Wireless Systems Design UPDATE March 10, 2005

========================== Wireless Systems Design UPDATE PlanetEE - www.planetee.com WSD - www.wsdmag.com March 10, 2005 ==========================

Please see below for address-change or subscribe/unsubscribe instructions.

Today's Table of Contents: 1. Viewpoint: Microwave Absorbers Help Wi-Fi Perform 2. Off-The-Cuff: Alternative Power To The People 3. Digital Filter Speeds Wireless Data Transmission 4. RF Micro Devices Discontinues Its WLAN Efforts 5. U.S. Marines Use Secure Wireless Network For Tsunami Relief 6. Partnership Will Yield MBOA-Standard UWB Module 7. Designer And Phone Company Team On Futuristic Car 8. Bluetooth Bites Into Home Entertainment 9. In-Depth Coverage Links > FPGAs Build Bridges To Wireless Connectivity > Virtual Prototypes Cut Software Bottleneck 10.Happenings - Conferences

*********************** 1. Viewpoint - Industry *********************** Microwave Absorbers Help Wi-Fi Perform By James DelPrete, Emerson & Cuming Microwave Products

Wi-Fi is truly ushering in a communications revolution. This technology is the first of its kind in an age when thousands of people are unplugging their phone jacks. Now, the wireless Internet is beginning to fully encompass the globe... View article at --> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BAC:FFCBF Emerson & Cuming Microwave Products --> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB7:FFCBF

*********************** 2. Off-The-Cuff *********************** Alternative Power To The People By Lisa Maliniak, Contributing Editor

When it comes to cell phones and other wireless handhelds, more may not always be better. More functionality, memory, and data per second are all good. But more power consumption is not so good. Nevertheless, it does come with the territory. All of those improvements and extras consume additional power. Consequently, you enjoy your cell phone more, but you get a lot less time on one battery charge. Recent developments in alternative energy sources show promise for extending operating life in cell phones and other mobile devices. Sun, wind, hydrogen, and even bacteria are being looked at as potential sources of energy. For example, scientists have invented a plastic solar cell that uses nanotechnology to harness the sun's invisible infrared rays. Like paint, the composite can be sprayed onto materials and used to create portable electricity. A sweater coated in this material could even power a cell phone or other wireless device on a cloudy day. Students from the Indian Institute of Technology looked to the wind--not the sun--to power their mobile phones. They developed a pocket-sized turbine that can be attached to a cell phone for recharging. Although this technique is not yet commercialized, it has been sent as a proposal to the Ministry of Science and Technology for manufacturing on a large scale. The device can be used anywhere as long as it can be set up against the wind. In addition, a great deal of research has focused on fuel cells to power cell phones. A couple of weeks ago, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) introduced a prototype micro polymer-electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) that uses hydrogen gas as fuel. The PEFC has a compact size (external dimensions of 42 by 80 by 13 mm), making it suitable for fitting into a mobile phone. The fuel cell enables a talk time of 9 hrs. NTT hopes to commercialize the prototype fuel cell within three years. Finally, a new technology from researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich Research Park, U.K., powers mobile phones with the help of bacteria. Last month, the researchers claimed they built the active part of a bacterial enzyme that works like a miniature hydrogen fuel cell. They say that the world's first efficient bacterial battery will quickly recharge your cell phone or any other portable-electronic device. The research could help scientists to replace expensive platinum catalysts. Those catalysts are currently used in fuel cells to break up molecules of hydrogen gas, thereby releasing electrons that generate an electrical current. The bacterial battery should hit the market in mid-2006.

*********************** 3. News *********************** Digital Filter Speeds Wireless Data Transmission

A new technology developed by Photron Technologies Ltd. and AccelChip, Inc. provides wireless data transmission at rates of up to 100 bps/Hz. Current technologies produce rates of about 4 bps/Hz or less. This new technology, which is based on an innovative digital filter, is dubbed Ultra Spectral Modulation (USM). A successful end-to-end MATLAB simulation demonstrated USM's ability to transmit data at 5 Mbps through narrow bandwidths of 50 kHz. This increase in bandwidth will enable applications like real-time video and other next-generation wireless services. Working together, the companies have completed a hardware architecture. They also are developing a hardware prototype implemented in FPGAs. The final phase of design work will retarget the FPGA to an ASIC. AccelChip, Inc. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB5:FFCBF Photron Technologies Ltd. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB4:FFCBF

*********************** 4. News *********************** RF Micro Devices Discontinues Its WLAN Efforts

RF Micro Devices, Inc. announced that it will discontinue its internal wireless-local-area-network (WLAN) chip-set-development efforts. The company will continue to support its WLAN component business, which includes transceivers, power amplifiers, and front-end modules for all WLAN markets. Because of the chip-set-development discontinuation, RF Micro Devices will reduce its WLAN-chip-set workforce in San Jose, Calif. It also will close its offices in Moscow, Russia, and Leuven, Belgium. Certain people and resources will be transferred into other emerging opportunities and product lines within the company. As a result of these changes, ongoing operating expenses are expected to drop by approximately $18 million to $22 million per year in the company's 2006 fiscal year beginning April 1, 2005. RF Micro Devices, Inc. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BBC:FFCBF

*********************** 5. News *********************** U.S. Marines Use Secure Wireless Network For Tsunami Relief

Harris Corp. announced that the U.S. Marine Corps is using its secure wireless-local-area-network (SWLAN) products for tsunami-relief efforts in South Asia. The products will be used by Marines who are part of the Combined Support Force 536 (CSF-536) in U'tapao, Thailand. Harris Corp.'s SecNet 11 Plus PC card is designed for wireless-data, video, and voice-over-IP (VoIP) transmission. It will enhance the safety of marines by enabling secure communication networks within the Marines' Command and Control headquarters. Under the terms of the contract, Harris is supplying 160 SecNet 11 Plus PC cards, 10 SecNet wireless bridges, key fill cables, spares, carrying cases, and mounting brackets. The SecNet 11 802.11b wireless-network interface card employs Type 1 cryptography, which is capable of delivering secure data, video, and VoIP at 11 Mbps. Harris Corp. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BBA:FFCBF

*********************** 6. News *********************** Partnership Will Yield MBOA-Standard UWB Module

Taiyo Yuden R&D Center of America (TRDA) and Wisair are teaming up to develop the first Multiband-OFDM Alliance- (MBOA-) standard Ultra Wideband (UWB) module. The module will use Wisair's chip set and Taiyo Yuden's components. TRDA and Wisair have been developing modules to enable consumer-electronic manufacturers to rapidly deploy UWB applications based on the widely acknowledged MBOA standards. The first phase of the project was completed with the development of a UWB RF module. That module was based on Wisair's 501 RF chip and Taiyo Yuden's UWB antenna and additional components. The Wisair high-bit-rate baseband and RF chip set, which consists of an MB-OFDM modem, MBOA MAC, and wireless-USB functionalities, is featured in the company's DV9100 development kit. Taiyo Yuden R&D Center of America ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB6:FFCBF Wisair ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB9:FFCBF

*********************** 7. International News *********************** Designer And Phone Company Team On Futuristic Car

At the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show, Motorola, Maserati, and Pininfarina announced the world premiere of a concept car equipped with futuristic automotive and mobile technologies. The Extra division of Pininfarina--an Italian design company--had already partnered with Motorola on the design of its latest mobile phones. For this project, it worked to implement Motorola's concept of "seamless mobility" into the car design. With the integration of Motorola's technology, the car itself becomes an intelligent moving network. It is able to interact with its passengers and keep them constantly and seamlessly connected to all aspects of their lives. The technologies that are integrated into the Maserati dream car include a transparent heads-up display, which reveals the intelligent core of the vehicle. Drivers can navigate through a personalized array of functions and menus using a central-mounted navigation device. Motorola, Inc. ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB8:FFCBF Pininfarina ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB3:FFCBF

*********************** 8. International News *********************** Bluetooth Bites Into Home Entertainment

Now that it's possible to capture and enjoy high-quality images and music on a mobile phone, consumers are looking to share pictures, video footage, and music with others. They also want to enjoy their music and personal images on the comfort on their home-entertainment systems. Now, users can easily enjoy both activities with the Bluetooth Media Center MMV-200 from Sony Ericsson. Essentially, this mobile-phone and home-entertainment convergence device turns a phone into a flexible hub at the center of a users's entertainment system. With an MMV-200 plugged into a sound system or television, users simply transfer sound, image, and video files from phones to the system via Bluetooth. With large numbers of pictures and sound files, the data is stored on a memory card and inserted into the MMV-200. The phone acts as a remote. The MMV-200 will be available in the second quarter of this year. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications ==> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB2:FFCBF

*********************** 9. In-Depth Coverage Links *********************** Programmable logic can link the incompatible bus structures of embedded CPUs and wireless-networking chips. To learn more, read "FPGAs Build Bridges To Wireless Connectivity." FPGA article --> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BAD:FFCBF

High-speed, pre-silicon system models help developers start software development earlier and ensure timely product release. To learn more, read "Virtual Prototypes Cut Software Bottleneck." Virtual-prototype story --> http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BAB:FFCBF

*********************** 10. Happenings - Conferences *********************** CTIA Wireless 2005 Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA March 14-16, 2005 http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BBD:FFCBF

ARMMS RF & Microwave Society Conference Milton Hill House Hotel, Milton Hill, Oxfordshire, UK April 18-19, 2005 http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BBB:FFCBF

CONNECTIONS: The Digital Home Conference and Showcase May 11-13, 2005 Hyatt Regency Burlingame, San Francisco, CA http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BB1:FFCBF

Read past issues of Wireless Systems Design UPDATE e-Newsletter: http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BAF:FFCBF

WIRELESS SYSTEMS DESIGN UPDATE e-NEWSLETTER CONTACTS ==================================================== Technology Editor: Nancy K. Friedrich Mailto:nfriedrich@penton.com

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities: Jim Theriault at (925) 736-5051 or send e-mail to: mailto:jtheriault@penton.com ====================================================

To subscribe visit our e-newsletter subscription center at http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BAE:FFCBF

To unsubscribe click here: http://nls.planetee.com/t?ctl=4BAA:FFCBF