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Digital Cigarettes? Yes, digital technology is everywhere.

Posted on October 15, 2014 - 6:12 am by

I’m probably not the only one who’s been seeing more kids “vaping” with their e-cigarettes. And I’m probably not the only out there who’s been seeing ads for a “digital” vapor cigarette called VUSE.

With digital technology popping up everywhere, I guess it’s no surprise that it would make its way into the e-cigarette world, as well. In fact, “tech-talk” has made even further inroads into the smoker vocabulary, with those who smoke traditional tobacco-and-paper cigarettes now sometimes referred to as analog smokers.

I’m no expert on the topic, but for those unfamiliar with e-cigarettes, they’re a smokeless, tobacco-less way to deliver nicotine. They are battery-powered and convert liquid nicotine into a mist – hence the vapor wording associated with them..

I wasn’t willing to surrender personal information, including the last four digits of my Social Security number, in order to get access to the innards of the VUSE website. But from their public FAQ, I found this info about the “Smart Technology” that the VUSE e-cigarette uses:

The VUSE Digital Vapor Cigarette contains a Vapor Delivery Processor that uses algorithms in the same way a computer does, therefore it is “digital.” The Vapor Delivery Processor in the Power Unit, working with the SmartMemory™ microchip in the Cartridge, monitors and adjusts the power and heat delivered to the Cartridge up to 2,000 times a second, ensuring consistently satisfying puffs. (Source: VuseVapor)

For an explanation of e-cigarette technology, the most helpful site I found was the Tobacco Control sub-site of the BMJ (British Medical Journal). There, in an article on the design and product characteristics of e-cigarettes, authors Christopher Brown and James Cheng include a couple of schematics that show how these cigarettes work. This one clearly shows where the sensor and microprocessor factor in:

e-cigarette

There’s also one that illustrates the full flow chart. Sorry about the blurriness.

e-cigarette flow chart

Because of its use of technology, VUSE (and other e-cigs) had wide presence at last winter’s Consumer Electronics Show, and even received a couple of reviews.

When you take a vape of the Vuse, the tip has an attractive LED that lights up white. The LED is not only has a pleasant glow, but it’s useful, too. When the light flashes white for two seconds, the cartridge is running low on e-juice. When the light continuously flashes, the cartridge needs to be replaced. When the LED flashes red for two seconds, the battery is getting low. Constant red flashing means the battery needs to be charged. (Source: PC Magazine)

That’s what the SmartMemory is doing:  counting the puffs and letting the user know they need to put in a new liquid nicotine cartridge.

As use of technology goes, the advent of the digital cigarette is by no means the most interesting, innovative, useful, or world-shattering. But as technology becomes more and more embedded in life’s everyday objects, great and small, it’s interesting to think about where it might end up next.

 

 

Wearable Technology:  Ring Theory Puts a Ring on It

Posted on October 8, 2014 - 5:18 am by

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about wearable technology.

Shortly after the post appeared, I got an e-mail from a friend in Boston who wrote to me about her wearable tech: a pass for using the “T”, Boston’s public transportation system. It’s called the Sesame Ring, and it kind of looks like someSeasame Ringthing that my grandfather might have ordered out of the back of a comic book during the 1930’s – a magic decoder ring or something.

The ring was created by a couple of MIT students as a replacement for the Charlie Card, the smart card used by T riders.

Charlie CardThe ring and the Charlie Card work the same way. They both contain “stored value”, and each time you get on a bus or a subway, you tap your card against the fare box. The fare box reads the card/ring and the cost is deducted from the stored value, which can be topped off at vending machines in subway stations. There’s a video showing how all this works on Ring Theory’s site. (That’s the company founded by the MIT students.)

For many riders (apparently including my Boston friend), the ring – which has only been GA for a short while – is more convenient than fumbling around trying to find your wallet and getting your Charlie Card out.

Ring Theory’s founders are hoping that the idea takes off, and that it gets used for other applications, like replacing keys.

The Sesame Ring is interesting on a lot of fronts.

For one thing, it was funded via Kickstarter, and “investors”, like my friend, got their rings before they were generally available. For another, it’s made using 3D printing, and can be infinitely customizable, which is kind of cool. And there’s the fact that the ring is the brainchild of a couple of creative, techie kids who had an idea and ran with it.

Critical Link in space

Posted on October 1, 2014 - 5:06 am by

With so much recent media focus on consumer technology – think iPhone 6 – and wearable technology – think Apple Watch – I sometimes have to bring my mind back down to earth to think about the types of “industrial strength” applications that Critical Link technology finds its way into. Over the years, our work has been embedded in scientific instruments, medical products, defense systems, manufacturing systems, transportation, energy, communications equipment…

And now it looks like our MityCAM is going to be something of Critical Link’s first astronaut.

Without giving away too many of the details, we have a new customer that develops technology used in the aerospace and military industries. The project we’re undertaking leverages our sCMOS camera platform to develop a custom camera that images the stars and does custom image processing in space. We will be developing a custom I/O board and a sensor head board (based on a scientific sCMOS sensor from Fairchild Imaging/BAE Systems) for our existing platform, and porting their algorithms to the Cortex-A9’s in the Altera SoC.

And before we know it, a Critical Link MityCAM will be heading into space!

For those who aren’t familiar with our cameras, the MityCCD® and MityCAM™ families are highly configurable cameras that can be used in a wide array of scientific imaging and vision applications. These cameras deliver robust on-board processing capability with Critical Link’s MityDSP and MitySOM modules, making them ideal for advanced processing and high-throughput applications. (Here’s a link to the info for the MityCCD and MityCAM products.)

Anyway, I tend to find all of the applications that Critical Link gets involved with to be very interesting and exciting. But I have to admit that there’s something especially exciting at the prospect of standing out in my driveway on a clear night, looking off into space, and knowing that some of our work is out there.

 

 

Designing for the Wearables Market

Posted on September 24, 2014 - 6:24 am by

With the recent announcement of Apple Watch, we’re seeing a lot more talk about wearable computing. While this is not the market the Critical Link generally focuses on, it’s still pretty interesting from a technology perspective, and I’m always interested in reading about it.

One thing that caught my eye was an article by Raman Sharma on Embedded.com entitled “Winning Design Strategies for the Wearables Market.”

A successful wearable device must deliver the right combination of price, performance, functionality, and battery life, as well as a unique look, feel, and behavior to differentiate itself from its competitors. MCUs, sensors, wireless electronics, and attractive user interfaces must be shoehorned into a small footprint that can be comfortably worn on the wrist or elsewhere on one’s body. Since such form-factor constraints leave little room for a battery, wearable systems must be extremely energy-efficient to achieve the longest possible operating periods between battery replacements or charges..Integrating these diverse elements into a market-winning product requires complex design trade-offs to balance power, performance, functionality, and form factor.  (Source: Embedded.com)

Other than that the form factor of applications that embed our SOMs is not typically that small, and the fact that those designing these apps don’t have to spend quite so much time worrying about how attractive the UI is, these considerations aren’t all that different than those the our customers grapple with.

Raman does point out that the design process for wearables is somewhat different, as the overall user experience (including creating an emotional connection with the product) is more important than the “conventional priorities” – functionality, capabilities – that typically govern embedded systems design.

There are two categories that UI requirements for wearables fall into: “look, feel, features, and functions” and ease of use, with battery life being one of the most important elements. Once defining the user experience has been taken care of, it’s on to creating the use case, covering “the tasks the wearable device is expected to perform.” Then it’s on to figuring out the best set of components to meet the product’s requirements.

As I mentioned, other than leading with the user experience, it’s not that dissimilar from the process that governs design for the types of scientific, medical, transportation, defense, and industrial apps that Critical Link gets involved in.

Interesting, nonetheless.

People Counting

Posted on September 17, 2014 - 6:00 am by

Last month, on a trip to New Hampshire, I stopped at a state welcome center, and encountered a vision-based people counter.

What I first saw of it was this counter, which was in plain view, but on the side of the moulding. It wasn’t all that obvious, but I’m an engineer, so I’m always on the lookout for things of technical interest. The counter was clearly unprotected, so I could have played with it a bit if I’d wanted to. Not that I would have, mind you…

While I resisted the urge to do anything more than snap a picture of the counter with my smartphone, I was curious about how they were doing the counting. So I followed the wires.

I didn’t really expect to see a bored summer employee or a happy-to-be-there retiree on the other end of it, sitting there on a stool, clicker in hand, so I wasn’t surprised that what was  on the other end was a ceiling-mounted camera.

This particular system is from Amseco/Potter Electric. I couldn’t see any model number, but I did want to look at the specs.  Among other things I found out about the  VDP-100 VIDEO-EYE PEOPLE COUNTER™ from its data sheet:

  •  Integrated CMOS color video camera
  • Digital Signal Processor (DSP) driven system
  • Tamper protection
  • Able to distinguish and accurately count multiple people walking side by side or in opposite directions

The DSP they use is a Blackfin processor from Analog Devices,which I couldn’t tell from the     outside looking in (especially given the tamper protection). And the connection is wired, not wireless, as I could tell by following the wires with my own two eyes.

Anyway, it’s got to a be lot more accurate than a human-based people counter system, although I will note that the reading was that 341 people entered, and 355 exited. Seems like those data points should have been reversed, but maybe a few folks managed to sneak in somehow…

 

The Industrial IoT

Posted on September 10, 2014 - 5:29 am by

An awful lot has been written – including by us, in this blog – about the Internet of Things. All very exciting stuff, especially when you consider Cisco’s Carl Sagan-esque forecast that, by 2020, 50 billion devices will be connected.

Much of what we read about the IoT is on the consumer end, which makes sense, as the majority of those 50 billion things being connected to the Internet will be in our hands, our homes, our cars, and maybe even on our person.

But the Industrial IoT is also of interest, as I was reminded when I saw a recent post on EE Times, authored by the head of Echelon, which makes an energy control platform and, thus, is part of the IoT/IIoT.

In the post, Ron Sege points out that industrial systems have been networked for a long time. It’s just that much of this networking dates back prior to the use of devices in which Internet Protocol is embedded.

Some form of IP addressability is a prerequisite for participation in the Internet of Things (IoT) and its important subset, the Industrial IoT (IIoT). But in today’s industrial world, only a few of the established control networks are prepared to join the IIoT. (Source: EETimes)

Sege then lays out a straightforward, if obvious, way to get moving into the IIoT world.

What’s left unsaid is that wholesale changeover is hugely risky if done all at once. Remember, many of these industrial systems have been in place (and working quite nicely, thank you) for a long time. So a staged approach to transforming an older-style industrial system into one that’s fully IIoT is best.

That said, there are many interesting application areas where industrial systems could really change or enhance an industrial product or process, allowing a vendor to leapfrog its competition on features, performance, efficiency… These are applications – and they’ll obviously be different depending on the industry – where some real ingenuity is put in place on ways to use the data that’s now available on all of the newly connected devices.

Harvesting all that data: now that’s where things will get really interesting in the IIoT.

 

 

 

What Network on Chip can do for you

Posted on September 3, 2014 - 5:34 am by

A few weeks ago, I saw a post over on EE Times on Network on Chip (NOC)  The main point the post made was that System on Chip (SOC) designers can optimize their products by incorporating NOC interconnect IP. As the article was written by the CEO of a company that makes interconnect fabric IP, the point is not surprising. Still, it’s a good one.

One of the benefits of using NOC technology is higher bandwidth, and this is one of the reasons behind Critical Link’s decision to build a System on Module – the MitySOM-5CSX –  based on Altera’sCyclone V SOC. With the Cyclone V,the FPGA and the ARM have been put into the same silicon (die) with interconnect. The higher bandwidth this provides offers a tremendous advantage from an application point of view, allowing us today to easily move 1 GB of data – we could go even higher – between the ARM cores and the FPGA fabric.

In the past, we were limited to 400MB/s using external interconnect. And even that 400 MB/s number is only theoretical; it’s not really achievable.

TI has also embraced the NOC idea with their Keystone architecture. Their interconnect, which they have named TeraNet allows re-use of TeraNet compatible IP blocks, which definitely speeds up time to market, another advantage of the NOC approach. Another advantage of what TI is doing with these re-usable blocks is that the initial software driver for a particular IP block will not always support all the features of the IP block, but over time the drivers evolve and become more robust and feature rich as the IP block gets used in more and more devices. A definite plus as the silicon vendors continue to work on their software strategy, which is far and away the long pole in the tent for new product development these days.

Higher bandwidth and speedier time-to-market are just two of the NOC advantages. A smaller die size, lower power consumption, increased productivity.

Overall, they’re pretty much the same advantages you get with a Critical Link System on Module…

Would you like fries with that new technology?

Posted on August 27, 2014 - 5:38 am by

Last week, I blogged about the tablet technology that the NFL will be fielding this season. What I didn’t mention in that post is that referees are also getting some new gear, wireless headsets that will let them communicate with each other on the field, as well as with NFL headquarters on difficult calls, replay situations, etc. And I’m not going to talk about it here, either, other than to say that the referee technology is quite similar to some restaurant technology that one of our customers has brought to market.

You may have seen these in action in drive-through restaurants, where the person you’re ordering from repeats your order into their headset. I’ve also seen them in use in large, sit-down restaurants, in which the host at the front desk is in communication with staff to figure out where to seat parties.

A Critical Link SOM – the MityDSP-L138 – is embedded in the base station that manages the wireless communications with the headsets that the staff members are wearing. The SOM’s DSP is being leveraged to enhance the clarity of the audio over what previous models have been able to achieve.

Now, giving your order to the Jack-in-the-Box clown may have been a bit more fun, but the new systems have pretty good sound quality. Outside and kitchen noise is reduced, so you’re more likely to find what you really wanted in the bag, rather than what someone thought you wanted.

Maybe someday these fast food systems will even replace the folks taking the orders.

Personally, I hope not. These are great jobs for kids to start out with!

 

Digital technology comes to the NFL (sort of)

Posted on August 20, 2014 - 5:47 am by

With the NFL regular season about the kick-off (literally), I thought it would be interesting to talk a bit about some new technology which will be on the field, or at least on the sidelines, for the upcoming season.

Players and coaches will have access to Microsoft Surface tablets that will let them look at game photos.

Other than the delivery mechanism, this doesn’t sound all that different than the binders of pictures that we see quarterbacks poring over trying to get a better understanding of a broken play. But it is a technical breakthrough. Back in the old days, teams had photographers stationed up high in stadiums. These guys took Polaroids and lowered them down to the field on wires. As technology evolved, digital pictures were taken automatically and sent to sideline printers.

Now, with tablets, things have really gotten wireless. Plus the pictures will be in color, and players and coaches can annotate them (all those x’s and o’s…). But still no video.

Even the level of technology that will now be available required a change in NFL rules, which had not allowed for any computers on the field.

If you’re a football fan, you’re well aware that there’s a lot of sensitivity in the NFL around any sort of espionage. (Patriots’ followers – whether fans or haters – will all remember the infamous Spygate incident.)

But Microsoft worked closely with the NFL to come up with a limited-use version of the Surface:

The NFL’s Surface tablets have had their cameras disabled and can connect only to a private in-stadium wireless network. The devices can only run a single program, which allows people to browse through digital game photographs… There are protective modifications too, made in hopes that the 13 Surface tablets [available to the players; there will be another dozen for the coaching staff] might actually make it through a football season. The NFL versions are bulkier than their consumer counterparts, covered with a thick rubbery coating with waterproof screens. (Source: Business Week.) .

The league is apparently not taking any chances on the more tech-savvy teams trying to game the new system.

Just before kickoff, the devices are handed over the to each team and remain in each team’s possession only for the next several hours. When the game ends, the tablets are put away and spend the next six days in locked, temperature-controlled carts.

Wonder what impact it will have – if any – on the game.

Anyway, it’s interesting to see new technology, however minimal, being introduced to the game.

 

Keep on Truckin’

Posted on August 13, 2014 - 5:02 am by

Since it’s an area where so much interesting embedded technology is being deployed, you may have noticed that we’ve done our share of transportation related posts – positive train control, driverless cars… Today, we’re once again on the highway, but this time it’s to talk about trucks.

What caught my eye here was something in The MIT Technology Review on Peloton Technology. They’ve developed a solution that lets big rigs form electronically connected convoys. With the Peloton technology in place, the trucks will be able to travel closer together. With the cut-down in resistance this will result in, there’ll be considerable fuel savings. And because the sensing technology that’s in place translates into far quicker reaction time, hitting the brakes will be faster than a trucker could do on his own. So far, Peloton has been demonstrating this on two-truck convoys, but theoretically, more trucks could join in. (It would be interesting to see how the fuel savings and safety record would compare with one cab hauling two trailers in tandem. And I would think that Peloton would want to do some demonstrations with a larger convoy.)

Peloton’s system consists of radar sensors, a wireless communications system, and computers connected to each truck’s central computer. Video screens in both cabs show the drivers views of blind spots around the two vehicles. (Source: Tech Review)

If you’ve ever watched the Tour de France, you’ve probably heard the word peloton used. In the bicycling world, it’s used for the pack of riders cycling in close formation, decreasing the energy usage of those further down in the pack.

Closer to home, it’s the same idea as the draft used in car racing, especially NASCAR races at the big “restrictor plate” tracks (Daytona and Talladega.) The approach does, indeed, save fuel for both race car drivers, and also allows them both to go faster than either one alone. It would be scary to be the second guy in the chain – who wouldn’t have the benefit of the Peloton auto-braking technology.

Anyway, the concept is very interesting, and it’s also interesting to see a Silicon Valley start-up tackling such a heavy-duty application.

Peloton’s not alone, as there are other groups doing the same. (The one in Europe is weirdly – to me, at least – called SARTRE(Safe Road Trains for the Environment). What trucking has to do with French existentialism, I don’t quite get.)

Peloton’s system will be commercially available in 2015. Their business will likely be getting a boost from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which:

…has indicated that it plans to mandate such communications systems in new vehicles in the hopes of improving road safety.

Next year, when I’m on the NY State Thruway, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for convoys that look like they’re rolling in dangerously close formation. Hopefully, they’ll be equipped with Peloton or something similar.

In the meantime, there are a couple of videos on the Peloton Tech site, and on Bloomberg, that show how it all works.

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