Scene: Mr. Wang is happily preparing to take his family on an outing in their new electric car. But he sees a low battery warning on the display panel. Although the warning disappears in an instant, Mr. Wang is concerned that the vehicle may not be up to the demands of the day, so he decides to go to the repair shop.As soon as the children hear his decision, they are totally bummed; they know that vehicle analysis alone can easily consume half a day, and their happy holiday plan is trashed. But wait! Not this time. Unlike the past, the inspector checks the car using a mobile computer, which reports the car's mechanical status and power capacity in less than 10 minutes. The car is good to go, and the Wang family is off on their happy journey, enjoying a relaxing holiday.The New Energy Division Software Manager of BYD, Shiau Fong Shen, pointed out that electric cars are the future of the automobile industry. BYD has for a long time invested in the electric vehicle business; it has not only developed successful designs and production systems, but also provides a complete and convenient backend system to maintain its electric cars.This is an important part of BYD's new energy policy. BYD, with support from Advantech, has made a big effort to offer consumers a top notch vehicle inspection service.In-Vehicle Computer Provides Advanced Dynamic ControlShiau Fong Shen said that understanding batteries is an important element in electric vehicle development. Different designs and applications have vastly different effects on battery life and usage; consequently BYD's engineers have to manage a plethora of relevant vehicle and battery information to achieve optimal design results.In the past, engineers used various methods and a complex process to acquire battery data. In order to accelerate this procedure and simplify the general inspection, Advantech invehicle TREK series products implement a complete solution that can quickly inspect the battery in a new electric vehicle. TREK is specifically developed for automotive applications, and its power supply meets ISO 7637-2 and SAE J1113 certifications. In addition, TREK connects easily to the built-in computer of a BYD electric car; it uses Controller Area Network (CAN-bus) J1939 protocol to access vehicle information. Shiau Fong Shen said, "When a customer vehicle comes into our garage, engineers use this inspection system to easily acquire the car's information via TREK." The Advantech system can also deal with failure diagnosis, but right now, BYD is focusing on battery inspection. Therefore, the system mainly provides the power data acquisition, such as electric current, voltage, operating temperature, stability, and other related data.The Best Supporter for New Energy ApplicationsAdvantech pointed out that both companies have built rapport and trust through cooperation. "The original case with BYD was to provide charging equipment, but we found that BYD was using common notebook computers to serve as their data acquisition devices. Although a notebook can do this work, it needs different connecting accessories, and often loses the data collected, so we suggested that they upgrade to a vehicle specific product."Advantech's in-vehicle solution not only avoided data loss, but also provided a convenient design that eliminated inappropriate operation. And charge frequency was reduced too, by Advantech's long-term operation feature.In addition to all-electric vehicles, hybrid cars and gasoline cars can also adopt Advantech's relevant testing solutions.Right now, each inspection workshop only needs to set up three to four stations to satisfy operational demands. Citing the rising awareness of new energy and the BYD electric car as a hot selling product in China, Shiau Fong Shen illustrated that the demand for such inspection solutions will increase dramatically in the future.Shiau Fong Shen also pointed out that BYD has many other projects that have the potential of using Advantech's products. Take the embedded board as an example; it is quite suitable for management-related tasks in electric vehicle charging systems. By following the roadmap of BYD's electric cars and related developments, Advantech helps them yield brilliant results.BYD has for a long time invested in the electric vehicle business; it has not only developed successful designs and production systems, but also provides a complete and convenient backend system to maintain its electric cars.

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, today announced the launch of its new website for Israel: www.digikey.co.il."Digi-Key's business model aligns almost perfectly with the needs and demands of a major share of the Israeli market," said Mark Larson, Digi-Key's president and COO. "Israel is recognized internationally for its strength in product design as well as its strengths in high mix/low volume production. Digi-Key is highly focused and is the dominant distributor in terms of supporting electronic design engineers in the prototyping and design process. Digi-Key is recognized for its ability to support new product introduction runs and high mix/low volume production.""Digi-Key has rapidly grown to become the 5th largest distributor of electronic components in the world," Larson added. "We have a strong and growing presence in both Europe and Asia. The addition of Israel to our global expansion efforts marks a considerable milestone in Digi-Key's 40 year history."The Israel website can be viewed in both Hebrew and English. Customers placing orders using the Israel website may do so in the local currency, the Israeli Shekel (ILS)."Digi-Key profiles our inventory to meet worldwide demand and we are excited that the new Israeli website will make the industry's broadest selection of product for immediate delivery available in local language and currency," Larson said. "The type of product we are currently selling in Israel is very representative of our overall demand and shipping patterns with emphasis on products ranging from analog and other semiconductors to discrete, passive, and electromechanical products."Additionally, www.digikey.co.il has been designed to accommodate and to promote greater ease of use for our customers and greater visibility for our suppliers.Digi-Key's Israel website will provide the following features:* Free shipping on orders over ₪800 (See website for details)* Local customer and engineering support by calling 1-800-800-335* A Hebrew/English language toggle option* Digi-Key's Parametric Part Search* Digi-Key's exclusive Bill of Materials (BOM) Manager* Digi-Key's library of PTM product training modules* TechZone articles, featured products, videos, and more* A redesigned homepage that makes it easy to search the websiteAs the leading integrated Internet-based distributor of electronic components, information about and inventory of millions of products is accessible to customers around the globe, with all products shipped from Digi-Key's single, North American location. The company's integrated business model provides product and support information online to help put engineers and procurement professionals in control as they solve tough product development challenges.The company's online offerings and resources include: PTM product training modules; TechZone technology zones; Digi-Key toolbar; and a Mobile and Social Center.

For the 2012 European Football Championships in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, lighting specialist Elektronnyi Svet (Electronic Light Ltd) has chosen the latest LED technology from Osram Opto Semiconductors. New lighting systems have been installed and existing ones have been upgraded at the venue for the final of this year's European Football Championships. Elektronnyi Svet chose the powerful energy-efficient light emitting diodes from Osram Opto Semiconductors for the lighting for the steps behind the stadium and the decorative lighting in the bar area.The final of the European Football Championships will be held in Kiev on July 1, 2012, and Golden Dragon Plus LEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductors are certain to be there. With their wide beam angle of 170 degrees and their warm-white light they will make the steps leading up to the stadium much safer for fans. 1,350 LED modules with a total of 16,000 LEDs were installed in the handrails next to the steps - corresponding to a total length of approximately 1.5 kilometers.Golden Dragon Plus LEDs will also be used in the bar area. Here, the main focus of the lighting plan was the decorative aspect. Four-color LED modules produce an eye-catching effect for the counters and ensure that the half-time interval is also a special experience. More than 3,000 modules with a total of 12,000 Golden Dragon Plus LEDs were used for the 14 different installations. The individually controllable LEDs in red, green, blue and cold white can generate any color combination. Protected by a robust package, the LEDs can withstand extreme conditions. Low energy consumption, and therefore economical permanent lighting, was a crucial factor in the decision to use LEDs.A pioneering and prestigious project for the UkraineThe use of such a large number of LEDs in the Kiev stadium makes this one of the largest projects in the whole of the Ukraine and clearly demonstrates the country's commitment to modern energy-efficient technology. Apart from the aesthetical aspects, the stadium authorities were also impressed by the particularly long lifetime of light emitting diodes and the resultant significant savings in service costs. LEDs save on space and can be easily integrated into the architecture to provide unsurpassed performance with defined radiation characteristics, offering bright and uniform illumination with no scattered light or glare.According to Dieter Soukup, project manager at Osram Opto Semiconductors, "The LEDs are particularly suitable for outdoor use because their lifetime and radiated power increase as the temperature falls. As the steps are lit mainly in the evening and at night when temperatures are relatively cool, the LEDs can operate under ideal conditions." Andrey Lunev from Elektronnyi Svet added: "The high quality, excellent durability and impressive light output of the LEDs were the most important factors for us, which is why we chose this highly efficient lighting solution that is both reliable and economical. These factors also impressed the clients at the national sports complex."You can find more information on Elektronnyi Svet at the company website (www.el.ua/en). Technical data for the Golden Dragon Plus LEDs can be found in the product catalog: (http://catalog.osram-os.com/catalogue/catalogue.do?act=showBookmark&favOid=000000040000ae5305950023)Safety and aesthetics are combined in time for the 2012 European Football Championships: the steps at the Kiev stadium are enhanced by state-of-the-art LED modules

Forgetting where one's car is in a large parking facility is time consuming and frustrating. Moreover, the inconvenience is compounded when you have just disembarked from a long flight. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan is using Etrovision's EtroGate ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system to help drivers quickly and conveniently find their cars in the airport's parking facility. The airport's parking facility has over 2,000 parking spaces which are managed by the Etrovision ANPR system. The EtroGate ANPR system is part of Etrovision's EtroCenter VMS (Video Management System). The ANPR feature is an advanced option available in the EtroGate access control system.Using IP surveillance cameras, the system captures the license plate number upon entering the parking facility. Subsequently, the cameras also capture and store the car's eventual parking spot location in EtroGate's ANPR database. Each parking space has an associated camera to track the car parked in that space. Customers can then access kiosks to look-up where their car is in the parking facility using their parking ticket or by the license plate number.A CCTV system was originally proposed for the project, but Etrovision's ANPR solution with IP cameras were determined to be more cost effective when all factors were considered. Not only did the CCTV system require more servers (1 PC/32 cameras) than EtroGate's ANPR system (1 ANPR Server/100 cameras), but the CCTV system also required video capture cards for the PCs which were not needed for the EtroGate ANPR servers.A considerable amount of coaxial cable also would have been required for the CCTV system. Although the Etrovision system required more network cabling, using PoE (Power Over Ethernet) reduced the amount of cabling required. In addition, the CCTV system's power consumption would have also been far higher than Etrovision's ANPR solution. Taking into account installation and operational costs, the Etrovision EtroGate ANPR system costs 40% less than comparable CCTV systems.Advantages:1. Extremely accurate and efficient ANPR solution for large parking facilities.2. Lower installation and maintenance costs3. 40% lower total cost of ownership versus CCTV systems4. Easily integrated with Etrovision's EtroCenter VMSEtrovision's solution

Nvidia has unveiled a new family of Tesla GPUs based on the Nvidia Kepler GPU computing architecture, which, according to the company, makes GPU-accelerated computing easier and more accessible for a broader range of high performance computing (HPC) scientific and technical applications.The new Nvidia Tesla K10 and K20 GPUs are computing accelerators built to handle complex HPC problems. Designed with a focus on high performance and power efficiency, Kepler is three times as efficient as its predecessor, the Nvidia Fermi architecture, which itself established a new standard for parallel computing when introduced two years ago, Nvidia claimed.Nvidia said it has developed a set of architectural technologies that make the Kepler GPUs high performing and highly energy efficient, as well as more applicable to a wider set of developers and applications including SMX Streaming Multiprocessor, Dynamic Parallelism and Hyper-QOptimized for customers in oil and gas exploration and the defense industry, a single Tesla K10 accelerator board features two GK104 Kepler GPUs that deliver an aggregate performance of 4.58-teraflops of peak single-precision floating point and 320GB per second memory bandwidth.The Nvidia Tesla K20 GPU is the new flagship of the Tesla GPU product family, designed for the most computationally intensive HPC environments. The Tesla K20 is planned to be available in the fourth quarter of 2012.The Tesla K20 is based on the GK110 Kepler GPU. This GPU delivers three times more double precision compared to Fermi architecture-based Tesla products and it supports the Hyper-Q and dynamic parallelism capabilities.In addition to the Kepler architecture, Nvidia has also released a preview of the Cuda 5 parallel programming platform. Available to more than 20,000 members of Nvidia's GPU Computing Registered Developer program, the platform will enable developers to begin exploring ways to take advantage of the new Kepler GPUs, including dynamic parallelism.The Cuda 5 parallel programming model is planned to be widely available in the third quarter of 2012.Nvidia Tesla K20 GPU acceleratorPhoto: Company

After Intel stepped forward to lead the development of the new-generation notebooks, the light-weight, slim, and high-performance ultrabooks hit the market shelves in just a few months and became the most inquired about products in the consumer market, prompting brand vendors to accelerate the pace of introducing new models. Mitac Precision Technology Co., Ltd, an affiliate of Getac Group - with its outstanding achievement in chassis component design and manufacturing, as well as its advanced rapid heat cycle molding (RHCM) process and its technology for making glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis - has received Intel's recognition and joined the ultrabook supply chain with the prospect of providing ultrabook brand vendors with more price-competitive chassis solutions.Ever since Apple released the MacBook Air and iPad, the direction of consumer electronics development has changed. Therefore, the Intel-led development of ultrabooks has strict standards over the device's weight and thickness. According to the standards, the device's thickness must be less than 20mm. And if the models are 12-inch or smaller, they need to be even thinner than 18mm. As for the weight, the device must be under 1.5kg to qualify as an ultrabook. To achieve the target of slimness, many ultrabook brand vendors have chosen metal chassis as their top priority because in terms of rigidity, weight and thickness, ordinary plastic chassis are no match to metal ones. However, the only drawback of the metal chassis is their high production cost, which is keeping the end-market prices of ultrabooks at high levels and preventing them from dropping to their originally intended price of US$1,000. Therefore, if brand vendors can adopt glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis, which is more price-competitive than metal ones but similar in sturdiness, ultrabooks' penetration will definitely grow fast.The glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis is highly sturdy; yield rates can be greatly enhanced by RHCM processAdding glass fibers to reinforce plastic and strength its sturdiness and rigidity has been a common practice for many years. But technological limitations have only allowed an average addition of about 5-30% of glass fibers. If the proportion of glass fibers has to be increased and at the same time good fluidity of the mixed materials has to be maintained, crystalline plastic materials have to be used. Since traditional reinforced plastic chassis makers are not very familiar with the process of handling crystalline materials, they have to achieve desirable hardness for reinforced plastic chassis by making them thicker. As a result, the plastic chassis of notebook models currently available on the market mostly have a thickness between 1.5mm and 1.8mm, making them not only much thicker but also 30 to 50% heavier than metal ones.Therefore, to produce reinforced plastic chassis with sturdiness similar to metal ones while still meeting ultrabooks' slimness requirements, makers can add high portions of glass fiber during the chassis production process. Mitac Precision's glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis materials for ultrabooks have a proportion of 50% glass fiber to strengthen the chassis' sturdiness and provide better protection than ordinary reinforced plastic ones. In terms of lightness and thinness, the glass fiber reinforced composite chassis also achieves excellent results. The thickness of a single piece, depending on the differences in structural design, can be reduced to as low as 1.0mm, similar to metal chassis' 0.9mm. As for weight, both the glass fiber reinforced composite chassis and metal ones are more acceptable to users. The smaller the size, the smaller the difference in weight. The weight difference for ultrathin models under 12 inches is only within 5%.In addition to the requirements of lightness and slimness, the appearance is also one of the crucial factors for consumer electronics products. Currently, conventional reinforced plastic chassis makers employ an injection molding technology where melted plastic materials are injected into a mold that has been heated up to 40 to 50 degrees and then are removed after cooling off and taking shape. Such a production method will often create floating fibers and welding lines on the surface, resulting in undesirable appearance that needs to be go through post-molding processes such as surface polishing and gloss-finish coating to improve the looks. The Rapid Heat Cycle Molding (RHCM) process adopted by Mitac Precision is a production process technology that enables molding through quick changes in temperatures. When the mold's has been heated to the high temperatures necessary for the materials, plastic material with a high portion of glass fiber will then be injected into the mold. After it takes shape, the mold's temperature will quickly reduce to around room temperature and the product will then be removed from the mold. Compared to the conventional plastic production process, products manufactured on the RHCM process technology not only have excellent dimension uniformity, but also glossy surfaces without floating fiber or visible welding lines. The production cycle is also greatly reduced compared to the conventional method. Even when post-molding surface treatment is needed, the glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis do not have any limitations, leaving flexibility and room for notebook appearance designs.Dr. Peter Chu of Mitac Precision's Core Technology Department Center pointed out, "Every manufacturing process will rely on the perfect match between the equipment, molds and materials. Mitac Precision has already accumulated seven years of experience in the RHCM process and also has more than three years of experience in mass production of glass fiber reinforced plastic materials. Mitac Precision's glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis, enabled by the RHCM process technology, delivers a glossy and elegant feel without need of spray-painting, while allowing the company to maintain its leading position in terms of yield rates, quality and cost-competitiveness during mass production."Currently, Mitac Precision is already able to start supplying cost-competitive glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis that are almost as slim and tough as metal ones. The glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis can be applied not only to notebooks, but also to tablet PCs. Brand vendors' new ultrabooks with glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis are expected to hit the market shelves appear in the second quarter of 2012.Big investment in establishing a laboratory lays the foundation of the company's developmentThe reason Mitac Precision has been able to achieve a quick rise with its glass fiber reinforced composite chassis is mainly down to the company's persistence in developing innovative technologies. Unlike conventional chassis makers' operating strategy, Mitac Precision is committed to developing differentiating technologies. A few years ago we established a university-level laboratory internally, dedicated to research and development work to help enhance the company's RHCM process technology. The company has also been aggressive in investing in the R&D and testing of basic materials, new production processes and all kinds of new surface treatment technology to improve the chassis' appearance. The company's glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis and bio-material chassis have all been developed in this lab.The laboratory has a total floor area of approximately 2,000 square meters, and has all kinds of advanced R&D equipment and precision analysis instruments including the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic emission spectrometer (AES) and thermo gravimetric analyzer (TGA). In addition, the company's laboratory also has a team of talented experts and engineers with strong scientific R&D capabilities, rich experience in testing work and professional expertise. They have long-term commitment to developing new technologies to help clients improve the competitiveness of their products.While many OEMs are being hit by drastic falls in profitability, Mitac Precision remains unscathed because of its enhanced competitiveness. In addition to its expertise in supplying chassis solutions, the company can also provide a full range of inspection and testing services to become the designated partner of most of the global PC brand vendors and play a key role in the ultrabook supply chain.Glass fiber reinforced plastic chassis fueling ultrabook wave

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 T-Global Technology, a leading supplier of advanced thermal management solutions, today announced the two companies have signed a global distribution agreement.T-Global Technology produces a wide product range for thermal management including interface materials, thermally conductive insulator materials, heat spreaders, thermal greases, thermally conductive gels, flexible absorbent materials, and high performance circuit boards."Thermal management is a key component of any engineer's design," said Jeff Shafer, Digi-Key's vice president of global interconnect, passive, and electromechanical product. "Digi-Key is pleased to add T-Global Technology's line of thermal management products to our line card. We are confident our global customers will look forward to using T-Global products in their designs.""Bringing our broad range of specialized thermal management products to Digi-Key's extensive customer base is an exciting proposition and we are convinced that this will be a mutually agreeable relationship," said Danbury Collins, T-Global Technology's general manager.Advanced thermal management solutions by T-Global Technology are available for purchase now on Digi-Key's global websites: www.digikey.com

In keeping with its aggressive strategy for commercial products, Acer has advanced its server line with a new generation of server products featuring Intel's Xeon processor E3-1200 v2 product family.Acer F2 servers introduce improved performance with the new Intel Xeon E3-1200 v2 product family which is manufactured with a 22nm process using 3D Tri-Gate transistors. These smaller and more power-efficient transistors provide up to 37% performance increase at low voltage versus Intel's 32nm planar transistors, or a 50% reduction in power consumption when operating at the same performance, said Acer. By utilizing the new Xeon processors, Acer F2 servers offer a combination of performance and energy efficiency, Acer said.Equipped with higher clock and Turbo Boost speeds, Acer F2 generation servers allow businesses to protect, manage, process, and distribute data more efficiently.Acer offers the same set of standard management tools – Smart Setup, Smart Console, Smart Server Manager and Smart Integration Pack – for the AR320 F2, AT310 F2, and Smart Setup for the AT110 F2 server products. Acer enhances this toolset with features such as remote firmware updates and power monitoring and has also integrated a power management toolkit as an add-on expansion for its own Smart Server Manager. This optional feature enables Acer's AR320 F2 and AT310 F2 servers to run power capping commands via a uniform interface to ensure each machine is providing optimal power-performance needed for mission-critical applications.Acer AT110 F2 serverPhoto: Company

Taipei, Taiwan ‐ GlacialLight, a division of experienced technology manufacturer GlacialTech Inc., is pleased to announce that its environmentally-friendly LED lighting products are being used in many applications around the world and providing users with energy-saving light of the highest quality. In the Dominican Republic, chronic energy shortages and very high electricity prices are not uncommon due to an inadequate energy grid. Realizing that keeping energy usage and costs down is important for maintaining reliable business operations, two Dominican establishments, a branch of the Banco Popular Dominicano and a chain store of the supermarket, Supermercados Nacional, recently replaced their traditional interior lighting with GlacialLight's Capella Series 6‐inch LED Down Lights. Since installing these energy efficient down lights both the Banco Popular Dominicano and the Supermercados Nacional have seen a substantial reduction in their energy costs. Not only have these flush fit Capella Series down lights helped to reduce energy consumption, but also customers and staff have noticed improved visibility with GlacialLight's LEDs shining bright natural‐looking light with no perceptible flickering. And with their long life spans of over 30,000 hours,they will continue to illuminate the interiors of these businesses using very little electricity for a very long time. GlacialLight is excited to see its product lines being used to make businesses more successful and at the same time benefiting society by offering lighting products that have longer lifetimes and save more energy than traditional lighting, emit no harmful UV or IR radiation, and contain no hazardous materials such as mercury. For more information on how consumers are using GlacialLight's products visit:http://www.glaciallight.com/news/project.htm In the Dominican Republic, chronic energy shortages and very high electricity prices are not uncommon due to an inadequate energy grid.

Beijing IRTOUCH Systems Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen Stock Exchange - SZ 300282) successfully made technical breakthrough, will deliver new infrared multi-touch product with the most thin border in the world at COMPUTEX 2012.IRTOUCH, the world leading touchscreen provider, has been focus on research, development, and manufacturing of infrared and optical touch products for many years, provides customized solutions to different customers in various industries. IRTOUCH has made significant structural changes, developed super-thin boarder infrared touch screens, the width of boarder is reduced to 14mm, and the thickness of product is reduced to 4.1mm while height of touch side is lower than 1.6mm. This new design provides simplified view and better integration capacity with monitor manufacturer, increased end user experiences and touch responsiveness.Besides the structural changes, IRTOUCH implements multi-touch capacity on all product lines. The new large and super-large infrared touch screen with multi-touch, multi-people operation and multi-gestures will also be available in this COMPUTEX 2012. As the only large screen provider in China mainland, IRTOUCH build a solid foundation for those customers who need large amounts of products.IRTOUCH has the world leading infrared and optical touch technologies, provides high quality human-machine interactive touch solutions with rapid respond speed, high stability, long lifetime, free of maintenance and free of drift. IRTOUCH also provides different models for various industries to fit the different requirements. IRTOUCH's products have been globally used in education, finance, transportation, retail, entertainment, telecom, healthcare, public information and broadcasting industries and received high recognition by users.