Intel Turns to Light

to Transfer Data Inside PCs

Jul 28, 2010 6:40 am

Intel on Tuesday announced it had developed a prototype interconnect that uses light to speed up data transmission inside computers at the speed of 50 gigabits per second.

Intel researchers said that the optical technology could ultimately replace the use of copper wires and electrons to carry data inside or around computers. An entire high-definition movie can be transmitted each second with the prototype, the researchers said.

The technology will also be able to carry data over longer distances than copper wires, Intel researchers said.

Intel’s chief technology officer Justin Rattner characterized the research prototype as a breakthrough in research as copper wires were reaching their limit. There is a wealth of data that needs to be moved, and transferring data at 10G bps or more over copper wires is becoming a challenge. Even if the data could be transferred over copper wires at that speed, there are distance trade-offs.

Optical interconnects solve that problem by allowing data transfers at much faster rates, and over longer distances, Rattner said on a conference call to discuss the technology.

“Photonics gives us the ability to move those mass quantities of data across the room… in a cost-effective matter,” Rattner said.

The photonics technology could potentially speed up data transfers within PCs or devices such as handhelds, where movies could be downloaded at faster rates, Rattner said.

Laser is already used in devices such as DVD players, and also for applications such as long-distance communication. Laser technology can however be expensive, and Intel wants to bring the technology down to a low-cost point where it can be integrated into everyday devices, Rattner said. The company hopes to raise the speed of the optical interconnect to reach up to 1T bps (bits per second) as it increases the number of channels to improve data transfers.

But for now, the company has demonstrated in principle that it can get the pieces together and put it together in a fab. The next step is to implement it in chips and take it to volume manufacturing. The technology could reach the mass market by the middle of the decade, and could go into PCs, servers or mobile devices.

The technology won’t be implemented at the integrated circuit level in the short term, but could replace copper wires that connect CPU to memory, for example, said Mario Paniccia, an Intel fellow. The optical interconnect will reduce latency, which could result in faster data movement and processing.

“We think it’s going to be perfectly at home in data-center applications,” Rattner said. For consumer applications, an optical interconnect would also help users to down movies to handheld devices at faster rates, Rattner said.

“Once we’re confident we have a high-volume manufacturing capability, then we’ll turn to the business question: what market opportunities are attractive to Intel?” Rattner asked.

The research prototype brings together a number of previous Intel research around devices that emit, manipulate, combine, separate and detect light. The interconnect includes a transmitter chip on a PC board that puts four optical channels on to fiber, and a receiver chip that receives the incoming light, splits the optical signals and converts the photons to electrical data.

Intel is already working on a new optical interconnect to link external storage drives, mobile devices and displays to PCs up to 100 meters away. Called Light Peak, the interconnect helps communicate data at up to 10G bps. Intel sees Light Peak as potential technology to replace USB, which is commonly used to connect storage and other devices to PCs.

Many companies, including Sun, which is now part of Oracle, and IBM have been involved in silicon photonics research.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Video on mind controlled prosthethic arm

More cars vulnerable to computer hackers


SAN DIEGO (UPI) — Increasingly sophisticated cars need to be protected from hackers who could tamper with computerized systems, U.S. scientists said.

As more cars become connected to the Internet through wireless systems, hackers could remotely sabotage the vehicles, The New York Times reported Friday.

In tests, computer security experts at the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego, said they were able to remotely control braking, stop the engine and activate dozens of other functions, almost all of them while a car was in motion.

The researchers tested two versions of a late-model car in laboratory and field settings. The researchers did not publicly identify the manufacturer or model, but said they believed the cars were representative of the computer network systems found in many late-model cars today.

“You should expect that various entry points in the automotive environment are no more secure in the automotive environment than they are in your PC,” said Stefan Savage, a computer scientist in San Diego.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 7th June 2010

‘Computer Viruses gone to your head?’

Science (May 26, 2010) — A scientist at the University of Reading has become the first person in the world to be infected by a computer virus.

Dr Mark Gasson, from the School of Systems Engineering, contaminated a computer chip which had been inserted into his hand as part of research into human enhancement and the potential risks of implantable devices.

These results could have huge implications for implantable computing technologies used medically to improve health, such as heart pacemakers and cochlear implants, and as new applications are found to enhance healthy humans.

Dr Gasson says that as the technology behind these implants develops, they become more vulnerable to computer viruses.

“Our research shows that implantable technology has developed to the point where implants are capable of communicating, storing and manipulating data,” he said. “They are essentially mini computers. This means that, like mainstream computers, they can be infected by viruses and the technology will need to keep pace with this so that implants, including medical devices, can be safely used in the future.”

Dr Gasson will present his results next month at the IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society in Australia, which he is also chairing.

A high-end Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip was implanted into Dr Gasson’s left hand last year. Less sophisticated RFID technology is used in shop security tags to prevent theft and to identify missing pets.

The chip has allowed him secure access to his University building and his mobile phone. It has also enabled him to be tracked and profiled. Once infected, the chip corrupted the main system used to communicate with it. Should other devices have been connected to the system, the virus would have been passed on.

Dr Gasson said: “By infecting my own implant with a computer virus we have demonstrated how advanced these technologies are becoming and also had a glimpse at the problems of tomorrow.

“Much like people with medical implants, after a year of having the implant, I very much feel that it is part of my body. While it is exciting to be the first person to become infected by a computer virus in this way, I found it a surprisingly violating experience because the implant is so intimately connected to me but the situation is potentially out of my control.

“I believe it is necessary to acknowledge that our next evolutionary step may well mean that we all become part machine as we look to enhance ourselves. Indeed we may find that there are significant social pressures to have implantable technologies, either because it becomes as much of a social norm as say mobile phones, or because we’ll be disadvantaged if we do not. However we must be mindful of the new threats this step brings.”

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 28th May 2010

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors
Press release from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors - 2010-04-28
Powerful LED flash for cell phones

Powerful LED flash for cell phones

OSLUX now with UX:3 chip technology

The new OSLUX from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is brighter and smaller than ever before and provides extremely uniform light thanks to a chip fabricated in state-of-the-art UX:3 technology. Together with an optimized lens it not only ensures that the LED is 50 percent brighter than the predecessor model but also that the light is much more evenly distributed and can therefore illuminate a wide area.

The new OSLUX has an area of 3.9 mm² and a height of only 2.5 mm (previously 3 mm) but is 50 lx brighter. This takes its output to an impressive 150 lx. The light is uniformly distributed in the flash; the usual round spot in the center is completely absent. “Our OSLUX is therefore perfect for the fast-growing design-based smartphone and cell phone segment”, said Gunnar Klick, Marketing Manager Consumer at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors. “Even extremely thin phones can now be equipped with a powerful LED flash so they can deliver pictures of superb quality”.

The LED is available in two versions with different lenses. These are already integrated in the LED and are matched to the beam characteristics of the top-emitting UX:3 chips. The subject of the picture is illuminated in a uniform rectangular pattern. The distribution of the light depends on the lens used: 40% or 20% of the center brightness is possible in the corners. At a distance of one meter the LED flash uniformly illuminates a diagonal of 90 cm, which is sufficient to produce razor-sharp pictures even in low light conditions.

The impressive brightness is the result of new UX:3 chip technology that makes the LED capable of handling high currents and gets even more light from the chip. What’s more, the light is more evenly distributed over the surface compared to previous chip technologies. The new OSLUX is therefore considerably more efficient at high currents than previous LEDs and offers impressive luminous efficacy in a small area.

With the new OSLUX OSRAM’s LED portfolio for flash applications is even better tailored to the latest trends in which mobile slimline terminals require small powerful light sources. For users who want to supply their own lens packages there is the CERAMOS which has no lens.

Press contact:
Marion Reichl
Headquarter, Europe

Tel: +49 (0) 941 – 850 – 16 93
Fax: +49 (0) 941 – 850 – 33 05
Email: marion.reichl@osram-os.com

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 23rd May 2010

Crowdsourcing: Cell Phones That

Protect Against Deadly Chemicals?

ScienceDaily (Apr. 12, 2010) — Do you carry a cell phone? Today, chances are it’s called a “smartphone” and it came with a three-to-five megapixel lens built-in — not to mention an MP3 player, GPS or even a bar code scanner. This ‘Swiss-Army-knife’ trend represents the natural progression of technology — as chips become smaller/more advanced, cell phones absorb new functions.

What if, in the future, new functions on our cell phones could also protect us from toxic chemicals?

Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)’s Cell-All is such an initiative. Cell-All aims to equip cell phones with a sensor capable of detecting deadly chemicals. The technology is ingenious. A chip costing less than a dollar is embedded in a cell phone and programmed to either alert the cell phone carrier to the presence of toxic chemicals in the air, and/or a central station that can monitor how many alerts in an area are being received. One might be a false positive. Hundreds might indicate the need for evacuation.

“Our goal is to create a lightweight, cost-effective, power-efficient solution,” says Stephen Dennis,Cell-All’s program manager.

How would this wizardry work? Just as antivirus software bides its time in the background and springs to life when it spies suspicious activity, so Cell-All would regularly sniffs the surrounding air for certain volatile chemical compounds.

When a threat is sensed, an alert ensues in one of two ways. For personal safety issues such as a chlorine gas leak, a warning is sounded; the user can choose a vibration, noise, text message or phone call. For catastrophes such as a sarin gas attack, details — including time, location and the compound — are phoned home to an emergency operations center. While the first warning is beamed to individuals, the second warning works best with crowds. And that’s where the genius of Cell-All lies — in crowd sourcing human safety.

Currently, if a person suspects that something is amiss, he might dial 9-1-1, though behavioral science tells us that it’s easier to do nothing. And, as is often the case when someone phones in an emergency, the caller may be difficult to understand, diminishing the quality of information that’s relayed to first responders. An even worse scenario: the person may not even be aware of the danger, like the South Carolina woman who last year drove into a colorless and poisonous ammonia cloud.

In contrast, anywhere a chemical threat breaks out — a mall, a bus, subway or office – Cell-All will alert the authorities automatically. Detection, identification, and notification all take place in less than 60 seconds. Because the data are delivered digitally, Cell-All reduces the chance of human error. And by activating alerts from many people at once, Cell-All cleverly avoids the long-standing problem of false positives. The end result: emergency responders can get to the scene sooner and cover a larger area — essentially anywhere people are, casting a wider net than stationary sensors can.

And the privacy issue? Does this always-on surveillance mean that the government can track your precise whereabouts whenever it wants? To the contrary, Cell-All will operate only on an opt-in basis and will transmit data anonymously.

“Privacy is as important as technology,” says Dennis. “After all, for Cell-All to succeed, people must be comfortable enough to turn it on in the first place.”

For years, the idea of a handheld weapons of mass destruction detector has engaged engineers. In 2007, S&T called upon the private sector to develop concepts of operations. Today, thanks to increasingly successful prototype demonstrations, the Directorate is actively funding the next step in R&D — a proof of principle — to see if the concept is workable.

To this end, three teams from Qualcomm, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Rhevision Technology are perfecting their specific area of expertise. Qualcomm engineers specialize in miniaturization and know how to shepherd a product to market. Scientists from the Center for Nanotechnology at NASA’s Ames Research Center have experience with chemical sensing on low-powered platforms, such as the International Space Station. And technologists from Rhevision have developed an artificial nose — a piece of porous silicon that changes colors in the presence of certain molecules, which can be read spectrographically.

Similarly, S&T is pursuing what’s known as cooperative research and development agreements with four cell phone manufacturers: Qualcomm, LG, Apple and Samsung. These written agreements, which bring together a private company and a government agency for a specific project, often accelerate the commercialization of technology developed for government purposes. As a result, Dennis hopes to have 40 prototypes in about a year, the first of which will sniff out carbon monoxide and fire.

To be sure, Cell-All’s commercialization may take several years. Yet the goal seems eminently achievable: Just as Gates once envisioned a computer on every desk in every home, so Dennis envisions a chemical sensor in every cell phone in every pocket, purse or belt holster.

And if it’s not already the case, says Dennis, “Our smartphones may soon be smarter than we are.”

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 14th April 2010

Digital Evidence

Cyber Forensic Researchers

Make The Call:

Crime Scene Evidence Is Quickly

Extracted From Mobile Phones

January 1, 2009 — Cyber forensic researchers designed a device to extract the memory of a mobile phone for crime scene evidence. The phone’s memory card is placed in the device where computer software extracts and decodes the information–revealing call history, text messages, emails, images, video and the calendar. This information is then used by police as evidence in crimes.

A good fingerprint at a crime scene isn’t always the smoking gun for solving crimes. Thanks to new technology, crime solving is going digital.

Ernest Brice had plans to rent out his house, but it became a target for burglars instead. Thieves stole almost everything inside.

“I feel victimized,” said Brice.

Brice’s crime was never solved, but police say digital evidence left behind from cell phones, computers or PDAs can be found at nearly every crime scene.

“A lot of times, it’s evidence that will take you to your next step in the investigative lead, so it will tell us who this person has been in touch with or who they’ve been emailing or texting,” said Richard Mislan, Ph.D., a cyber-forensic researcher at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

To help dig up digital evidence and catch criminals, cyber-forensic researchers use a device called a flasher box. It finds clues hiding in cell phones.

“A flasher box is used for extracting a full memory from a mobile phone,” Dr. Mislan said.

A phone’s memory card is removed and plugged into a flasher box. Computer software extracts the phone’s coded information and decodes the information to reveal the phone’s call history, text messages, e-mails, calendar, images and videos. This information is then used by cops as clues to solve crimes.

“It’s an inside look into that person, much more than just a fingerprint,” Dr. Mislan said.

The technology also helps victims of serious crimes by finding clues from computers to show who last contacted the victim and last visited Web sites or e-mails.

“It’s a way of helping us find the perpetrator or the suspect and taking us to that next step,” Dr. Mislan said. Solving crimes isn’t easy. Just ask Brice — but now, technology may help cops get one step ahead of the bad guys. Researchers are now developing a first-responder digital evidence collection kit to gather evidence immediately at the scene of a crime.

WHAT IS CYBER FORENSICS? The subset of forensic science concerned with interpreting evidence contained in computers and digital media is called cyber forensics. The field is concerned with issues such as recovering lost data, and revealing and decrypting data hidden on a suspect’s computer. In addition to computers, cyber forensics specialists can also recover information from cellular phones, mp3 players, CDs, DVDs and more. Approximately 80 to 90 percent of legal cases today involve some sort of digital evidence.

WHAT’S A FLASHER BOX? A flasher box is a device that transfers data from a cell phone to a computer, where people unfamiliar with the device in question can examine files for evidence. With one of these devices, non-experts are able to check for clues that may help them solve cases, even if they have never before seen a similar device.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 8TH April 2010

Detecting Deadly Chemicals

Computer Scientists Develop

Portable Evidence-Gathering Tool

December 1, 2006 — Investigators on a crime scene can now use a new tool for collecting chemical or biological samples. The sampler gun collects samples on a cotton pad — eliminating direct contact with anything harmful, as well as risk of contaminating evidence — a GPS system to record the samples’ location, a camera that snaps pictures for evidence, and a digital voice recorder and writing pad for taking notes.

Whether it’s a murder, a break-in, or an anthrax scare, investigators trying to solve a crime are burdened with collecting delicate, sometimes toxic evidence.

Mention white powder and mail, and who can forget the deadly anthrax scare that swept America? Jennifer Greenamoyer remembers it well. “This is the building where they sort the mail, and this building was contaminated and was the first building to be closed,” she says.

Greenamoyer was a congressional staffer during anthrax scare. “Even though I didn’t necessarily feel like I was exposed or I was kind-of at risk — you knew that other people in the building had been.”

She was safe, but there’s still danger to investigators going back inside to collect samples for analysis. A new device, called the Hands-Off Sampler Gun, eliminates the risk of collecting toxic materials.

“You don’t get exposed yourself to the potential agent, anthrax, and you’re also not contaminating the sample media,” computer scientist Torsten Staab, of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, tells DBIS.

Traditional ways of gathering harmful chemicals use many gadgets. This device puts several technologies into one, easy-to-use gun.

Developed by computer scientists, the Hands-Off Sampler Gun has a cotton pad that grabs chemicals to eliminate direct contact with anything harmful. A GPS system tracks the location of a chemical and the investigator. It also includes a camera that snaps pictures for evidence and a voice recorder and writing pad to take digital notes. The all-in-one device is important to identify a chemical and its risk factor and make sure everything is safe for everyone.

The Sampler Gun could also be made useful for collecting evidence, like bloodstains at crimes scenes. “We have all the information at the end, electronically. It could be wirelessly transmitted from the field to the laboratory,” Staab says.

The FBI plans on field testing the device with its Hazardous Response Unit early next year.

BACKGROUND: Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing a Hands-Off Sampler Gun that would automate the otherwise expensive and time-consuming process of maintaining a proper chain of custody for forensic evidence collected at crime scenes. This will help keep evidence from being mishandled and ensure more credible evidence for jurors. The gun is being marketed initially for forensic biology applications, but could also prove valuable to counter-terrorism efforts.

HOW IT WORKS: When a crime scene investigator locates evidence such as a blood stain, the Hands-Off Sampler Gun collects the sample with its universal sample-media adaptor. Thee investigator never has to touch the sample directly, and thereby avoids the potential for contaminating that sample. Once the sample has been collected, the investigator can testify in court that it was collected properly.

PROVING IT: The investigator will have proof to back up his or her testimony, because an onboard, 3D accelerometer — a type of sensor that detects force — records the sampling pattern, which proves that the sample was blotted, wiped or scraped properly. The gun’s force detector measures and records the pressure the investigator applies and compares it to the force necessary for proper collection of, for example, certain biological (DNA) samples. The gun also automatically records the sample’s location with internal Global Positioning System (GPS), measures the ambient temperature and takes a digital picture of the sample being collected. And here is an incorporated barcode reader and audio recorder to further establish proper chain of custody. All this information can be easily downloaded to a desktop computer through standard interfaces.

WHAT ARE MEMS: Accelerometers are an example of microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS), devices that integrate electronic and moving parts onto a microscopic silicon chip. This integration makes such devices ideal for sensor technology. The term MEMS was coined in the 1980s. A MEMS device is usually only a few micrometers wide; for comparison, a human hair is 50 micrometers wide. Among other everyday applications, MEMS-based sensors are used in cars to detect the sudden motion of a collision and trigger release of the airbag. They are also found in ink-jet printers, blood pressure monitors, and projection display systems.

For more information, please contact:

Juli Gandasatria, Sr. Technology Program Manager
Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization
E-mail: jgandasa@csusb.edu
Phone: 909-537-7758 / Fax: 909-537-7450

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 8th April 2010

All-solid Li-polymer Battery Goes

Flexible, Slim

2010 21:39 Tetsuo Nozawa, Nikkei Electronics

Mie Industry Enterprise Support Center (MIESC) announced that it prototyped a “sheet-type all-solid polymer lithium storage battery” by using only printing processes.

The battery is safe, thin, flexible and large in area, MIESC said. It will be exhibited at the 1st Int’l Rechargeable Battery Expo, which will take place from March 3 to 5, 2010, in Tokyo.

The positive electrode layer, electrolyte layer and negative electrode layer of the lithium-ion battery are made by roll-to-roll processes. No separator is used between layers.

The positive electrode is made with LiFePO4 and a carbon complex while the negative electrode is made with Li4Ti5O12 and a complex of graphite, silicon, etc. A film made of a polymer material using a cross-linked polyethylene oxide is used for the electrolyte.

The polymer material is not in a gel state but in a solid state, and the battery does not use an organic electrolyte, which is flammable, ensuring high safety.

The A6-size lithium-ion battery is 450?m in thickness. Its initial capacity is 45mAh. When half of the capacity is discharged, its voltage is 1.8V. The discharge rate can be changed between 0.02C and 1.0C.

Existing all-solid lithium polymer storage batteries can hardly be used at a room temperature or below. But the new battery can be used even at a temperature from 0 to 25°C, MIESC said. The charge-discharge cycle is more than 100 and is still being evaluated, it said.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 4th March 2010

TATTOO YOUR CELL PHONE ONTO YOUR SKIN

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Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 8th Sept 2009

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