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A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F 18 NEWS BRIEFS MIT Media Lab researchers have built an interface project called the Living Wall. The project would let users touch the wall to activate lamps, music systems, and other items in a room. The Living Wall uses electronically enabled wallpaper covered with electronically conductive paints that create not only decorative patterns but also circuitry that helps enable device control. Earlier wall-based interfaces required energy-hungry projectors to throw images on the walls for decoration. The Living Wall project, led by MIT assistant professor Leah Buechley, takes a dičerent, inexpensive, and energy-ećcient approach. The researchers used a copper-based conductive paint to draw lines that function as circuits. This, in essence, applies a large, exible printed circuit board to a wall. They then magnetically attached electronic components—such as accelerometers, light sensors, touch sensors, temperature sensors, and Bluetooth wireless-communications modules for controlling smaller devices such as computers and cellular phones—to the wall’s circuit board. The wireless modules could be used to control larger appliances in the future, according to Buechley. Users press the touch sensors to control devices. The other sensors monitor envi- Anew technology promises to enable fast, wireless personal-area networks that could let users download videos to and access the Internet via mobile devices at high speeds. IEEE has approved standard 802.15.3c-2009, which defines how to design interoperable WPAN radio equipment capable of providing ad hoc connectivity, quality of service, and reliability. The technology would offer theo- COMPUTER RESEARCHERS BUILD A WALL THAT ACTS LIKE A REMOTE CONTROL ronmental variables near the wall to make lighting, temperature, and other adjustments as necessary. The system runs at about 20 volts, she noted, and draws about 2 amps and 40 watts when fully loaded with devices to retical maximum data rates of 5.8 gigabits per second at distances up to 10 meters under ideal conditions, 4 to 5 Gbps under typical conditions, and 1 to 2 Gbps under conditions degraded by, for example, obstacles in transmission paths or interference from other signals, noted Bob Heile, chair and CEO of the ZigBee Alliance and also chair of the IEEE’s 802.15 WPAN Working Group. Today’s fastest wireless systems are generally much slower, he said. control. By comparison, a laptop consumes about 50 watts and a microwave, about 1,000 watts. Buechley said her team is discussing commercializing the technology with several companies, which she declined to name. MIT’s Living Wall project uses wallpaper and paint, both electronically enabled, that create not only decorative patterns but also electronic circuitry. This lets users touch the wall and control electronic items in the same room. Wireless Technology Promises Ultrafast Personal Area Networks For example, IEEE 802.11n, Wi-Fi’s speediest version, offers up to 600 Mbps. IEEE 802.15.3c-2009 is fast largely because it works in the unlicensed 57-to-64-GHz frequency range, which offers large amounts of available bandwidth. The standard’s completion is a key data-communications milestone because it is the first IEEE 802 series wireless standard to specify operation in the 60-GHz spectrum and offer data rates of at least 1 Gbps, A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F
A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F explained Paul Nikolich, IEEE 802 LAN/MAN standards committee chair and chief strategy officer at YAS Broadband Ventures. This technology is fast enough to provide the consumer-electronics market with effective options for wirelessly connecting high-performance elements of home-entertainment systems, such as a high-definition TV and a set-top box, Heile noted. He said IEEE 802.15.3c-2009 could also provide connections in other set- tings, such as body-area networks for medical applications. In addition, the standard’s high data rates and ability to provide guaranteed time slots for designated transmissions support applications, such as high-end video, that require quality of service. Like other radio-based technologies, IEEE 802.15.3c-2009 is implemented via a chip that includes a transmitter, receiver, and antenna. Heile said the system can identify lost packets and get replacements to the destination fast enough to preserve packet order with minimal delay. Thus, he noted, it can coexist with interference from other technologies operating in the 60-GHz band. If successful, the new technology could provide an improved way to play video and other types of multimedia via wireless technologies, said Filomena Berardi, Connectivity Group research analyst with IMS Research. IEEE SOFTWARE offers pioneering ideas, expert analyses, and thoughtful insights for software professionals who need to keep up with rapid technology change. It’s the authority on translating software theory into practice. www.computer.org/ software/SUBSCRIBE ___________________ APRIL 2010 A Computer Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page M S BE aG F 19
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