can boost signals with this $35 tinfoil 3D-printed reflector.

“With a simple investment of about $35 and specifying coverage requirements, a wireless reflector can be custom-built to outperform antennae that cost thousands of dollars,” said Xia Zhou, an assistant professor of computer science at Dartmouth.

The work builds on past experiments that have used a soda can behind a router’s antenna to act as a reflector that boosts bandwidth by targeting a Wi-Fi signal in one direction.

This system allows users to design their own ‘soda can’ reflector that’s optimized for the layout of a house. The design is 3D-printed and then wrapped in foil. Their wave-shaped example for a single access point focused Wi-Fi signals on two rooms and minimized signals to two other rooms.

The researchers’ tests showed that a reflector for a single access point can boost throughput by 22 percent to the desired rooms and reduce throughput by 36 percent to non-targeted rooms.

Sounds like an inexpensive solution for homes or workspaces too small to bother with expensive mesh systems, or knocking holes in walls to pull ethernet cable through.