LED lights could become network devices, too | CNET News Fraunhofer Institute has demonstrated how conventional LED lighting could be used to send and receive data to laptops or smartphones, with speeds up to 3Gbps. Today, you’ve got wireless networks that use radio waves and you’ve got optical networks that use light traveling in tiny glass fibers. Tomorrow, if Fraunhofer Institute research comes to fruition, a combination of the two could turn living-room lights into network devices. The German applied-research lab has developed wireless networking that uses rapidly blinking LEDs to transmit data through the air. The technology can send data at speeds up to 1 gigabit per second — and by using three colors of light, triple that data rate is possible, Fraunhofer said.

LED lights could become network devices, too | CNET News

Fraunhofer Institute has demonstrated how conventional LED lighting could be used to send and receive data to laptops or smartphones, with speeds up to 3Gbps.

Today, you’ve got wireless networks that use radio waves and you’ve got optical networks that use light traveling in tiny glass fibers. Tomorrow, if Fraunhofer Institute research comes to fruition, a combination of the two could turn living-room lights into network devices.

The German applied-research lab has developed wireless networking that uses rapidly blinking LEDs to transmit data through the air. The technology can send data at speeds up to 1 gigabit per second — and by using three colors of light, triple that data rate is possible, Fraunhofer said.

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Think GPS is cool? IPS will blow your mind | ExtremeTech

GPS satellite constellation

For all of their awesome applications — from portable navigation devices, to self-driving cars, to cruise missile targeting — the American Global Positioning System and its Russian cohort GLONASS have two fundamental flaws: They don’t work indoors, and they only really operate in two dimensions.

Now, these limitations are fair enough; we’re talking about an extremely weak signal that has traveled 20,200km (12,600mi), after all. Passing through concrete and other solid obstacles is hard enough for a strong, short-range cellular signal — you can’t seriously expect a 50-watt signal traveling 12,000 miles to do the same. Detecting a GPS signal on Earth is comparable to detecting the light from a 25-watt bulb from 10,000 miles.

The situation is a little more complex when it comes to detecting a change in altitude; GPS and GLONASS can measure altitude, but generally the data is inaccurate and too low-resolution (on the order of 10-25 meters) for everyday use. Even with these limitations, though, space-based satellite navigation systems have changed almost every aspect of society, from hardware hacking to farming to cartography to finding a girlfriend.

What if we had a navigation system that worked indoors, though? What if we had an Indoor Positioning System (IPS)? Believe it or not, we’re very nearly already there.

GPS vs. IPS

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Record-Speed Wireless Data Bridge Demonstrated: Takes High-Speed Communications the Last Mile

A team of researchers in Germany has created a new way to overcome many of the issues associated with bringing high-speed digital communications across challenging terrain and into remote areas, commonly referred to as the “last mile” problem. The researchers developed a record-speed wireless data bridge that transmits digital information much faster than today’s state-of-the-art systems.

These unprecedented speeds, up to 20 billion bits of data per second, were achieved by using higher frequencies than those typically used in mobile communications—the wireless bridge operates at 200 gigahertz (GHz) (two orders of magnitude greater than cell phone frequencies).

via singularitarian:

(via jackmason)

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With New Standard, Wi-Fi Could Become As Widespread As Cellular

In late 2010, Verizon rolled out its 4G LTE network, which offers data speeds 10 times as fast as 3G networks. But as mobile data traffic continues to grow—experts anticipate that it will increase 26-fold in the next three years—it’s unlikely that any network will be able to keep up. Fortunately, something else is set to happen over the next three years: Wi-Fi could become as ubiquitous and easy to access as cellular is now.

Wi-Fi is up to 15 times as fast as LTE, but at this point it’s an unrealistic substitute for cell service. Connecting is not a standard process. Users need to log into access points individually, enter passwords, and go through other credentialing rigmarole. And range is limited; once logged in, a user can’t wander more than a few hundred feet from an indoor router. But such limitations will soon be gone.

Later this year, the Wi-Fi Alliance, a consortium that oversees Wi-Fi certification and testing, will release the Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint standard to automate logins. Based on the IEEE 802.11u protocol, Passpoint will allow devices to identify preferred hotspots, connect to them, enter passwords, and authenticate security credentials—all automatically. Users may be able to add Passpoint access to their cellphone plans or sign up for standalone service through another provider, such as Boingo, a company that serves 400,000 hotspots at locations like malls and restaurants. When users with Passpoint walk into a coffee shop or arrive at an airport, their phones will automatically connect with the network.

» via infoneer-pulse: Popular Science

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First wirelessly controlled drug-delivery chip successfully tested | KurzweilAI Researchers from MIT and MicroCHIPS Inc. have developed and tested a programmable, wirelessly controlled  chip to administer daily doses of an osteoporosis drug normally given by injection. This is the first successful test of such a device and could help usher in a new era of telemedicine — delivering health care over a distance, say MIT professors Robert Langer and Michael Cima, who had the idea 15 years ago. Pharmacy on the chip “You could literally have a pharmacy on a chip,” says Langer. “You can do remote control delivery, you can do pulsatile drug delivery, and you can deliver multiple drugs.”

First wirelessly controlled drug-delivery chip successfully tested | KurzweilAI

Researchers from MIT and MicroCHIPS Inc. have developed and tested a programmable, wirelessly controlled  chip to administer daily doses of an osteoporosis drug normally given by injection.

This is the first successful test of such a device and could help usher in a new era of telemedicine — delivering health care over a distance, say MIT professors Robert Langer and Michael Cima, who had the idea 15 years ago.

Pharmacy on the chip

“You could literally have a pharmacy on a chip,” says Langer. “You can do remote control delivery, you can do pulsatile drug delivery, and you can deliver multiple drugs.”

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Rural Broadband Could Fill Those White Spaces - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD On the one hand, the decision by the Federal Communications Commission last week to approve the first devices to run in the “white spaces” between television channels was a modest one. The decision initially covers only one product, and is limited to the pilot city of Wilmington, N.C. But backers of the technology hope those white spaces prove as big a boost to innovation as the unlicensed spectrum that gave birth to Wi-Fi. “We see this as a multibillion-dollar industry,” said Rod Dir, CEO of Spectrum Bridge, the company whose database is a key component of the white spaces system approved by the FCC. White spaces, for the uninitiated, are the spectrum spots in between TV channels. Like the 2.4GHZ spectrum used by several flavors of Wi-Fi, the white spaces are unlicensed spectrum, meaning any device that agrees to play nice with others and gains regulatory approval can operate in the frequency. Devices that are approved to operate in the white spaces spectrum are required to check in with a database to see which channels are available. (For more, check out AllThingsD’s handy FAQ post from last week.) Over time, analysts imagine a range of wireless and wired devices that can use the white spaces as a sort of “Super Wi-Fi” that can operate over greater distance and perform better indoors.

Rural Broadband Could Fill Those White Spaces - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD

On the one hand, the decision by the Federal Communications Commission last week to approve the first devices to run in the “white spaces” between television channels was a modest one.

The decision initially covers only one product, and is limited to the pilot city of Wilmington, N.C.

But backers of the technology hope those white spaces prove as big a boost to innovation as the unlicensed spectrum that gave birth to Wi-Fi.

“We see this as a multibillion-dollar industry,” said Rod Dir, CEO of Spectrum Bridge, the company whose database is a key component of the white spaces system approved by the FCC.

White spaces, for the uninitiated, are the spectrum spots in between TV channels. Like the 2.4GHZ spectrum used by several flavors of Wi-Fi, the white spaces are unlicensed spectrum, meaning any device that agrees to play nice with others and gains regulatory approval can operate in the frequency. Devices that are approved to operate in the white spaces spectrum are required to check in with a database to see which channels are available. (For more, check out AllThingsD’s handy FAQ post from last week.)

Over time, analysts imagine a range of wireless and wired devices that can use the white spaces as a sort of “Super Wi-Fi” that can operate over greater distance and perform better indoors.

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10 billion bits of data per second

Developed by Jelena Vuckovic, associate professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University, and Gary Shambat, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering, the nanoscale light-emitting diode (LED) can send data at 10 billion bits per second.

Vuckovic had earlier this year produced a nanoscale laser that was similarly efficient and fast, but that device operated only at temperatures below 150 degrees  Kelvin, about minus-190 degrees Fahrenheit, making it impractical for commercial use. The new device operates at room temperature and could, therefore, represent an important step toward next-generation computer chips.

“Low-power, electrically controlled light sources are vital for next-generation optical systems to meet the growing energy demands of the computer industry,” Vuckovic says. “This moves us in that direction significantly.”

» via Futurity

infoneer-pulse:

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Tracking Vital Signs, Without the Wires | New York Times

“Epidermal electronics” - a term coined by researchers who have produced prototype devices at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - may enable constant medical monitoring anywhere.

The devices are part of a growing field, called mHealth, that uses mobile technologies. Simpler forms include smartphone apps for patient education or disease management. More complex ones include wireless sensors to monitor vital signs.

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Duke Energy embraces cellular for smart grid | GigaOM Duke Energy is turning to cellular networks as the backbone for its smart grid. The utility detailed the network plan in a white paper released earlier this month, and revealed one of the most aggressive uses of cellular networks by the utility industry in the U.S. In the white paper Duke Energy’s Manager of Technology Development David Masters wrote that Duke plans to invest $1 billion into digital grid technologies, and the utility decided to rely heavily on already available networks like cellular connections for a variety of reasons. These reasons include: cellular networks are based on existing standards that have been used extensively, carriers will continue to invest in the network infrastructure to the benefit of the utility, and carriers use Internet Protocol as the transport layer. In addition, one of the most compelling reasons Masters writes: Duke Energy has no desire to be in the communications business. We need to harness already- existing expertise and capabilities that the cellular networks provide in designing, building, and maintaining the communications.

Duke Energy embraces cellular for smart grid | GigaOM

Duke Energy is turning to cellular networks as the backbone for its smart grid. The utility detailed the network plan in a white paper released earlier this month, and revealed one of the most aggressive uses of cellular networks by the utility industry in the U.S.

In the white paper Duke Energy’s Manager of Technology Development David Masters wrote that Duke plans to invest $1 billion into digital grid technologies, and the utility decided to rely heavily on already available networks like cellular connections for a variety of reasons. These reasons include: cellular networks are based on existing standards that have been used extensively, carriers will continue to invest in the network infrastructure to the benefit of the utility, and carriers use Internet Protocol as the transport layer. In addition, one of the most compelling reasons Masters writes:

Duke Energy has no desire to be in the communications business. We need to harness already- existing expertise and capabilities that the cellular networks provide in designing, building, and maintaining the communications.

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Sifteo launches intelligent blocks as a new form of entertainment | VentureBeat Sifteo, a table-top game startup, is announcing today that it has begun selling intelligent blocks known as Sifteo Cubes. These devices are like little dominoes with displays on one side. The cubes are wireless, motion-aware 1.5-inch blocks with full-color screens that create unique interactions when moved, tilted, rotated and placed next to one another. Merrill referred to this as “intelligent play,” inspired by games such as dominoes, Tetris, and Sudoku. The devices are really embedded computers, armed with ARM Cortex M3 processors. Merrill said Sifteo created its own wireless protocol so the blocks could talk to each other within a range of a few inches, without consuming too much power. The blocks can connect to a USB stick on a computer within about a 20-feet range. The batteries last about four hours. The Sifteo Cubes are a clever creation, but will consumers pay for them? You pay $149 for three Sifteo Cubes and $45 for each additional one. Downloadable games cost around $5. If the idea takes off, Sifteo will succeed in creating a new form of entertainment that combines video games, physical board games, building blocks and toys. It may be a tough sell, but there’s no doubt that the company has something very creative on its hands.

Sifteo launches intelligent blocks as a new form of entertainment | VentureBeat

Sifteo, a table-top game startup, is announcing today that it has begun selling intelligent blocks known as Sifteo Cubes. These devices are like little dominoes with displays on one side.

The cubes are wireless, motion-aware 1.5-inch blocks with full-color screens that create unique interactions when moved, tilted, rotated and placed next to one another. Merrill referred to this as “intelligent play,” inspired by games such as dominoes, Tetris, and Sudoku. The devices are really embedded computers, armed with ARM Cortex M3 processors. Merrill said Sifteo created its own wireless protocol so the blocks could talk to each other within a range of a few inches, without consuming too much power. The blocks can connect to a USB stick on a computer within about a 20-feet range. The batteries last about four hours.

The Sifteo Cubes are a clever creation, but will consumers pay for them? You pay $149 for three Sifteo Cubes and $45 for each additional one. Downloadable games cost around $5. If the idea takes off, Sifteo will succeed in creating a new form of entertainment that combines video games, physical board games, building blocks and toys. It may be a tough sell, but there’s no doubt that the company has something very creative on its hands.

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New technology beams power over sound waves

Meredith Perry and Nora Dweck, two freshly minted University of Pennsylvania graduates, were at the exclusive D9 tech conference this week showing off their compelling technology demo: Ultrasonic power transfer.

uBeam, the company they created around their tech, uses sounds waves beyond the range of human (and dog) hearing to transmit power. In a proof-of-concept demo, Perry was able to move 5 volts at 50 milliwatts, or a quarter of a watt, over three feet. She says that with custom components, not the off-the-shelf piezo speakers roughed into the tech demo, she’ll be able to send 25 watts over ten feet.

» via infoneer-pulse: CNET

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Report Finds Connected Devices, Not Phones, Leading the Explosion in Mobile Wireless Source: ReadWriteWeb As Sharma observes, the mobile market crossed a number of important thresholds in the last quarter of 2010. Mobile subscriptions crossed the 100% penetration mark, for example. And smartphone shipments exceeded PC shipments for the first time. But it’s important to note that these new mobile subscriptions aren’t all phones. In fact, the shape of the subscription market is changing quite dramatically, with connected devices outpacing the growth of paid and prepaid subscriptions quite dramatically. Connected devices - tablets, e-readers, and so on - are now 7% of subscriptions. That category isn’t simply the fastest growing; Sharma also predicts that this will soon become the most profitable. By the end of this year, connected devices will command double digit market share.

Report Finds Connected Devices, Not Phones, Leading the Explosion in Mobile Wireless

Source: ReadWriteWeb

As Sharma observes, the mobile market crossed a number of important thresholds in the last quarter of 2010. Mobile subscriptions crossed the 100% penetration mark, for example. And smartphone shipments exceeded PC shipments for the first time.

But it’s important to note that these new mobile subscriptions aren’t all phones. In fact, the shape of the subscription market is changing quite dramatically, with connected devices outpacing the growth of paid and prepaid subscriptions quite dramatically. Connected devices - tablets, e-readers, and so on - are now 7% of subscriptions. That category isn’t simply the fastest growing; Sharma also predicts that this will soon become the most profitable. By the end of this year, connected devices will command double digit market share.

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President Obama Details Plan to Win the Future through Expanded Wireless Access

Initiative expands wireless coverage to 98% of Americans, reduces deficit by nearly $10 billion, invests in nationwide public safety network

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama will today detail his plan to win the future by catalyzing the buildout of high-speed wireless services that will enable businesses to grow faster, students to learn more, and public safety officials to access state-of-the-art, secure, nationwide, and interoperable mobile communications.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for a National Wireless Initiative to make available high-speed wireless services to at least 98 percent of Americans. The Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative laid out today will make it possible for businesses to achieve that goal, while freeing up spectrum through incentive auctions, spurring innovation, and creating a nationwide, interoperable wireless network for public safety.  It will also reduce the national deficit by approximately $10 billion.

(Read more at ww.whitehouse.gov)

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New class of implantable monitoring devices for heart patients CardioMEMS, which has more than 65 employees, grew out of Georgia Tech research.  The company’s products combine wireless communications technology with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication, providing doctors with more information while making monitoring less invasive for patients. MEMS uses micro-machining fabrication to build electrical and mechanical systems at the micron scale — one-millionth of a meter. Using technology originally developed for the integrated circuit industry, MEMS is an attractive platform for medical devices because mechanical, sensing and computational functions can be placed on a single chip. CardioMEMS began marketing its first product in 2006: the EndoSure sensor, which measures blood pressure inside a repaired abdominal aortic aneurysm. Implanted along with a stent graft during endovascular repair, this tiny sensor may allow doctors to monitor post-surgery patients more effectively than the CT scans that had previously been used. 

New class of implantable monitoring devices for heart patients

CardioMEMS, which has more than 65 employees, grew out of Georgia Tech research. 

The company’s products combine wireless communications technology with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication, providing doctors with more information while making monitoring less invasive for patients.

MEMS uses micro-machining fabrication to build electrical and mechanical systems at the micron scale — one-millionth of a meter. Using technology originally developed for the integrated circuit industry, MEMS is an attractive platform for medical devices because mechanical, sensing and computational functions can be placed on a single chip.

CardioMEMS began marketing its first product in 2006: the EndoSure sensor, which measures blood pressure inside a repaired abdominal aortic aneurysm. Implanted along with a stent graft during endovascular repair, this tiny sensor may allow doctors to monitor post-surgery patients more effectively than the CT scans that had previously been used. 

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