Wireless

VectorNav releases the world's first GPS-aided inertial navigation system on a chip

August 13, 2012 1:22 pm | Product Releases | Comments

VectorNav Technologies, a pioneering company in embedded navigation solutions, announced today the release of the VN-200, a high-accuracy GPS-Aided Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS) on a surface-mount chip the size of a postage stamp. Combining an advanced GPS module with the latest in MEMS inertial and pressure sensor technology...

Three-axis gyroscope promises power, speed and design-in advantages

August 9, 2012 10:33 am | Stmicroelectronics | Product Releases | Comments

STMicroelectronics has unveiled a small, low-power chip-scale gyroscope for advanced motion-sensing applications. ST’s L3GD20H gyroscope measures 3 mm x 3 mm and 1 mm high - the smallest available, according to the company. Occupying little over half the volume of its predecessor, yet offering

Mobile app sparks Obama camp voter drive, privacy fears

August 9, 2012 8:39 am | by Eric Johnson, Reuters | News | Comments

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has taken its digital infrastructure to the streets, arming its ground troops with mobile software that maps Democratic voters and canvassing strategies - and raising the blood pressure of privacy activists who worry about possible misuse.

Ten tips for smart battery implementation

August 7, 2012 4:47 pm | by Adam Hickerson, Raveon Technologies, www.raveon.com | Blogs | Comments

Smart battery design starts with knowing the details of the system that is using the battery power. A battery does not make a system battery-powered. For operational lifetimes measured in days, weeks or years, power must be a design consideration from the ground up.

What makes Paris look like Paris? Carnegie Mellon software finds stylistic core

August 7, 2012 2:26 pm | by Eurekalert! | News | Comments

PITTSBURGH—Paris is one of those cities that has a look all its own, something that goes beyond landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and INRIA/Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris have developed visual data mining software that can automatically detect these sometimes subtle features, such as street signs, streetlamps and balcony railings, that give Paris and other cities a distinctive look.

Hybrid SoC integrates HomePlug Green PHY and ZigBee

August 7, 2012 12:30 pm | Product Releases | Comments

Greenvity Communications introduced what it asserts is the world’s first hybrid system-on-chip (SoC) family that integrates powerline communication (PLC) and wireless capabilities on a single chip. The Greenvity Hybrii chip family supports both the HomePlug Green PHY PLC and ZigBee worldwide

EMI test receiver is presented as world’s fastest

August 7, 2012 10:25 am | Product Releases | Comments

The new R&S ESR test receiver is available in two different models for frequencies ranging from 10 Hz to 3 GHz or 7 GHz to meet the requirements of all users who perform EMC certification on commercial equipment. The R&S ESR covers

AT&T goes on spectrum shopping binge, stitching together space on airwaves in 3 deals

August 3, 2012 9:08 am | by Associated Press | News | Comments

AT&T Inc. has gone on a shopping spree for wireless spectrum, striking three separate deals that should let it increase its capacity for wireless broadband.

Smart wireless power outlets

August 2, 2012 2:17 pm | by Eurekalert! | News | Comments

Soon there will be no need for special timers to switch lighting on and off or operate household appliances when the homeowner is absent. In future, all this can be done by means of a smartphone or PC, thanks to Internet-enabled wireless power outlets that support the new IPv6 Internet protocol. The smart socket was developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication Systems ESK in Munich in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM in Kaiserslautern and the industrial partner embedded brains GmbH. "We have been able to connect the power outlets wirelessly using the IPv6 protocol," says ESK research engineer Günter Hildebrandt. "All household appliances plugged in one of the sockets can be switched on and off remotely using an IPv6-compatible device such as a smartphone or laptop PC – from anywhere."

Cells: A philosophical excursion (Part 1)

August 1, 2012 12:54 pm | by Ralf Bendlin, Texas Instruments | Blogs | Comments

This is the first of a two-part excursion into the realm of philosophy as it relates to “cells.” Don’t worry, I’ll leave the important questions like “what is enlightenment?” to Emmanuel Kant and his successors. But since the evolution of LTE to LTE Advanced (LTE-A), it is worthwhile to ask: What is a cell?

SPI real-time clock/calendars series expands with 10-pin packages

August 1, 2012 12:15 pm | Microchip Technology Inc. | Product Releases | Comments

Microchip Technology Inc. announced the expansion of its stand-alone Real-Time Clock/Calendar (RTCC) portfolio with the new 10-pin, SPI MCP795XX family. These devices offer many of the same features as the larger 14-pin MCP795WXX family, including

Lenovo executive dismisses Nokia bid talk as "joke"

August 1, 2012 8:43 am | by Tarmo Virki, Reuters | News | Comments

(Reuters) - Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo on Wednesday quashed market speculation it was interested in buying struggling Finnish cellphone maker Nokia.

Do you have what it takes to be a Roundtable expert?

July 31, 2012 4:30 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | Comments

We here at ECN love to hear what you have to say, so for our October issue we’re opening up the Roundtable discussion to our faithful readers. Typically, the Roundtable is an editorial section consisting of short commentary by five or six experts in a particular vertical market. Check out the most recent Roundtable from August here.

Networcsim hoping to broaden wireless revolution

July 30, 2012 9:26 am | by Eurekalert! | News | Comments

A Tennessee company has licensed award-winning software from Oak Ridge National Laboratory that will help industries install wireless networks more cost-effectively in challenging environments such as mines, offshore drilling platforms and factory floors.

For wireless power market success, look to the east

July 30, 2012 9:14 am | News | Comments

According to an upcoming report from IMS Research, Japan is forecast to become the leading market for wireless power technology this year, with enabled devices surpassing two million shipments by year’s end. The report points to mobile phone carrier support, in-box packaging, and deployment of wireless power infrastructure as the main reasons for the rapid rise in cable-free charging.

Cellular carrier certification requirements

July 27, 2012 10:40 am | by Chris Anderson and Pat Frank, Spectrum Design Solutions, www.spectrumdsi.com | Articles | Comments

So you want to sell a product with cellular in it, but you have no details on cellular carrier and agency certifications? Here’s the skinny.

Sprint loss widens as Nextel shutdown looms, but monthly fees improve; stock leaps

July 27, 2012 9:16 am | by Peter Svensson, Technology Writer, Associated Press | News | Comments

Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest wireless carrier, on Thursday reported a wider loss for the second quarter as wrote down the value of its moribund Nextel network.

Antenna selection and implementation

July 25, 2012 4:20 pm | by Chris Anderson – Chief Solutions Technologist, Spectrum Design Solutions, www.spectrumdsi.com | Blogs | Comments

The antenna has the single largest impact on the performance of any Telit radio implementation, whether it‘s cellular, GPS or short range. It can be very difficult for developers without the proper tools and experience to select and implement an antenna properly. Antenna performance is influenced by conductive and absorptive system elements like

New data pricing from Verizon, AT&T may complicate family life

July 25, 2012 3:31 pm | by Sinead Carew, Reuters | News | Comments

(Reuters) - Arguments around U.S. family dinner tables may soon go from who talked too much on the phone this month to who used up the family's Internet service.

Lab manual assists XBee experimenters

July 25, 2012 3:09 pm | Product Releases | Comments

"The Hands-On XBee Lab Manual," By Jonathan A. Titus, Newnes/Elsevier, Waltham, MA, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-12-391404-0. List price: $US 44.95. 301 pages, paperback. This book supplies 22 hands-on experiments for engineers, product designers, students, and electronic enthusiasts who want to use the popular Digi International XBee modules

Proximity sensor enables human body detection

July 25, 2012 9:54 am | 3M Electronics Solutions Division | Product Releases | Comments

Semtech Corporation today announced the SX9300, an ultra-low power capacitive proximity sensor with on-chip Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) engine for human body detection. Semtech is the first to provide a robust and cost effective proximity sensor with true discrimination between a human body and inert material.

Navy radio system might be crippling garage door openers in part of Connecticut

July 23, 2012 4:42 pm | by PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press | News | Comments

A radio signal being transmitted out of a submarine base is likely behind reports of garage doors failing to open and close in southeastern Connecticut, the U.S. Navy said Monday.

Oscillator features typical phase noise of -106dBc/Hz

July 20, 2012 1:43 pm | Product Releases | Comments

Crystek's CVCO33BE-1662-1708 VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) operates from 1662 MHz to 1708 MHz with a control voltage range of 0.5V~4.5 V. This VCO features a typical phase noise of -106 dBc/Hz @ 10KHz offset and has excellent linearity. Output power is typically +2 dBm.