Altera recently announced it is shipping in production all three of its 28-nm FPGA families, including Stratix V, Arria V and Cyclone V devices, with the latest shipment of the largest Cyclone V FPGA in its low-cost, low-power product family.The Cyclone V family was developed on TSMC's 28nm Low Power (28LP) process and targets both low power and low cost for use in high-volume, cost-sensitive applications. The family also includes variants with an integrated dual-core ARM-based hard processor system (HPS) that deliver 40% lower total power compared with the previous generation.Other features of Cyclone V include what Altera claims are the industry's lowest-power serial transceivers, with 88-mW power consumption per channel; 800Mbps DDR3 with integrated hard memory controllers; and PCI Express (PCIe) Gen2 hard intellectual property (IP) blocks with multifunction support enabling over 4,000 MIPS processing performance at under 1.8W.
Imagination Technologies, a leading multimedia and communications technologies company, observes that the growth in performance of mobile GPUs, such as its PowerVR IP cores, is driving future generations of silicon process and packaging technologies, as well as SoC (system on chip) processing performance across a growing range of markets.The GPU's ability to deliver unprecedented processing horsepower (measured in GFLOPS) whilst also delivering amazing graphics performance per mm2 and per mW, means that GPU capabilities are becoming the dominant force driving heterogeneous processing performance in everything from mobile phones through to TVs, in-car information and entertainment, games consoles and even cloud computing.Recognising this trend, Imagination is further developing its roadmaps, architectures and support to ensure its partners can select IP solutions optimized for the latest silicon process and SIP (System in Package) technologies, enabling them to realise the full potential of what GPUs can deliver in SoCs, both for graphics and compute capabilities.To help its partners, Imagination is already working with leading silicon foundries to implement high performance mobile GPU-based systems delivering unheard-of levels of memory bandwidth, using the latest PowerVR Series6 GPUs combined with wide I/O memory and advanced 3D IC assembly and process technologies. Imagination is also working with foundries and EDA vendors to ensure that licensees of all of Imagination's IP (intellectual property) cores can benefit from well-defined tool flows and optimized libraries to achieve the most aggressive speed, area and power consumption targets.Reflecting closer ties to key foundries, Imaginations' engineers will be speaking at the TSMC Open Innovation Platform Forum 2012 in San Jose, CA, on 'Implementing and Optimising Graphics IP in SoCs'. Imagination will also be demonstrating its latest PowerVR GPU and VPU (video processor) as well as Ensigma RPU (radio processor) and Meta CPU IP technologies at the event (booth 201).Says Tony King-Smith, VP marketing, Imagination: "Just as memory drove silicon processes in the '80s and '90s, and CPUs drove these in the late '90s and '00s, mobile GPUs are now becoming the most demanding on-chip function driving tomorrow's advanced SoCs and silicon processes. We see our strengthening relationships with leading foundries, EDA vendors and library providers, as well as strategic activities with industry standards bodies such as HSA Foundation and Khronos Group, as key to ensuring we continue to drive and deliver the leading edge capabilities our customers have come to expect from us."About Imagination TechnologiesImagination Technologies - a global leader in multimedia and communication technologies - creates and licenses market-leading processor solutions for graphics, video, display, embedded processing, multi-standard communications and connectivity, and cross-platform V.VoIP & VoLTE. These silicon and software intellectual property (IP) solutions for systems-on-chip (SoC) are complemented by an extensive portfolio of software drivers, developer tools and extensive market and technology-focused ecosystems. Target markets include mobile phone, handheld multimedia devices, connected home consumer, tablets/mobile computing, in-car electronics, telecoms, health, smart energy and connected sensors and controllers. Imagination's licensees include many of the world's leading semiconductor, network operator and electronics OEM/ODM companies. Corporate headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, with sales and R&D offices worldwide. See: http://www.imgtec.com/
Global electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry's largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, and Touchstone Semiconductor, a developer of high-performance, low power analog integrated circuit solutions, today announced the signing of a global distribution agreement in which Digi-Key will distribute all of Touchstone's analog IC products."Analog components remain the bedrock of all electronics development," said Mark Zack, Vice President, Global Semiconductor Products, Digi-Key Corporation. "Touchstone is delivering a steady stream of unique low-power, high-performance products that help engineers design products for battery-powered and portable applications. We are pleased to add their capabilities to our online portfolio of products."Touchstone's product offering available through Digi-Key includes the rapidly growing family of operational amplifiers, comparators, current sense amplifiers, timer ICs, voltage detectors, and voltage references."This global partnership will help Touchstone reach design engineers throughout the world who want the ability to buy our products online from anywhere," said John Emme, Vice President, Sales, Touchstone Semiconductor. "We can leverage Digi-Key's superior customer service, global customer base, and online expertise to make our products available to a much broader audience. This is a major milestone in our evolution as a company."Touchstone's analog IC products are available for purchase now on Digi-Key's global websites (http://www.digikey.com/).
The Beijing Cancer Hospital's radiation therapy department was founded in 1976. The hospital is equipped with seven laboratories and houses the research efforts of 80 scientists and technicians; it has become famous in the field of cancer research and treatment in China. It is also a member of the national base for clinical pharmacology and has completed numerous domestic, international, and medical equipment trials. The hospital has 790 beds, 26 clinical departments and 13 technological departments, with an annual outpatient base of 230,000 and an inpatient base of 28,000. Recently the hospital championed a program to improve their electronic medical records system, and build up a mobile nursing environment to provide the best and most efficient service possible for its patients. Hospital administrators were looking for a portable device that was reliable and lightweight, with long-lasting battery support and easy connectivity to their existing medical computing systems. They wanted a system that could deliver real-time access of patient-critical information to extend the reach of information technology and improve overall efficiency, while reducing paperwork, saving time, and eliminating potential errors caused by manual systems.The Advantech MICA-101 Mobile Clinical Assistant was chosen for use by nursing staff and technical clinicians. Thirty units were delivered to staff for use in the wards, replacing small screen PDAs that couldn't support application requirements. MICA-101 has given the nurses the mobility they were looking for, with direct access to patient records via a Wi-Fi connection. The mobility has streamlined workflow, and made record keeping more efficient and less error prone. The system with an intuitive XGA 10.4" LCD dual-input panel (via stylus or touchscreen), is light enough for staff to carry throughout the working day. Automatic patient and staff identification, as well as asset confirmation is made possible by the use of the onboard RFID and barcode reader. And documentation can be photo-supplemented "on-the-spot" with the MICA-101's webcam.Advantech's MICA-101 is a fanless, low-power and reliable system powered by an Intel Atom processor. It is compact and lightweight with a rugged ergonomic design, and easily connects to Beijing Cancer Hospital's information systems (MICA-101 supports Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth) allowing staff to stay connected to critical information while on rounds. MICA-101 gives clinicians and nurses mobile computing technology to help them deliver the five "rights" of patient care: right patient, right time, right medication, right dosage, and right route. The staffs are very pleased with the result. A nurse is seen here entering data "on-the-go" with the MICA-101 Mobile Computing Assistant.The Beijing Cancer Hospital has noted that quality of care has been greatly enhanced by streamlined workflow, more accurate data recording, and a reduction in medication errors. The increased mobility allows staff to perform their administrative duties in less time, which gives them more time to tend to patient needs. Other benefits of MICA-101 cited by the hospital are:- An easy to use touchscreen interface- Wi-Fi connectivity to the hospital's existing information systems- A durable, portable and lightweight design- Paper handling has been nearly eliminated- Administrative overhead has been significantly reducedPlans are in the works for the hospital to supplement the use of MICA-101 by adding the AMiS, Advantech's Mobile Intelligent CareStation, a medical computerized nursing cart.The Advantech MICA-101 Mobile Clinical Assistant was chosen for use by nursing staff and technical clinicians.Finding more case study articles
eHealth, or e-Health, refers to healthcare practice supported by electronic processes and communication. The term is supposed to be interchangeable with health informatics with a broad definition covering electronic/digital processes in health or, to narrow down, the term eHealth indicates healthcare practice using the Internet. mHealth, or m-Health, is the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, etc. for health services and clinical data collection. mHealth applications include the use of mobile devices in delivery of healthcare information to practitioners, researchers, and patients, real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, and direct provision of care. Forms of eHealth eHealth covers a wide range of services or systems combining medicine, healthcare and information technology, such as electronic health records which enables the communication of patient data between different healthcare and telemedicine which is physical and psychological treatments at a distance. Consumer health informatics refers to the use of electronic resources on medical topics by healthy individuals or patients. Virtual healthcare teams even consist of healthcare professionals who collaborate and share information on patients through digital equipment. Healthcare Information Systems are software solutions for appointment scheduling, patient data management, work schedule management and other administrative tasks surrounding health. mHealth is more narrow down While mHealth considering the usage of mobile devices in a healthcare process, it is more narrow down than the idea of eHealth. That is, mHealth is more personal. According to mobihealth news, one of the leading website provides of news, commentary, online events and research for the global mobile health community, nearly everyone has access to a mobile, while some 26 percent of the population does not have desktop Web access, pointing out the closeness of use between eHealth and mHealth. Besdies, for mHealth, a lot of the innovation is coming out of India, China, South America and Mexico. Countries with less resource are producing services that look to work well in our resource-poor healthcare industry. Finding more case study articles
Orbotech Pacific Ltd., the Asia Pacific subsidiary of Orbotech Ltd., a leading global provider of yield-enhancing and production solutions for printed circuit boards (PCBs), is presenting the company's latest digital production tools and value-added customer support services for creating a new PCB world at TPCA show in Taipei, Nangang Hall, 1F, Booth No. I116.About Orbotech Ltd.Orbotech Ltd. (NASDAQ/GSM: ORBK) has been at the cutting edge of the electronics industry supply chain, as an innovator of enabling technologies used in the manufacture of the world's most sophisticated consumer and industrial products, for over 30 years. The Company is a leading provider of yield-enhancing and production solutions, primarily for manufacturers of printed circuit boards, flat panel displays and other electronic components; and today, virtually every electronic device is produced using Orbotech technology. The Company also applies its core expertise and resources in other advanced technology areas, including character recognition for check and forms processing and solar photovoltaic manufacturing. Headquartered in Israel and operating from multiple locations internationally, Orbotech's highly talented and inter-disciplinary professionals design, manufacture, sell and service the Company's end-to-end portfolio of solutions for the benefit of customers the world over. For more information please see the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov/ and visit the Company's corporate website at http://www.orbotech.com/. The corporate website is not incorporated herein by reference and is included as an inactive textual reference only.
ProLight Opto will attend Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition) at Hall 1, booth 1A-F16 from 27-30 October at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.ProLight Opto will focus on HV series merchandise and COB series Products this year. The HV series will contain ProLight LED with high efficiency drive. This combination creates more competitive advantage for the lighting fixtures manufacturing company in performance, size, reliability and service life, also can shorten the manufacturing process, and strive for a more time-to-market. LED with a quality driver prevents instability light flashing, humming noise bring a better quality of life for general public.Prolight Opto not only revealed their newest LED package products and technology, but they provided to the customer the full range of lighting solutions, which included LED module, Prolight LED matching optics. Looking forward to your visit. For more information, please contact: Sales@prolightopto.comProLight Opto will present 150 lm/W High Voltage Module in Hong Kong International Lighting Fair
We have always relied on buses and trains to get us to work and back home. Not so long ago we relied on printed timetables and we waited for buses with a handful of coins hoping we had the right change or even enough change! Nowadays thankfully, new passenger control systems have made smart vehicle technology a reality, bringing convenience, comfort and efficiency to passengers. New bus fare collection systems using smart cards automate and speed up payment and make the days of missing buses due to not having the correct coins a thing of the past.In Portugal, the Lisbon city bus company wanted a single smart bus system to include the automation of the magnetic cards sales, a validating system on board their buses, and integrated information management of the entire process from issuing tickets to collecting fares from each bus to several hot-spots around the city and then onto the central operations server. With these new bus upgrades, passenger can now benefit from a faster way to purchase fares, an easier way of validating them and the bus company can now receive up-to-date feedback of passenger trends and manage data in real time. This could only be possible with a rugged and reliable embedded system able to process, administer and wirelessly transmit accurate data in real time.Tempel, a large system integrator based in Spain assisted the modernization by providing each Lisbon bus with a fanless, embedded industrial box computer, card reader and display panel. Each bus got an ARK-3202V, which serves as an integrated, onboard platform controlling fare card readers, LCD displays, and an LED display that shows next-stop information to passengers. 802.11n Wi-fi transmits bus data to each Data Collection Station hub in each city sector and that communicates with the Central Control Server via a wireless HSPDA link. GPS capability allows the control center to track each bus.The all -in-one solution provided by Advantech helps to save not only money but also space onboard. In this application, the traditional cash box is completely discarded in order to help prevent fraud and crime. And, commercials aired in the buses bring in additional revenues. The transit authority of Lisbon city are exploring the possibility of combining the use of bank -issued credit and debit cards with that of the magnetic fare cards. Whatever they decide, the flexible ARK-3202V is ready to accommodate.◦An all -in-one solution that supports both electronic fare collection and information display◦In -vehicle power supply compatible with bus electrical system◦Mobile communications based on HSDPA (3.5G) On -board GPS for bus tracking◦Vibration and shock resistant◦Wide operating temperature range to cope with Mediterranean climateXavi Perez, Tempel project manager, says "We are now working for years with Advantech and our business relationship has been increased a lot during the last past years. Advantech products are always up-to-date with the latest technology on the market and this helps us to be very competitive in our Country. It alsohelps us to understand our customers' requests and support them with the most complete solution available. We are very happy to work with Advantech products and this project is the result of our cooperation".New trend in the passenger ticketing management in LisbonFinding more case study articles
The companies today jointly confirmed achieving GaN-on-Si based LEDs utilizing Epistar's high-brightness LED structures and AZZURRO's patented technology for 150 mm GaN-on-Si.The successful completion of the joined project confirmed the excellent performance that can be reached. In particular the two companies are very satisfied about the extremely short development time of only 16 weeks for transfering Epistar's existing LED structures build on sapphire to the GaN-on-Si material system. This milestone takes GaN-on-Si one step further towards implementation in mass production.While GaN-on-Si is often associated with difficult to overcome technological challenges, the use of templates with unique strain-engineering technology from AZZURRO enables epitaxy engineers to quickly transfer their LED structures to GaN-on-Si. Furthermore the patented and proprietary buffer stress management enables homogeneity improvements (< 4 nm wavelength homogeneity) for LED epiwafers, helping to reduce binning and increase yield. Commenting on the time and cost effective execution of the migration, Epistar's Lee Biing-Jye, Chairman stated: "We are very excited about the outcome of this joined exercise which has exceeded all expectations regarding speed and cost of migration. The success helps us to utilize GaN-on-Si which is a game changer for the industry - and Epistar as a leading innovator is part of it.""We are very happy to see our customers gaining the advantages of GaN-on-Si in such short periods when using our large area templates. It proves our business model to offer dedicated development packages and sophisticated engineering support," added by Erwin Wolf, CEO of AZZURRO who continued "The technology to enable the LED industry to tap into the advantages of the volume, cost-effectiveness and maturity of silicon foundries is ready with our strain-engineered templates."About AZZURRO SemiconductorsAZZURRO is a strongly growing semiconductor company and has pioneered the growth of gallium nitride on silicon substrates (GaN-on-Si). The customers worldwide are supplied with epitaxial wafers for LED and power semiconductor applications. The use of AZZURRO's large diameter GaN-on-Si-wafers allows the industry to facilitate standard semiconductor production sites to allow massive cost savings.For more information please visit http://www.azzurro-semiconductors.com/.
PC-based control architectures provide open and flexible operation with high integration capabilities, making them a great complement to PLC control architectures. Today's machine vision applications are a perfect fit for this type of collaboration, as they create a synergy of seamless eye and hand work. After several decades of evolution, PC-based systems are beginning to leverage advanced semiconductor technology to provide higher calculation capabilities than PLCs. Meanwhile, PC-based motion control has become quite common in the market and help to improve the machinery throughput. With PC-based motion control, system integrators can execute more flexible trajectory planning with multithread technology compared to typical polling and sequence control from PLC system. These benefits are most apparent in the following applications: - Packaging machinery, including semiconductor, flat panel displays, LEDs, PCBs, etc.- Solar energy- Wind power- Converting, woodworking and printing These applications feature two different two topologies: centralized and distributed. Normally, PCI/PCIe cards are the main selection to form a centralized architecture. However, as sophisticated design evolves, precise-timing trajectory control of multiple stepping and servo motors is needed and multiple axes of integration inside the embedded controller would be a lousy job for assembly engineers. From the viewpoint of overall budget control, design, implementation and maintenance, distributed motion control can save 20-30% of implementation costs. But movement alone is not sufficient, accurate vision inspection is required to increase quality control. With PC-based vision, on-the-fly inspection can be achieved, increasing throughput and creating synergy between motion control, image capturing and inspection. Typically, vision inspection applications can be broken down into the need for location, measurement, decoding, and defect identification. The interface selection includes analog and digital types. Digital is the next trend because of its standardization and increasing popularity. IEEE-1394.b, Gigabit Ethernet and CameraLink are becoming much more prevalent in this market. Providing increased throughput, reduced production costs, fewer failures, lower operating expenses, the ability to integrate more machines into one system, and an increased return on investment are the driving forces for automation manufacturers today. The synergy of motion control and vision inspections offers great promise for the automation market. Motion control cableless technology and digital vision capturing are the future trends in machine automation. The main focus in this transition is to lower costs by reducing wiring, simplifying the system formation, and utilizing standard PC-based interfaces. Distributed motion control benefits these systems much more than typical centralized configurations by integrating Ethernet cabling. In this way, deployment is flexible enough to manage over 100 motion control axis, with easy after-service maintenance. Besides, real-time Ethernet fieldbus can realize fast-speed response times for multiple axis control. Analog interface frame grabbers are prone to electro-mechanical interference while digital interfaces, such as IEEE-1394.b and Gigabit Ethernet are able to avoid this problem. Without needed to purchase additional frame grabbers, system integrators can benefit from a high-performance embedded controller with standard digital interfaces as their main vision inspection platform. Printed Circuit Boards are used in virtually every electronic device today, from cellular phones and personal computers to industrial and medical machinery. One of the most integral steps in assembling Circuit Boards is the solder placement. Advantech's centralized motion control system provides a high performance dual-core computer, UNO-3084, which can handle machine vision and control in one platform, and deal with 3D solder inspection capabilities with high inspection accuracy with high-speed motion control, besides, its IEEE 1394.b port can connect two individual cameras and two DVI-I displays. Advantech's PCI-1240U was applied for the high speed motion control, giving the added performance from motors. For the I/O card architecture, Advantech's PCI-1751 DI/O card is applied, helping the moving motor control different lighting for visual judgment, which helps make the inspection clear and reliable TFT Defect Inspection in LCD Panel Assembly With the driving force to manufacture larger-scale flat panels, system integrators need to design larger manufacturing machines. Take defect inspection for TFT/LCD panels for example, the machine design will consider multiple servo/stepping motors for conveyer purposes, and vision inspection by high-performance CPU with standard interfaces. Distributed motion control can solve system integrators' trouble in motor deployment in large space with Ethernet cabling. Due to the complexity of the LCD manufacturing process, orientation and spacing are extremely critical. UNO-3082 features front accessible I/O and expansion arrangement makes wiring and maintenance very friendly. With Core 2 Duo performance, the inspection application runs smoothly even with local inspection loading. AMAX-2752 and AMAX-2242's industrial DIN-rail mount design makes it easy to distribute in the field. With Advantech's machine automation solution, multiple cameras can be implemented by digital interface to form a vision inspection platform, and more motors can be distributed. PCI-1202 is a master control card which can be implemented in the PC to process all the motion instructions and data communications. Moreover, Advantech's AMONet has built-in ASIC for each module and allows real-time updates and control. Facility Management in Food & Beverage Machine System Providing quality food products with an extended shelf life while meeting growing concerns regarding the use of salt, sugar, fat, additives, and preservatives, is an increasingly difficult challenge for the food industry. Recent developments in equipment and motor control technology have moved the food industry to create a wide range of food making machine that have greater accuracy ingredient handling. The food machine system is a dispatch sender for various recipes. The APAX-5520KW and APAX-5570XPE works as dual controller to do data and recipes exchange. The WebOP-2080V industrial operator panel comes bundled with PM Designer 2.0 HMI software to operate the HMI tasks and connect with APAX-5570XPE through VGA port. These conveyers are controlled by Advantech's AMONet master module APAX-5202P and motion slave AMAX-2243/YS2 to support higher precise motion control performance. The APAX-5046 is 24-ch DI/O module which connect to the sensors, emergency stop button, limited switched and push buttons together. Reference: ARC insights, January 28, 2010. Motion Control Market Projection for 2010 Finding more case study articles
