US energy harvesting firm Powercast has developed a battery-free retail price tag that can be changed from 2m away using a hand-held UHF programmer. Key to the tag is the firm’s PCC110 UHF-to-dc harvestign chip and an Eink display that only needs power to change, retaining its display after power is removed. “Powercast developed the concept tag to free retailers ...
Communications
Public LiFi demo in Bristol this weekend
For the first time anywhere in the world this weekend people in Bristol will experience LiFi provided by pureLiFi
Embedded World: Wi-Fi chip runs from a battery for months
Silicon Labs revealed a Wi-Fi transceiver which consumes so little that it can be used in battery powered IoT sensor nodes, for example. Revealed at Embedded World, the WFM200 system-in-package (SiP, 6.5 x 6.5mm LGA52) consumes 200µA (average, delivery traffic indication message (DTIM)= 3). “We’ve delivered the first low-power Wi-Fi portfolio designed specifically for the IoT, enabling secure, battery-powered connected ...
Mobile World Congress: New Radio standard triggers early 5G launch
The mobile industry’s decision at the end of 2017 to agree on millimetre-wave frequency bands for 5G has provided the trigger for an acceleration in 5G network development At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, mobile operators said the ratification of the 5G New Radio (NR) standards will mean they can aim for a rollout of commercial 5G services ...
Mobile World Congress: Rohde & Schwarz signs 5G lab deal in China
Rohde & Schwarz is working with Chinese fabless chip firm Unigroup Spreadtrum & RDA to establish a joint operator test laboratory in China as part of an agreement signed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The aim s to create wireless communications and test concepts for both Chinese network operators and other global operators. Unigroup Spreadtrum & RDA had already ...
Mobile World Congress: Ceva adds power DSP to Nokia 5G network
Ceva is working with Nokia in the development of baseband system-on-chips (SoCs) for 4.9G and 5G wireless infrastructure. Ceva has adapted its CEVA-XC architecture framework to address the massive increase in signal processing complexity in multi-RAT (Radio Access Technology) network architectures. Nokia’s ReefShark SoC is based on 3GPP 5G New Radio specifications, which help offset deployment costs and TCO, while ...
Mobile World Congress: 5G development ramping, says Keysight
The message from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week was that 5G development cycles for chipset, terminal and infrastructure firms are accelerating with first network launches maybe less than two years away. An example of this was the demonstration in Barcelona this week by Keysight Technologies of its first 5G 4Gbit/s data throughput connection at 28GHz using its 5G ...
Samsung and NI collaborate on 5G New Radio interface tests
NI is teaming up with mobile phone giant Samsung Electronics to develop 5G test UEs for proposed 5G New Radio (NR) radio interface. The first public demonstration of this collaboration will show Samsung’s 28GHz basestation communicating with an NI test UE at next week’s Mobile World Congress (February 26 to March 1) in Barcelona. A first draft of the 5G ...
MWC: CCS launches 12Gbit/s comms for unlicenced 60GHz mmWave
Cambridge Communication Systems (CCS) has launched its Metnet 12Gbit/s unlicensed 60GHz mmWave access and back-haul unit. The multi-point system is the first element in a software-defined mesh network architecture, with multiple Metnet 60GHz nodes operating as a centrally managed SDN-capable networking switch. Operating in the unlicensed 57-71GHz band, it has automated interference avoidance and low latency, using distributed control of ...
Embedded World: Digitally-tunable RF filters dodge spectrum congestion
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS has developed digitally tunable and reconfigurable RF filters. In a congested spectrum “devices that send and receive data must function reliably”, said the organisation. “But with coexistence and interference issues on the rise, we can expect significant constraints and problems when it comes to transferring data. Fraunhofer IIS has developed digitally tunable radio ...