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Electronix Express Newsletter

April/May 2005 Issue

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Welcome to the Electronix Express Newsletter. We hope you find it to be both interesting and useful. Also, we invite you to submit any hints, tips, news-bits or articles of your own.

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STORIES

1. High Tech Shoe
2. Fuel Cells
3. Intel Pushes WiMAX
4. See the Light
5. Robo-Roach
6. CEA calls for end of analog TV

1. High Tech Shoe

The Adidas 1 running shoe uses a 20 MHz 8-bit microcontroller to adapt the shoe's cushioning level to a runner's size and stride. Priced at $250 a pair, it's the result of a three-year project at the European company's research and development headquarters in Portland, Oregon. The chip, embedded in the shoe's arch, controls a tiny screw and cable system that adjusts the heel cushion based on signals sent back by a Hall-Effect sensor. The system is powered by a battery that conserves power by adjusting the shoe in mid-air, during a runner's stride. The scheme is designed to reduce drag and avoid resistance from the ground. The entire microprocessor system weighs less than 40 grams. Replaceable lithium batteries are designed to last for 100 hours of running.

2. Fuel Cells

The market for fuel cells in 2005 is expected to be something like $40 million; small compared to the market for other fuels. But a significant number of commercial launches of ethanol-based fuel cells, both as standalone products and built in to devices, are expected for next year. The biggest obstacle to the adoption of fuel cells is the lack of an infrastructure to enable easy refueling. Once you can say "fill it up" at a fuel station, the technology will grow rapidly.

3. Intel Pushes WiMAX

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a wireless technology designed to provide high-speed, short-range (30 miles) broadband connectivity to homes, businesses, and mobile wireless networks. The technology became IEEE standard 802.16 in 2004. WiMAX currently operates under the 6GHz spectrum, with the industry targeting the 5.8GHz un-licensed spectrum, the 3.5GHz licensed spectrum, and the 2.5GHz licensed spectrum - a combination that Intel feels will give WiMAX a worldwide footprint (and market).

Unlike the way it handled Wi-Fi, Intel has jumped into WiMAX with ICs such as its PRO/Wireless 5116 broadband interface device. The carriers Intel has lined up to support its WiMAX effort include AT and T, France's Altitude Telecom, Britain's BT, Brasil Telecom, Columbia's ETB, Spain's Iberbanda, Argentina's Millicom, Qwest, India's Sify, Speakeasy, South Africa's Telkom, Mexico's Telmex, TowerStream, and the Ukraine's UHT.

4. See the Light

Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York have found a way to extract more light from white LEDs. "The new technology dramatically increases light output and efficacy of white LEDs, and could play a fundamental role in the evolution of white LEDs for lighting in homes and offices," said Dr Nadarajah Narendran, director of research at Rensselaer's Lighting Research Center. Compared to currently available white LEDs, the new LED technology produces 30% to 60% more light. Further research could result in even higher levels of light output and greater luminous efficacy.

5. Robo-Roach

Based on a detailed examination of cockroach antennae, John Hopkins University in Maryland has designed a sensor which allows a robot to feel its way around. The antenna consists of six strain gauges molded in urethane, and it has been attached to a melon-size robot. "We get an accuracy of 1-1.5cm in position -. quite good for following a wall," said Dr. Noah Cowan of John Hopkins. "The error is on the order of one tenth the size of the robot." Processing the strain gauge signals to get a distance reading is done by a small microcontroller.

6. CEA calls for end of analog TV

Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), urged broadcasters at a conference on Monday (April 18) to stop trying to impose regulations on other industries in order to maintain the status quo.

CEA has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move up to March 1, 2006, the deadline for including digital tuners on all TVs with screens up to 36 inches. In exchange, CEA would urge the FCC to drop a July 1, 2005, deadline requiring that 50% of TV sets in the size range to include a digital tuner. The original date for ending U.S. analog TV broadcasts was 2006, but few expect that to happen. Shapiro urged broadcasters to support a "hard cut-off date" for analog broadcasts. Once analog broadcasts end, TV stations would be required to return their analog spectrum to the FCC, which plans to use the frequencies for other applications

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