Wireless

Get ready for blazing fast data transfer from a single chip for all cell communication networks.

Marvell Co-Founder Weili Dai proclaimed, "The World Modem is another game-changing breakthrough...  As a leader in China's 3G standard TD-SCDMA technologies, Marvell has enabled the delivery of a wide array of affordable, advanced consumer devices – including smart phones, tablets and mobile hot spot devices – to China, the world's largest mobile market. Building on that foundation, Marvell is now leading the way to a new era of seamless global connectivity for the masses with the industry's first single chip 2G/3G/4G modem with support for FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, and EDGE."

Combining 3GPP R9 Cat 4 FDD-LTE (Frequency Division Duplexing Long Term Evolution) and TDD-LTE (Time Division Duplexing Long Term Evolution) with R8 DC-HSPA+ (Dual Carrier Evolved High-Speed Packet Access) for both WB-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) standards and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) will deliver the highest data rate available in any given geography.

Dai continues on about the new single-chip world modem and its future applications, "I envision a time soon when a truly affordable global communications network helps to bring our world closer as consumers from every walk of life enjoy uninterrupted access to all services, applications and the worldwide cloud from any device they choose anywhere they roam. I am proud of Marvell's global team of engineers for their pioneering work and I am excited by all the potential applications our customers will have to use this versatile and affordable new technology to make the world a better place for everyone." This low-cost extremely versatile and reliable modem is easily adaptable to any network so keep your eyes peeled at Marvell.

It looks like WiMax is the loser in the 4G race, according to Marvell.

Eavesdropper

Announced as ‘ground-breaking’, a new wireless sensor system for industrial measurement and control has been announced by the Deeter Group.

At the centre of the new system is the simple-to-use basestation, designed to receive data from remote wireless devices such as the Deeter liquid vertical sensor (LVCS-RF). The basestation converts remote sensor input signals into industry standard process outputs. The basestation acts as the coordinator for an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor network. It operates on one of 16 radio frequency channels available in the 2.4GHz ISM band. The high-power transceiver can achieve a range of greater than 1km, subject to local environmental factors. The internationally recognised IEEE 802.15.4 protocol allows several wireless sensor networks to share the same wireless spectrum without interference.

The basestation provides four open-collector transistor outputs which may be used to drive external relays for pumps and alarms or Deeter’s dual-level controller. Continuous analogue sensor data such as liquid level is output using a 4 to 20mA current-loop driver which enables interfacing with industrial process controllers or the Deeter Group’s range of current-loop indicators. A serial communications channel provides full-duplex RS232 and half-duplex RS485 transceivers allowing software to be developed for linking to PCs, data-loggers, PLCs or other proprietary equipment.

The basestation has three internal push-button switches and a 2-line by 16-character LCD. The buttons are accessible with the lid removed and are used in conjunction with the display to select installation options during initial setup. Once the system has been installed it will continue to operate without any further need for user intervention. The Base Station is housed in a rugged ABS enclosure with an external antenna. It has cable glands for power input and signal outputs and is supplied with an external, wall mounted, universal AC input power supply.

The LVCS-RF is designed to measure a continuous liquid level and transmit this information by radio to a Deeter wireless basestation at regular intervals. The device is battery powered and transmits wireless sensor data using the IEEE802.15.4 protocol operating in the 2.4GHz frequency band. The transmission range is up to 1Km in ideal line-of-sight conditions. The operating temperature range is -20C to +70C.

The LVCS-RF circuitry is housed in an IP65 rated die-cast aluminium head with an external antenna. An optional 3m extension lead and bracket are available for mounting the antenna in a position more favourable to wireless communication should the need arise. The sensor circuit is fitted inside a food industry standard 316L stainless steel tube attached to the head, with a 55mm magnetic ball-float. Standard sensing lengths are 250mm, 500mm, 750mm and 1m. Custom lengths and materials are available on request, says the company.

Add a little art-deco, some solar panels, and a special battery and starts inductively charging devices. Panasonic is releasing a small charging table, which looks like something that belongs at a coffee shop, sometime this year in Japan. The key to this table, no need for 3rd party adapters and accessories. The inductive charging coupling circuit will be built into the battery. Place a phone on the table, it will charge. Place a bare battery on the table, it will also charge. Panasonic may produce batteries for the world's most popular phone to work with their table, and the tech may be licensed out. The solar panels allow the table to be moved anywhere. However, in most cases outdoor tables have umbrellas over them. However, some indoor light energy could be recovered by these tables.

The table was demonstrated at the Retail Tech Expo in London. Another example of the new environmental conscious Japan.

Eavesdropper

I have to know how you all feel about broadcasting your every move on the internet, do you do it? Foursquare, Facebook, etc let's everyone know where you are and what you are up to. In some cases, giving criminals ample information to rob your house or find your for some nefarious reason. But in an ideal, happy, rainbow, world that isn't a concern. It is actually fun to become "mayor" of the local coffee shop. A new company is going to challenge how far you are willing to go. Green Goose is allowing you to place wireless transmitters on everything you move in a type of real world/online game. You can score points by brushing your teeth at a particular time, drinking enough water, exercise, take vitamins, etc in hope to "level up." Founder Brian Krejcarek hopes to partner with real world companies to give away prizes and gifts based on your performance. For now though, your efforts are just to be "top player." Each wireless transmitter costs $4 each, and will start being available Feb 28th 2011. It looks as though the transmitting devices may be RFID and/or Zigbee. The idea does sound like a good way to stay motivated. See more at their website.

Eavesdropper

Imec saw a need in the market, inexpensive digital interface for radio networks, and filled it. With their development it looks like LTE has won the battle for 4G supremacy. The accelerated deployment of broadband personal communication coupled with the continuously increasing demand for large data rates results in an increasing spectrum scarcity. A dynamic access to the available spectrum would increase the throughput efficiency significantly. In licensed bands scenarios, dynamic spectrum access would for example allow personal mobile terminals to seamlessly set-up and maintain a reliable wireless connection. In unlicensed bands (the crowded 2.4 GHz band), it would bring great added value to products for which interruptions in the connectivity cannot be tolerated, for safety reasons in a control system (surveillance camera’s), or for comfort reasons in real-time applications (wireless conferencing, hearing aids,...) as it would improve connectivity even in the presence of many competing and interfering networks. Imec’s new spectrum sensing component was designed as a versatile digital engine to meet a wide variety of use cases, at low cost and low power overhead. The chip, which hosts a dedicated ASIP (application-specific integrated processor), can perform both flexible synchronization and spectrum sensing for high-throughput WLAN (802.11a-n), cellular standards (including the recent 3GPP-LTE), and digital broadcasting standards. The novel spectrum sensing component connects to imec’s in-house designed analog reconfigurable radio chip (SCALDIO) and imec’s programmable digital baseband platform conceived for 4G seamless connectivity (COBRA). As such, imec’s complete reconfigurable radio solutions enable multimode communication with efficient use of the spectrum.

Eavesdropper