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emit--re Daytona- it's a Spectrum Signal Processing dsp based on TI's TMS320C6000 DSP platform:
Daytona
Hardware: Development Systems
Status: Production
> Description
> Features
> Specifications
Supplier Spectrum Signal Processing
Description
Daytona Single or Dual TMS320C6201 PCI-Based Product - Single or Dual 1600 MIPS, 200 MHz TMS320C6201 DSPs - Spectrum's innovative board architecture eliminates double handling of data - Comprehensive software tools including: Host Interface Library and Drivers, Daytona board support DSP Library, Code Composer IDE multi-processor debugger via PCI bus Diamond, a Real-Time DSP OS - 1 MB of SBSRAM and 32MB of SDRAM (max) - 2K x 32 dual port memory for low latency and deterministic inter-processor communication - Distributed shared memory provided by SBSRAM - Hurricane, a single-chip PCI bridge optimized for DSP systems - Flexible I/O interfaces include: Processor Expansion Module providing 400 MBytes/s per DSP. Industry Standard PMC providing a maximum sustained data rate of 132 MB/s directly into the 'C6x's SBSRAM DSP~LINK3 providing 40 MBytes/s for interfacing to mezzanine site and other open I/O solutions - IndustryPack« (IP) support for over 150 different industry standard I/O modules. Daytona is a single or dual 'C6x processor PCI-based product. Its high I/O bandwidth and full suite of software tools allow Daytona to fully utilize its 3200 MIPS.
Platform: TMS320C6000
Generation: TMS320C62x, TMS320C67x
Device: All TMS320C62x Items
Features
Free Lifetime Technical Support
1 MB of SBSRAM and 32MB of SDRAM (max)
2K x 32 dual port memory
Distributed shared memory
""Hurricane, a single chip PCI bridge
Flexible I/O interfaces include IndustryPackTM (IP) support
Specifications
Platforms Supported: PCI PC
Host Platforms Supported: Windows NT
Number of Processors: 2
Clock Speeds Available (MHz): 200
Board Size: Board: Full Card, Length: , Width: , Height:
External Memory: SRAM
Expansion Options: , , ,
Software Included: , ,
http://www-d.connect.ti.com/dsp/tpcat/tpcodec.nsf/HardwareForExternal/285DB06EA3D3782B8625670E007898....
When I was at their booth (perhaps "pavilion" might be a better term) there was a company lined up to make a DataPlay add-on for Palm and Handspring devices, but not for the Pocket PC. You wouldn't believe how ugly the add-on for the Handspring was! It's a huge hump on the back of the device, and incorporates an extra set of batteries because the Handspring has such weak battery output. Palmax/UR There has signed up as a DataPlay partner, and have committed to incorporating DataPlay technology into their line of Pocket PC's. Considering the size of the read/write unit, this is going to be quite a challenge - if they can find a way to shrink it down, the Palmax Pocket PC would be a fantastic data recording & playback device!
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles/dataplay.html.
Posted by: Sentinel
In reply to: None Date: 7/25/2001 10:58:09 PM
Post # of 10040
Another "unknown" DataPlay partner for PDA's and Webpad's:
Palmax
www.palmaxtech.com
Not listed on their Partner Logo page, but listed in the FAQ's along with EDIG.
Here is an interesting looking WebPad:
http://www.palmaxtech.com/specswp.htm
They also have some interesting PDA's:
http://www.palmaxtech.com/specsp7m.htm
http://www.palmaxtech.com/specsp6m.htm
On2: Move over, MPEG-4
By Gwendolyn Mariano
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 22, 2002, 1:25 PM PT
Video-compression provider On2 Technologies is taking aim at MPEG-4, releasing an update of its own technology, known as VP5, as companies wrangle over proposed licensing fees for the emerging digital video standard.
New York-based On2 said VP5 is up to a 50 percent improvement over its VP4 technology, which supports RealNetworks' RealPlayer and RealSystem iQ to enable consumers to view digital video. The company said VP5 is designed to handle real-time compression of live TV broadcasts, including sports and action footage. For instance, if viewers were to watch an ice skater on a PC, the new codec would eliminate any white splotches on the screen as well as any shadowing, or ghost-like images, the company said.
Codecs are pieces of software that are used to compress large video files into smaller ones so that they can be sent over the Web, wireless devices, set-top boxes and electronic gaming devices.
"The timing (of VP5) is significant because codecs keep getting better," said Ross Rubin, senior analyst at Jupiter Media Metrix. VP5 "may well be the best one out there, partly because it's the newest one. But I don't necessarily think it's sustainable. It's just important to be competitive...(and) we've got to ensure that the video gets the amount of bandwidth it needs all the time for a good video experience."
The launch of VP5 comes as media companies are weighing a controversial licensing plan for MPEG-4, a digital media format that is being positioned as a new industry standard. Under the plan, put forward by MPEG LA, licensees would pay 25 cents each for MPEG-4 products such as decoders and encoders, with fees capped at $1 million a year for each licensee. It also suggests charging a per-minute use fee with no cap, equivalent to 2 cents for each hour encoded.
Tech heavyweight Apple Computer, a major MPEG-4 backer, quickly rejected the proposed licensing terms, previewing but refusing to release new QuickTime products that support the standard until a new deal is reached. In addition, the Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA), a standards body, is asking MPEG LA to open the proposed licensing plan to industry review and discussion. The ISMA is concerned that the royalty model MPEG LA has outlined will not foster the development of MPEG-4.
On2 also opposed the new licensing plan and sent a letter to the ISMA, proposing to make its codec an alternative to MPEG-4 and promising to make it available at no charge. Last year, On2 released an open-source version of its VP3.2 video-compression technology.
Rubin said On2 is not the first company to make claims that its codec is close to true broadcast quality. He said Microsoft, for instance, has claimed that its latest codec will be able to deliver near DVD-quality in a minimal broadband capacity. He added that the quality of service available to provide these streams is the key ingredient because "once you achieve a certain amount of Internet congestion, you have to degrade the signal or it becomes choppy."
Still, On2 is wagering that VP5 will let people watch true broadcast-quality videos. The company said VP5 is more efficient and delivers higher quality at lower bit rates than MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Real 8, Windows Media 8 and Apple QuickTime 5. On2 said the download and streaming versions of VP5 are available through the RealPlayer at its Web site.
"Other codecs make an adaptation--they actually change the video and then compress it so it doesn't look the same," said On2 CEO Douglas McIntyre. "We don't do anything to the original...(VP5) gives back full resolution to the quality of the original stuff."
Adaptec has turned out an impressive array of connectivity products to
help users hook up with the newest technologies. USB 2.0 devices like MP3
players, CD-Rs and scanners move data, voice and video 40 times faster
than standard USB. And Adaptec has a full line of USB 2.0 cards and hubs
for desktops and notebooks to keep even the most gadget-hungry techies
fully satisfied.
Calif. Supreme Court to Hear DVD-Cracking Case Appeal
San Francisco -- The California Supreme Court this week agreed to hear an
appeal of a case involving a man who published computer code that can
break the security technology on DVD discs. The DVD Copy Control
Association (DVDCCA) sued Andrew Bunner for publishing DeCSS, a code that
can break its DVD encryption technology. The DVDCCA claimed Bunner was
leaking trade secrets and not simply informing Linux users how they could
play DVDs on their computers, another function of the code. An earlier
ruling found that an injunction against Bunner's publishing of the code
violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020110_eff_pr.html
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174688.html
http://www.dvdcca.org
Time Has Come Today--R&B Artists' Digital Copyright Case Against Labels Granted New Life
New York -- Recording artists including The Chambers Bros. and The
Coasters, who sued AOL Time Warner, Sony, BMG, Universal Music Group and
MP3.com over the right to distribute their works digitally, won an appeal
that will result in a review of their claims, Reuters reported on Friday.
The artists claim their contracts didn't give labels the right to sell
digitized versions of their pre-1996 performances on the Internet, and
that these unauthorized versions of their recordings are hampering sales
of vinyl, cassettes and CDs, from which they receive royalty payments. The
Second Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded the case to the original
lower court judge for further consideration.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-842715.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.lesterchambers.com/
Calif. Native Wins Settlement Against Copy-Protected CD Providers
San Rafael, Calif. -- SunnComm, a provider of CD copy-protection
technology, and record label Music City Records announced on Friday that
they have settled a lawsuit brought by a California woman who sued them
over labeling and privacy concerns arising from copy-protected CDs. The
discs were not labeled to notify consumers that they wouldn't play in some
CD players and PC disc drives, and some personally identifiable
information was collected on users who downloaded digital music files made
available through the CDs. According to the settlement, the companies have
agreed to make anonymous any information collected in conjunction with
downloadable encrypted digital music it offers. The companies will also
purge all personally identifiable information collected from consumers up
to this point. Additionally, labels alerting consumers of the technical
limitations of the copy-protected CDs will be added to their packaging and
consumers unhappy with their copy-protected CD purchases will be given
full refunds.
http://www.techfirm.com/sunnsett.pdf
http://www.techfirm.com/sunnk.pdf
http://www.suncomm.com
_____________________________________________
Group seeks to set portable audio player standards
By Margaret Quan
EE Times
February 22, 2002 (11:38 a.m. EST)
MANHASSET, N.Y. — Consumer electronics manufacturers and their technology suppliers will meet in Los Angeles on Tuesday (Feb. 26) to form a group devoted to jump-starting the market for portable digital audio devices. The Portable and Networked Audio Device Manufacturers Association, as it has been temporarily dubbed, plans to address interoperability and content-protection issues that were left unresolved when the Secure Digital Music Initiative ceased its activities last year.
The group's priorities are likely to include enhancing consumers' digital-audio experience and creating standards for portable audio devices, said organizers James Fleming, who was director of technology for the Recording Industry Association of America from 1997 to 2000, and Tom White, president and chief executive officer of MIDI Manufacturers Association Inc.
"If portable device manufacturers don't step up and take charge of their own futures, the marketplace will be dominated by one or two companies," warned Fleming, who is currently president of a firm that provides technology consulting to the entertainment industry. He will serve as executive administrator of the new group.
Crucial window
Calling the next nine months "a crucial window" in which to make progress on the issues, Fleming said that without standards the market for portable audio devices will go to companies with predominant but proprietary technology. That would mean other market hopefuls would have to license that technology if they hoped to build launch products. He would not identify the dominant companies or technologies in question.
Twenty to 30 companies have reportedly shown interest in the group, although none has made a formal commitment. The first organizational meeting was held late in January; a second meeting, slated for Feb. 26, is expected to decide on a formal mission, structure, format and process for the group.
Co-organizer White said the group will take up where SDMI left off on portable devices but that it will work to avoid the mistakes that SDMI made.
The group "isn't a redo of SDMI," said White, who will be the new group's executive director.
Industry observers believe that SDMI grew too large for its structure and had too diverse a membership base to agree on anything. For instance, the group could not reach consensus on a standard framework for digital audio content protection for portable devices.
That was because the record labels held so much power in the group that their concerns about content piracy became the priority, some observers claim. SDMI became inactive shortly after executive director Leonardo Chiariglione left in January 2001.
"After SDMI did not work out real well, Jim [Fleming] came to me," White said. As the two saw it, "the record industry had its concerns, and the IT group at SDMI [which comprised computer manufacturers] had certain things they intended to do, but the consumer electronics industry really never was represented as a group at SDMI."
White said the new group seeks to change that. One task will be to correct the lack of standards for portable-device content protection.
The new group will differ from SDMI in that it will focus on player-device vendors and their suppliers, and there will be requirements for membership. Neither Fleming nor White would say whether content providers, such as record labels, will be allowed to join. They said they will leave that matter up to the group's members.
E.R. (Randy) Cole, manager of digital audio and media technologies at Texas Instruments Inc. (Dallas), said TI plans to participate in the meeting and is optimistic that the group can make meaningful progress, "if they pick a set of reasonable goals that provide good value to the consumer" and don't lose their focus.
Cole said he hopes the group works on enhancing the customer experience with digital music because "right now, people don't have a great customer experience with digital music on the Net."
Texas Instruments' OMAP(TM)710 Processor Powers New HP Jornada 928 Wireless Digital Assistant
TI's TCS2500 GSM/GPRS Chipset With an OMAP710 Processor
Delivers High Performance and Optimal Battery Life for 2.5 and 3G Applications
CANNES, France, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Texas Instruments
Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) (TI) today announced that its OMAP(TM) processor
powers Hewlett-Packard Company's first full-color wireless digital assistant
(WDA) -- the HP Jornada 928 WDA -- unveiled by HP at 3GSM World Congress. The
HP Jornada 928 WDA harnesses the unique combination of power and performance
of the OMAP710 processor, which delivers wireless data and voice to any
wireless handheld device, to easily and effortlessly run advanced wireless
applications, including enhanced voice, data and basic multimedia.
TI's TCS2500 GSM/GPRS chipset, which features the widely adopted OMAP710
single-chip and dedicated applications processor, brings integrated wireless
data, voice and multimedia connectivity to the GPRS/GSM-enabled HP Jornada
device. Leveraging TI's wireless silicon and software solutions with the
Microsoft(R) Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition platform, the HP Jornada 928 WDA
brings mobile professionals and enterprise customers a seamlessly integrated
phone and personal information management functionality in a single, robust
device.
"HP's decision to use TI's OMAP processors and GSM/GPRS technology shows
growing momentum for TI in the 2.5 and 3G wireless handheld space," said Gerry
Purdy, president and CEO of Mobile Insights. "It also demonstrates TI's
ability to enable its customers to quickly and easily deliver truly
sophisticated wireless devices."
"The highly integrated, power-efficient OMAP platform delivers HP Jornada
928 WDA users unparalleled performance and allows HP to provide its customers
with quick and responsive multimedia applications while simultaneously
extending battery life," said Rick Kornfeld, vice president of TI's Wireless
Chipset Business. "Simply put, the OMAP platform enables handheld device
manufacturers to build and offer robust products, like the HP Jornada 928 WDA,
that meet, if not exceed, consumers' expectations for 2.5 and 3G devices."
Major industry leaders in the wireless handset and handheld computing
markets are increasingly choosing TI's OMAP processors to power their 2.5 and
3G devices. Additionally, TI's extensive OMAP Developer Network is creating a
variety of new, innovative wireless applications, such as multimedia, gaming,
secure mobile commerce, streaming video and Internet audio, based on the OMAP
platform. The OMAP platform provides a foundation for enabling these cool,
new applications and enables high-performance and low power consumption --
essential features for any mobile device.
"HP chose TI's OMAP710 processor for our feature-rich WDA because we
wanted to offer consumers the multimedia, voice and data features they desire,
while at the same time extend battery life," said Kok-Khoon Lim, general
manager of HP's Jornada Organization. "This newest addition to the HP Jornada
line-up brings the next generation of integrated voice and data in a small,
sleek device to the user on the go."
To view the HP Jornada 928 WDA, please visit the HP Booth, number A10, or
the TI booth, number E18 at GSM World Congress.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal
processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet
age. In addition to Semiconductor, the company's businesses include Sensors &
Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in
Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than
25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.ti.com .
Please refer all reader inquiries to: Texas Instruments Incorporated
Semiconductor Group, SC-02024
Literature Response Center
P.O. Box 954
Santa Clara, CA 91380
Texas Instruments Introduces Industry's First Complete Multimedia IDB-1394 and Bluetooth(TM) Technologies for Automotive Market
Targeting the automotive telematics market, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) unveils the industry's first automotive 1394b bus solution to support in-car infotainment applications (2/21/2002)
The 1394b bus solution will support applications such as rear seat entertainment and other complete audio and video solutions. In addition, TI recently demonstrated automotive Bluetooth chipsets enabling wireless connectivity solutions for the vehicle. (See www.ti.com/sc/mil7673u)
AUTOMOTIVE 1394: HIGH SPEEDS, MEDIA FLEXIBILITY
TI's new automotive IDB-1394 technology supports the 1394b protocol at 100 megabits per second (Mbps) over 10 meters of plastic optical fiber (POF) or unshielded twisted pair, category 5 (UTP5) cable. Developers thus have a choice of media between POF, which minimizes electromagnetic interference (EMI) for greater overall signal fidelity, and UTP5 (pending automotive EMI qualification), which significantly reduces overall node cost. TI offers a complete IDB-1394 solution, including various link layers such as the CELynx which supports MPEG2 video streaming with 5C copy protection and the physical layer interface (PHY) for POF or UTP5.
Emerging end-user automotive applications include digital audio and video (MPEG2 DVD, MP3 players, cameras, etc.), navigation units, and gateways to the other automotive buses that are increasingly used in vehicles for communications, control and diagnostics. Avionic and industrial systems are also poised to benefit from the high speeds, long distance and robust performance offered by this technology.
"By providing the industry's first IDB-1394 silicon, TI is demonstrating our commitment to enabling 1394 high-speed communications in the automotive market," said Brad Little, manager of TI's worldwide automotive advanced bus products. "TI's solution will help bridge the gap between the automobile and consumer electronics, allowing people to enjoy mobile multimedia entertainment and information."
TI LEADERSHIP IN 1394
The IDB-1394 specification is an automotive supplement to the existing IEEE 1394 standards, which are already well established in the consumer electronics industry. Through the use of this standard, consumer multimedia applications can be leveraged for in-vehicle networking. In addition, existing 1394 portable devices can be plugged directly into the new automotive multimedia bus through the use of an IDB-1394 defined customer convenience port.
TI is the industry leader in providing 1394 solutions and has been among the first to demonstrate 1394b solutions targeting the automotive market. TI has also played a key role in establishing 1394 automotive standards. In addition, TI is a primary participant in the Rolling Test Bed 2002 program, an IDB-1394 AuWG (1394 Automotive Working Group) development project designed to validate the standard and demonstrate its practicality for vehicle implementation.
"TI is the first supplier to provide working IDB-1394 automotive silicon," said Frank Desjarlais, senior network engineer at Ford Motor Company. "The recent introduction of TI's 1394b silicon gives automotive manufacturers the ability to quickly provide industry standard state-of-the-art electronic features to their customers. In addition, providing an externally accessible 1394 Customer Convenience Port gives passengers the ability to plug in their latest portable electronic devices into the vehicle for entertainment or vehicle services."
BLUETOOTH AUTOMOTIVE SOLUTIONS
TI's Bluetooth wireless chipsets enable hands-free car kits in the automotive market, and when used in conjunction with the IDB-1394 bus, allow for complete advanced telematics communications in automotive applications.
"TI's Bluetooth automotive solutions will enable us to cost-efficiently provide hands-free phone operation to our products," said Gerhard Nuessle, Head of Development, TEMIC Sprachverarbeitung GmbH. "Customers will find that Bluetooth communications give them easy-to-use wireless flexibility for a wide range of applications that can now be used in the car as well as the home."
TI is extending its line of Bluetooth solutions for wireless transmission to support automotive applications. TI chipsets provide high-performance, full-rate Bluetooth links, supporting wireless data communications and up to three simultaneous voice links with very low power consumption. Bluetooth solutions from TI will enable automotive developers to offer value-added products such as hands-free car kits and wireless communication links to games, PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other types of systems such as vehicle diagnostic tools.
"We are very excited to be able to introduce an automotive grade complete Bluetooth module to the market. This product has been made possible through the combination of Texas Instruments' durable, high performance chipsets and our high frequency, multi-layer and high density mounting technologies," said Shoichi Sekiguchi, general manager and team leader of the Bluetooth Development Group at Taiyo Yuden.
"We have had good success working with TI's Bluetooth solution in developing hands-free and telematics applications. We are looking forward to a continued relationship with TI in the future," said Tim Reilly, CTO for Stonestreet One.
AVAILABILITY
IDB-1394 development boards and samples are available today in limited quantities. TI plans to introduce select versions of commercially available Bluetooth devices characterized for the automotive temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C during the first half of 2002.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Day Conference
Automotive Risk Management
Dearborn, Feb 27-28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Day Seminar
Telematics CTIA Wireless
Orlando, March 19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Day Seminar
Mobile Telematics Markets
London, March 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Day Conference
Telematics Detroit
Cobo Center
May 15-16
ACCESS to Provide Free NetFront v3.0 Evaluation Copy for PocketPC
ACCESS' Microbrowser Available for Download on Web Site
TOKYO, and FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- ACCESS Co., Ltd., a leading global provider of software and services for IP-based consumer electronics devices, today announced that it will provide a free evaluation copy of its new microbrowser, the NetFront® v3.0, for intelligent home appliances. Specifically designed for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), the embedded NetFront browser for Pocket PC will operate on the Microsoft® Pocket PC and Pocket PC 2002.
The Japanese version evaluation copy is offered with a 45-day limited demo license agreement (license expires at 45-days from installation) and will be available for download from the ACCESS Co., Ltd. web site, www.access.co.jp, as of February 20, 2002. The final release for NetFront v3.0 for Pocket PC will be generally available the second quarter of 2002.
NetFront v3.0 for PocketPC, the newest microbrowser for home intelligent appliances, is fully compliant with the latest W3C(1) specifications, including HTML 4.01, cHTML (Compact HTML), HTTP Cookie, CSS1 and CSS2, JavaScript1.5, DOM Level 1 and Level 2 and Dynamic HTML. NetFront also supports SSL v3.0/TLS1.0 with 128-bit encryption, tab-browsing and on/offline browsing functions that enable five multi-windows displays. In addition, this multi-component embedded software solution enables resource-constrained products to deliver high performance and high functionality while maintaining low power consumption.
ACCESS will use the download service to gather user information and requirements to develop products that better serve users' needs. To facilitate this effort, a message board has been provided so that users who download the software can openly post their comments. The site will also provide support for questions in addition to NetFront v3.0 for Pocket PC product information.
NetFront v3.0 for Pocket PC features summary
HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0, CHTML(Compact HTML), XHTML Basic 1.0
CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) and partial support for CSS2
ECMA Script 3rd Edition (JavaScript 1.5)
DOM (Document Object Model) level 1, level 2 and partial support for
Dynamic HTML
Support for multi-format images such as GIF / animation, GIF, PNG, JPEG and MNG
HTTP/1.1- SSL2.0/3.0 TLS1.0
Multi-window function (five window display)
Full support for cookies
Bookmark and page memo
Java Script 1.5 subset
Setup display image, animation GIF, table, JavaScript and CSS on and off functions in a basic setup screen
Evaluation copy will be offered with a 45-day limited license agreement
About NetFront
NetFront® is one of the world's most popular embedded Internet browsers for consumer information appliances. Since its introduction in 1995, more than 53 million commercial-license copies of NetFront and its micro version, Compact NetFront®, have been shipped for use in over 150 different consumer information appliances. Among these appliances are Internet TVs, PDAs, set top boxes, car navigation systems (telematics), smart phones, web/screen phones, vertical intranet terminals, video game consoles, word processing machines and Internet kiosks. NetFront provides key advantages of high portability, flexible UI customization, and high performance within limited CPU/memory resources.
(1) The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) was founded in 1994 to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. The CHTML (Compact HTML) markup language was proposed to the W3C for compact electric appliances by ACCESS, Matsushita Electric Industrial Corporation, Ltd., NEC Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Sony Corporation. It is fully compliant with the W3C recommended specifications.
About ACCESS Co, Ltd. and ACCESS Systems America
ACCESS Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4813) is a leading global provider of software and services for IP-based consumer electronics devices. ACCESS' embedded NetFront® and Compact NetFront® browsers power over 150 different commercial products worldwide including mobile phones, digital televisions, set-top boxes, game consoles, PDAs, car navigation systems, web phones, kiosk terminals and intranet terminals. ACCESS' Compact NetFront microbrowser is most widely deployed in phones for NTT DoCoMo's popular i-mode service. To date, more than 53 million ACCESS software licenses have shipped from more than 40 major Internet device manufacturers. ACCESS Systems America, Inc. (ASA) is the U.S. subsidiary of ACCESS Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan and is based in Fremont, CA. More information is available at www.access.co.jp and www.access-us-inc.com.
This press release is not an offer of any securities of ACCESS Co., Ltd. for sale in the United States. Such securities have not been registered in the United States under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent such registration or an exemption there from.
NOTE: ACCESS is a registered trademark in Japan. NetFront, Compact NetFront are registered trademarks of ACCESS Co., Ltd. in Japan. NetFront is a registered trademark of NetFront Communications, Inc. in the United States and is used under license. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT are registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is an abbreviation of Microsoft Windows Operating System. Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Flash is a registered trademark of Macromedia in the U.S. and other countries. i-mode(TM) is a registered trademark of NTT Docomo, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.
CONTACT: Mari Chuganji of ACCESS Co., Ltd., Japan, 81-3-5259-3685, or prinfo@access.co.jp; or Manuel Morales of ACCESS Systems America, 1-510-438-7708, or mmorales@access-us-inc.com; or Anne-miek Hamelinck of Antenna Group Public Relations, 1-415-977-1923, or annemiek@antennagroup.com, for ACCESS Co., Ltd.
SOURCE: ACCESS Co., Ltd.
London, February 13, 2002 Vodafone, Orange, Ford, Jaguar, Motorola and more... for one day only, come together to discuss new opportunities in telematics services
Feb 13, 2002 (PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX) -- 'Telematics is about changing our experience of travelling, about new challenges in service provisioning, about merging several different industries and about mobile communication as enabling factor for a new market. In brief, it's an exciting place to be!' sums up Dr Michael Alger, Senior Technology Manager, Vodafone
Johnson Controls Automotive Systems Group Selects Airfoil Public Relations
Airfoil Public Relations to Provide Public Relations Counsel For Leading Automotive Supplier's Telematics Initiative
DETROIT, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Airfoil Public Relations, Inc., an independent public relations firm specializing in servicing technology clients, recently signed Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE: JCI - news) as a new client. Airfoil will provide public relations counsel to launch the company's in- vehicle telematics initiative for Johnson Controls Automotive Systems Group.
The automotive business of Johnson Controls, with headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan, employs more than 77,000 people worldwide. In fiscal-year 2001, it achieved US $13.6 billion in sales. For the 2001 model-year, it supplied interior products for more than 23 million vehicles.
``Johnson Controls is a leader in bringing technology into today's vehicles,'' noted Lisa Vallee-Smith, APR, and Airfoil CEO. ``We are very pleased to have Johnson Controls on board and to work with such an innovative company.''
About Airfoil Public Relations, Inc.
(www.airfoilpr.com )
Airfoil is an independent public relations firm that specializes in
strategic counseling for start-up and established technology companies, as
well as traditional companies moving into the technology space. Airfoil helps
its clients realize their business objectives, which typically include
achieving first-mover advantage, market share, financing and eminence. Core
Airfoil services include strategic communications, media services, online
services, research and market services such as analyst relations. Other
services provided through strategic alliances include brand development and
advertising, market research, Web site development and investor relations.
For more information about Airfoil Public Relations, please call 313-237-8550.
About Johnson Controls, Inc.
(www.johnsoncontrols.com )
Johnson Controls, Inc. is a global market leader in automotive systems and
facility management and control. In the automotive market, it is a major
supplier of seating and interior systems, and batteries. For non-residential
facilities, Johnson Controls provides building control systems and services,
energy management and integrated facility management. Johnson Controls
(NYSE: JCI - news), founded in 1885, has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(U.S.A.). Its sales for 2001 totaled US$18.4 billion.
SOURCE: Airfoil Public Relations, Inc.
February 19, 2002 Nissan, NTT DoCoMo to Work Together
Japanese Automaker Nissan, Telecom Giant NTT DoCoMo to Work Together
By YURI KAGEYAMA
AP Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. and the nation's largest mobile telecommunications carrier NTT DoCoMo will work together to enable Japanese drivers to search for a nearby restaurant, find the best deal on gasoline or take advantage of other services using the Internet from their cars.
The services will use the telecom's 3G mobile technology, which zips large amounts of information at superfast speeds and includes a videophone. NTT DoCoMo is the first in the world to offer 3G as a commercial service.
Similar types of such computer services are already available from the world's major automakers, including General Motors Corp. [NYSE:GM - news] of the United States, Nissan and its domestic rivals Toyota Motor Corp. [NYSE:TM - news] and Honda Motor Co.
But the services have yet to become widespread in Japan. And it is still unclear how Nissan's services developed with DoCoMo will be different from rival offerings.
Nissan and DoCoMo will study ways they can combine their technologies to develop new services such as finding a restaurant or comparing gas prices, both sides said Tuesday.
By 2004, they hope to offer more sophisticated services. Drivers may be able to order a takeout meal before arriving at a fast-food outlet. Or they may download music electronically on the road.
Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said it was still not decided whether the services will be offered in Nissan models in the United States and Europe.
DoCoMo is planning to offer 3G in Europe and the United States in the future through its partners.
``We are constantly seeking solutions that enrich people's lives,'' Ghosn told reporters. ``We are convinced that NTT DoCoMo is the ideal partner for us.''
Both sides said they may work with other companies on similar projects.
DoCoMo Chief Executive Keiji Tachikawa said the agreement with Nissan was part of his strategy to bring mobile technology not only to cell phones but to other moving things like cars.
``The 21st century is a society that will take full advantage of information technology. But it is also certain to be a society based on cars,'' Tachikawa said.
QNX and AM3 Team up to Accelerate Development of In-Car Media Systems
Companies demo multimedia system in a Chrysler Sebring Convertible at Embedded Systems Show 2002
OTTAWA, and HANNOVER, Germany, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- QNX Software Systems and AM3 today announced that AM3 has licensed the QNX OS to accelerate the development of infotainment systems for the auto industry. The companies aim to deliver innovative in-car computing products that integrate services such as audio, video, navigation, SMS, e-mail, and Web access into a single user interface.
AM3's multimedia InCarComputers (ICCs) take advantage of the QNX RTOS v6.1 to meet the strict reliability and performance requirements of automotive environments. The ICC is a powerful, highly integrated unit that is used as the basis for individual audio, video, and communications systems. These systems interlinked with other components -- are designed for deployment both in personal vehicles such as cars and SUVs and in commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks.
QNX OS technology delivers an open architecture, high reliability, and a dynamically scalable platform, providing AM3 with a flexible environment for the development of fault tolerant, next-generation products. According to AM3, the QNX RTOS's modular microkernel architecture offers a key advantage by allowing in-car systems to deliver a high degree of functionality on low-cost processors and a small memory footprint.
About AutoMotive MultiMedia AG
AM3 was founded in 1998 with headquarters in Fuerth, Germany. AM3 (AutoMotive MultiMedia AG) is an information technology company providing in- car multimedia services by means of InCarComputers (ICC). This realizes the vision of an integrated information system that combines in-car components such as audio, video, navigation, SMS, e-mail and Internet in a single user interface. AM3 AG employs more than 70 people. Visit http://www.am3.de
About QNX Software Systems
Founded in 1980, QNX Software Systems is the industry leader in realtime, microkernel OS technology. The company has established a strong customer base in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, consumer electronics, transportation, medical instrumentation, process control, and point-of-sale. QNX products are distributed in over 100 countries worldwide. Visit http://www.qnx.com.
Lucent-Bell Labs voice memo recorder.
Software: Speech Recognition: Speech Analysis Speech Processing Library
Status: Released(X)
> Description
> Support / Training
Supplier Lucent Technologies Inc.
Description
Bell Labs offers voice memo recorder DSP software that enables drivers to record voice memos for later playback. Drivers may record either their own voices or, if part of a Telematics system, the voice of a call center operator who may provide directions and other useful information. The memo recorder compresses the voice to 6.8 Kbps. Thus the length of recorded voice will depend on the amount of memory allocated.
Custom license required
eXpressDSP Compliance: No
SubFunction Description: Bell Labs offers voice memo recorder DSP software that enables drivers to record voice memos for later playback.
Platform: Other TI DSPs
Generation: TMS320C1x
Device: All TMS320C1x Items
Target Market(s): Audio, Automotive, Computing, Consumer, Medical, Military, Telecommunications, Voice Over Network, Wireless
Sound Advantage's SANDi 2.0
Sound Advantage (Irvine, CA - 949-476-1400) has completely rewritten its SANDi 2.0 SANDi voice-controlled auto attendant. First off, they've switched from the old AT&T Watson speech recognition engine to Lucent's LASR. The new engine has an active grammar of up to 20,000 words, where Watson would only let you load 1,000 at a time.
The new speech engine also has keyword-spotting, so now you can utter things like "cough - burp - belch, I'd like to speak to, er - hiccup - Zippy, please." And then the system will recognize "Zippy" out of that cacophony and call Yours Truly.
Sound Advantage has also devised a web-based administration program for SANDi, called SANDi Desktop. Just browse to log on to your SANDI server (from anywhere in the world) and administer your own phone book or specify how SANDi is going to route your calls for today.
Whether it's a voicemail, a fax, or e-mail, as a SANDI 2.0 user you can tell her to copy, forward, or rebroadcast it to any person or any group of people with any combination of communication devices. It doesn't matter whether they're part of your phone system, CRM solution, onsite Exchange server, or none of the above. Sound Advantage has completely knocked down the barriers between what used to be separate working environments.
-Richard "Zippy" Grigonis
http://www.teleconnect.com/article/CTM20001201S0004.
Lucent Automatic Speech Recognition engine (LASR)
Lucent Speech Solutions
Technical White Paper
Introduction
This white paper gives a high level description of the features of Lucent Automatic Speech Recognition (LASR) engine that executes on Lucent’s Compact PCI (cPCI) Speech Processing Board. The cPCI Speech Processing Board is part of the Lucent Speech Server (LSS) product which is described in a separate white paper.
The LASR engine, featuring Bell Laboratories’ state-of-the art speech technology, is specifically designed to deliver unsurpassed ASR performance for telecommunication applications. It is optimized to achieve high accuracy at a level of computational complexity that allows for a very high channel density implementation on the cPCI Speech Processing Board. Given the vast computational power of Speech Processing Board (described in Appendix A), the LASR engine delivers industry leading accuracy at a fraction of the per channel cost of other ASR engines on the market.
The LASR engine supports both speaker independent and speaker trained ASR. It has been designed and tuned specifically to achieve optimal performance in telecom settings, including both the landline and wireless environments. In the following sections, we highlight various LASR engine features that underscore the telecom focus of the engine.
Flexibility
The LASR engine executing on the cPCI Speech Processing Board gives application designers flexibility in developing a wide range of speech based applications. The engine is capable of performing the full range of speech recognition tasks, from small vocabulary and connected digit recognition, to very large vocabulary and natural language ASR. The engine allows for a seamless tradeoff between board channel density and vocabulary size. Figure 1 shows a plot of the cPCI Speech Processing Board channel density versus vocabulary size. If an existing application must be updated to use a more complex ASR (e.g., larger vocabulary), the same cPCI Speech Processing Boards can still support the updated ASR task without any hardware modification. Since the LASR engine is “pumped” onto the cPCI board at boot time, any updates to the engine are performed by repumping the board.
High Performance Recognition Engine
The LASR engine is a subword (phoneme) based speech recognition engine. The acoustic models employed by the LASR engine consist of phoneme-unit Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). These phoneme models cover all the sounds in a given language and are used to form models for the words in the recognizer vocabulary set. Since all words in a given language consist of a string if phonemes, word models are formed by concatenating the appropriate phoneme models in the recognizer. In this fashion, vocabulary sets can be updated and changed very quickly by specifying new phoneme strings. The words in the vocabulary set can be connected though a grammar (more about grammars later) to form a set of phrases and sentences that LASR can recognize.
The recognition process in LASR consists of two stages. The first stage is a classification stage where LASR determines the most likely candidate, given the input speech. The second stage is the utterance verification stage where the most likely candidate determined in the first stage is verified and either accepted as the recognition answer or rejected as out of vocabulary (or out of grammar).
The HMMs employed in the classification stage are discriminatively trained using the Generalized Probabilistic Descent (GPD) training framework that was invented and patented by Bell Labs. HMM training is a procedure that is performed offline using a large speech database to estimate the values of the different parameters of the HMM. Compared to the traditional HMM training method, called Maximum Likelihood (ML) training, GPD discriminative training is designed to minimize the recognition error rate by emphasizing the features that differentiate competing candidates (i.e., HMMs). In contrast, ML training seeks to maximize the likelihood for all competing candidates without explicitly trying to minimize the recognition error rate. Since recognition error rate is the most important parameter in speech recognition performance, discriminative training offers higher ASR performance with no increase in run-time recognition computational complexity. Run-time computational complexity depends to a large extent on the size of the HMMs. GPD training does not increase the size of the HMMs. Rather, it is a training procedure that estimates the values of the HMM parameters in such a way that the recognition error rate is minimized. It is true, however, that the computational complexity of the training procedure for GPD is larger than the ML case. But this does affect run-time complexity since the training process is performed offline.
The LASR acoustic models (HMMs) are trained to give very robust and high ASR performance for various accents and calling environments. Specifically, the acoustic models for North American English, for example, have been trained with an extensive database covering all dialectical regions in North America, as well as various calling environments in telecom networks, including wireless and hands free. The application does not need to tell the engine whether the incoming call is from a wireless phone or not. The acoustic models are specifically trained to give high ASR performance regardless of the type of call it is handling. Table 1 shows the ASR performance on telephone numbers spoken by users in various wireless and landline environments.
Standard Microphone Environment Accuracy
LandLine
AMPS
TDMA
CDMA
CDMA Handset
Handset
Handset
Handset
Full Duplex Hands Free Various
Moving car local/hwy
Various
Moving car at 55 mph hwy
Moving car at 55 mph hwy 95%
90%
95%
96%
84%
Table 1. Continuous digit ASR performance in various telecom environments.
It should be noted that the databases corresponding to the rows in the Table 1 have been collected during various trials and data collection efforts. This table indicates that the LASR engine results in very high accuracy, regardless of the whether the call is over a wireless or landline network. Additionally, it is robust to the various wireless standards. Considering the extreme noisy conditions in a hands free call from a car moving at 55 mph on a highway, the engine’s performance of 84% is outstanding.
The second stage in the LASR engine, utterance verification (UV), employs a discriminative utterance verification method that was also invented and patented by Bell Labs. This method uses a second set of HMMs that are trained using Minimum Verification Error (MVE) training. MVE training is a discriminative training method whose goal is to minimize the utterance verification error rate. Typically, utterance verification performance is measured along two dimensions: a) the false alarm rate (i.e., the acceptance of out-of grammar utterances), and b) the false rejection rate of in-grammar utterances. There is always a tradeoff between false alarms and false rejections. Since the goal of MVE is to minimize the UV error rate, it has been shown that the MVE-trained method employed in LASR results in a significantly lower false alarms at any given false rejection rate when compared to other UV methods used by other engines.
Lucent adds a third dimension in measuring LASR’s UV performance; the post-rejection substitution error rate. The post rejection substitution error rate is the in-vocabulary substitution error rate on the speech that was not rejected by the utterance verifier. Although, ideally, we would like a 100% in-vocabulary recognition accuracy, substitution errors do happen in practice. In these cases, it is far more attractive for a telecom application if the engine can detect and reject in-vocabulary substitution errors rather than pass such errors to the application causing confusion to the caller. LASR’s UV method is not only trained to minimize both false alarms and false rejection, but also to detect and convert substitution errors into rejections.
Engine Development and Testing
Lucent uses extensive speech databases from various trials and data collection efforts in its continuing development and enhancements of the LASR engine. These databases are divided into two sets: a training set and a testing set. The training set is used to train the ASR acoustic and utterance verification models. The testing set is used to independently test the ASR performance. Testing ASR performance is performed along 3 dimensions:
1. Accuracy (for both in-vocabulary accuracy and out-of-vocabulary rejection rate)
2. Per channel memory that the ASR engine requires executing on the cPCI Speech Processing Board.
3. Per channel memory that the ASR engine requires executing on the cPCI Speech Processing Board.
Our continuing goal is to jointly optimize with respect to all three dimensions. The LASR engine is now industry leading in both channel density and accuracy. The high channel density of the Lucent Speech Server is a manifestation of this. In testing the LASR engine, we use various tasks in a number of different environments in order to get a complete picture of its performance in different applications. Performance is measured along the above 3 dimensions.
Barge-in
Barge-in is a feature that allows the caller to speak his/her request while the announcement prompt is still playing. This feature is similar to the cut-through feature in a touch-tone service. To support barge-in, echo cancellation is required in order to cancel any prompt echo reaching the recognizer while it is listening for caller input. The LASR engine supports the barge-in feature. The cPCI Speech Processing Board has, as part of its hardware architecture (see Appendix A below), a VLSI chip that is capable of performing 64 channel / 64 msec. delay per channel echo cancellation. This VLSI echo cancellation chip is designed and manufactured by Lucent and is also used for echo cancellation in the AT&T long distance network.
The Lucent ASR engine supports barge-in in 3 different modes:
1) Energy based barge-in. This type of barge-in relies on the detection of energy above a certain level to declare a barge-in. Although energy-based barge-in has been employed by most speech engine vendors, it is susceptible to extraneous and non-speech noises since it relies purely on the detection of energy.
2) End of recognition barge-in. Here, barge-in is reported once a valid word/phrase/sentence is recognized by the recognizer. This type of barge-in is useful if the recognition task consists of short utterances. Since barge-in is reported at the end of a valid utterance, this type of barge-in is not suitable for tasks where the speaker is expected to say long phrases and sentences. The speaker is likely to get confused if he/she is trying to say a long phrase while the prompt is still playing.
3) Recognition-based barge-in. Compared to conventional, energy based barge-in, recognition based barge-in is much less susceptible to noise and extraneous sounds. If the recognition task consists of recognizing long sentences and/or digit strings (e.g., telephone numbers), this recognition-based barge-in is very effective since it does not require that the utterance be completely recognized before generating a barge-in signal. Rather, this method detects the start of a valid (i.e., in-grammar) sentence or digit string and generates a barge-in signal within a very short time after the speaker starts speaking. This typically occurs significantly before the end of a valid utterance. This barge-in algorithm monitors the evolution of the recognition-decoding network and continuously tests if there is a high likelihood that the speaker started to speak a valid utterance. If there are extraneous noises, or if the speaker coughs or produces other spurious sounds, this barge-in algorithm does not typically generate a barge-in signal. Rather, the prompt continues to play until the speaker starts speaking a valid utterance. Employing such a recognition based barge-in is critical in developing applications that result in high user satisfaction.
Early Decision
Early decision is a feature that enables the engine to report the recognition result very quickly after the speaker has finished speaking. Most ASR engine vendors employ an energy based endpoint detector to detect the endpoint of input speech. Typically, in order to ensure that the speaker has finished speaking, energy based endpoint detection requires some period of silence to elapse at the end of the utterance before declaring an endpoint. This adds considerable delay to the interaction that the caller experiences. In our early decision approach, the engine monitors the recognition process on a frame-by-frame basis. If a grammar terminal node is reached, and all the paths leading to the other nodes have been pruned away (i.e., recognition result has been narrowed to only one answer), this implies that the speaker has finished speaking. Therefore, when this happens, the engine reports its recognition result immediately, regardless of endpoint detection. In this way, the engine can report the recognition answer as quickly as possible, adding to the efficiency and user friendliness of the system.
Natural Language
The LASR engine supports large vocabulary natural language ASR. Both finite state grammars and statistical language models (N-grams) are supported. For the finite state grammar, the application developer can easily construct a grammar using the Java Speech Grammar Format (JSGF) . Semantic tags are supported for making the task of developing applications easier. Dynamic (or “drop-in”) grammars are also supported.
While finite state grammars require the application developer to predict all possible responses that a speaker may say, statistical language models relax this constraint. Through proper post processing, N-grams allow the engine and application to correctly recognize a wide range of responses, even those that were not predicted at application development time. For example, the caller can be asked a general question like “Welcome to XYZ Corporation service center, how may I help you?” The application using the LASR engine with N-grams is capable of correctly handling a wide range of responses to such an open question.
Speaker Trained ASR
The LASR engine relies entirely on speaker-independent, subword (phoneme) based speech recognition models for both speaker-dependent and speaker-independent ASR. In the training mode of a speaker dependent ASR (e.g., name dialing application), the LASR engine activates a subword recognition task with a free grammar where any phoneme can follow any other phoneme. The subscriber will then be instructed to the say the name that he/she wants to train. The engine determines the most likely phoneme string that matches what the subscriber spoke. This string becomes the voiceprint for that name for that particular subscriber. The voiceprint includes the speaker dependent information since it basically describes how the subscriber pronounced the particular name. The names in the name list for each subscriber represent a grammar that the engine can interpret and use to perform speech recognition. The speaker-dependent grammars are dynamically loaded (or “dropped in”) to the grammar structure defined in the call flow. Since the voiceprint for a given name is basically a text string describing the pronunciation of the name by the subscriber, the storage requirement for the subscriber name list including the voiceprint is very small. For example, for a speaker dependent list of 100 names the storage requirement is about 16 KBytes. This 16 KByte figure assumes that the subscriber is asked to train each name twice and two voiceprints are stored per name. In the case of speaker independent names, only one transcription is needed. Therefore, the storage requirement for a 100 speaker independent names is about 8 KBytes. In the training mode, the engine is also capable of detecting collisions of the new name that is being trained with names that are already on the subscriber’s name list. This feature allows the application to indicate to the subscriber that the name the subscriber had picked sounds too close to a name already on his/her list and suggest ways to remedy the situation.
Extensive Engine Control
The application developer has a high level of control over the engine though the API. For example, rejection (confidence) thresholds can be specified through the API. In addition, there is a set of 7 timers that can be set, allowing for fine tuning of the interface presented to the caller. The engine returns to the application the following:
1. The text strings of the top N recognized candidates (N can be specified through the API)
2. The confidence score for each of the top N candidates
3. The corresponding semantic tags (if specified) for each of the top N candidates
The confidence scores reported are the scores computed by the utterance verification process. They give a very reliable indication of whether a given candidate is correctly recognized or not.
International Languages
The Lucent ASR engine supports speech recognition in a number of languages, including North American English, North American Spanish, European Spanish, Canadian French, German, and Italian. There are plans to support additional languages.
Run Time Control
The Lucent cPCI Speech Processing Board hosts a number of speech and signal processing modules in addition to the ASR engine. For example, Text-to-Speech Synthesis (TTS), play, record, and DTMF can run simultaneously with ASR on the same board. An efficient, multi-processing Run Time Environment (RTE) executes on the board, acting as a real time operating system. An extensive real-time control mechanism has been developed and implemented as part of the RTE. This on-board real-time control allows various functions (e.g., playing prompts, DTMF detection, and ASR) to interact to trigger or stop one another. This real-time control facility enables very rapid response to input events because the run-time messaging can be contained to a single board. Take for example ASR with barge-in. Without real-time control, the ASR engine would need to send a message to the application indicating the detection of a barge-in event. The application then sends a message to the play function to stop playing the announcement. This can add significant delays between the time barge-in is detected and the time the announcement stops, resulting in possible caller confusion and dissatisfaction. With real-time control, the application can instruct the board, from the start, to stop play if a barge-in is detected by the ASR. The messaging is all done within the board. This close coupling of various functions allows for very robust and user-friendly telecom applications.
Conclusion
The LASR engine delivers industry leading performance in the telecom enviroment. Whether the call is a mobile call, a landline call, or a hands free call, the LASR engine delivers unparalled accuracy at the highest channel density in the industry. Various features that make the interaction between the caller and the ASR more user-friendly have been developed and incorporated into the LASR engine. As an integral part of the Lucent Speech Server, the LASR engine executing on the cPCI Speech Processing Board, allows the LSS to be a high channel density and scalable solution for service providers.
APPENDIX A
The Lucent Compact PCI Speech Processing Board
Figure A1. A functional diagram of the Lucent Compact PCI Speech Processing Board.
The Lucent cPCI Speech Processing Board uses advanced hardware technology that offers unparalleled reliability and flexibility. They feature three PowerPC 750 processors--the computing horsepower of three workstations on one board. They offer high density support of many simultaneous channels of speech, while consuming half as much power as the leading competitor’s board. Echo cancellation is integrated within each board to support the Bell Lab’s patented “Barge-in”.
The variety of speech and signal processing capabilities delivered by the Lucent Compact PCI Speech Processing Board includes
Automatic Speech Recogntion (ASR),
Text-to-Speech Synthesis (TTS),
Speaker Verification (SV) ,
Speech Compressions/Coding,
Speech Play,
Conferencing,
DTMF Detection,
Tone Generation,
Call Progress Tone Detection,
Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD) Tone Detection,
Speech Recording, and
Echo Cancellation.
The ASR and TTS capabilities support a number of different languages. Advanced ASR features include barge-in to interrupt prompts, rejection of erroneous sounds, N-best recognition, and N-gram statistical language modeling.
One board could do both TTS and ASR. In general, supporting functions can also be combined with ASR and/or TTS. For example, each ASR task can be supplied with echo cancellation, DTMF detection, and the playing of TTS prompts embedded in mu-law prompts, all on the same board.
In addition to the algorithmic engines for the speech and signal processing functions listed above, the software suite that accompanies the Lucent cPCI Speech Processing Board includes an efficient, on-board Run Time Environment (RTE) and a Software Development Kit (SDK) featuring powerful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These tools feature utilities to configure on-board run-time control so that various functions (e.g., playing prompts and DTMF detection) can interact to trigger or stop one another. This facility enables very rapid response to input events, because the run-time messaging can be contained to a single board.
http://www.lucent.com/livelink/153151_Whitepaper.doc
Nokia Looking For 3G Unity
By Jim Wagner
In Cannes, France this week, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is putting on a show for 3GSM World Congress attendees.
In addition to the usual deluge of product announcements Wednesday that are standard at any industry convention, the wireless phone maker issued a call to other wireless equipment vendors to open up standards for interoperability in a wide variety of areas, preferably using Nokia's technology.
Dr. J.T. Bergqvist, Nokia senior vice president, said compatibility is the key to wireless phone equipment success in the future, and wants to create "technology modules unit" that will use Nokia technology to create an open vendor platform for wireless, which will be sold to all equipment makers (including Nokia) on equal terms.
"Nokia's strategy is to open the internal architectures for standard commercial components, thereby increasing efficiency throughout the industry and bringing consumers a wider range of new, exciting and affordable mobile services," he said.
It's uncertain what other wireless equipment manufacturers think of this somewhat utopian vision for wireless products based on Nokia's existing technology. Officials said they have approached other companies to join the technology module initiative, but wouldn't tell whether the vendors were interested or not.
The first module products will be available for universal use in mid-2002.
The module unit launch and call for an open standard is part of Nokia's far-reaching goals to bring equipment makers under one standards umbrella to speed up delivery of new products to the consumer. Working with standards already created and approved by standard's bodies like the 3rd Generation Partneship Project (3GPP) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the vendor hopes companies can work together to launch more products going forward.
One initiative running under Nokia's goal for standards unity is the open IP base station architecture, running on the multiple mobile network standard for radio access networks (RANs).
Launched concurrently with its new product line of wideband code-division multiplex access (WCDMA) base stations, Nokia said a technology standard brings network costs down for its customers.
"It will allow next-generation All-IP base stations to be built using best-of-breed shared platforms and modules, available on an open market, whilst letting network suppliers differentiate on system and network-element levels," Bergqvist said. "Expected to contribute to bringing the network costs per capacity down, this initiative is a pivotal element in enabling large-scale Mobile Internet service usage at affordable prices."
Nokia has made a concerted effort to play nice with industry leaders, culminating in the company's joining forces with Siemens to support a global open standard for broadband wireless networks, a hybrid of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute's (ETSI) BRAN standards.
In related news:
Nokia had a slew of product launches at the 3GSM convention Wednesday, culminating with its end-to-end all-IP phone call on its radio-access network (RAN). Called "rich" calls, all-IP network calls are a blend of voice, video, and mobile multimedia messaging on one signal, bringing operational costs down.
"This call proves that mobile networking is rapidly moving towards end-to-end IP networks, and Omnitel Vodafone aims to be one of the first operators to implement these," said Valerio Zingarelli, Omnitel Vodaphone chief technical officer.
Vodaphone and Verizon Communications jointly own the largest wireless phone company in the U.S., Verizon Wireless, with more than 24 million 2G digital phone users. The company launched its 3G service in January to select U.S. cities.
With the launch of two new services, Nokia hopes to show wireless operators their network needs for the future. The Nokia GPRS network survey and WCDMA simulation consultancy both give operators, depending on the wireless standard they use, an assessment of the network's current performance and what improvements can be made.
According to Matti Makkonen, Nokia Networks senior vice president, the successful wireless operators of the future are the one's that today figure out where they need to go.
"The communications industry seeks increased growth, and mobile operators want to make the most of their networks and services," he said. "Based on Nokia's demonstrated success with various technologies and networks, we are well placed to help operators protect their network investment, optimize their solutions and thus boost network usage."
Nokia rolled out a new product line of WCDMA products, dubbed FlexiFamily, aimed at improving indoor and outdoor radio all-IP traffic and range from base stations to carrier-grade servers. The equipment is nothing new, largely upgrades from the company's first attempt to drive interest in the technology.
Putting Voices In The Palm Of Your Hand Feb. 19, 2002
Microsoft reveals new wireless strategies, including partnering with others to promote use of its mobile operating system.
By Tischelle George
Microsoft is pushing new wireless strategies and software geared to promote the use of its Pocket PC 2002 wireless operating system. Microsoft is selling its new Pocket PC 2002 phone edition software to mobile-device makers. The new software adds voice and calling capabilities to PDAs that use its Pocket PC 2002 operating system. Hewlett-Packard is integrating the software into its new Jornada 928 PDA.
Microsoft and chipset makers like Intel and Texas Instruments are developing a standardized way of using Pocket PC operating system to build PDAs and "smart phones," which combine PDAs with cell-phone functions. Intel is supplying its personal-Internet client architecture, which includes processors that power Pocket PC PDAs, baseband chipsets, and flash memory. Texas Instruments is providing the hardware for smart phones using the Pocket PC operating system. Creating less proprietary cell-phone infrastructures and ways of building phones not only could shorten product development time, it could help the ailing telecom industry shake off its doldrums. Currently, there's no interoperability between cell-phone hardware and applications, Gartner research director Phillip Redman says. "Nothing rides independently on mobiles," he says. "You can't take one mobile application and use it on another hardware."
In related news, Microsoft announced the availability of the mobile information server 2002 enterprise edition, which makes Exchange 2000 server information and corporate intranet data available to mobile users of the Pocket PC 2002 operating system.
IBM Microdrive Receives "Thumbs-Up" From PDA Manufacturers
1 Gigabyte Microdrive Extends Multimedia Experience For PDA Users
NEW YORK, NY--(INTERNET WIRE)--Feb 20, 2002 -- POCKETPC Conference and Expo -- Manufacturers of the industry's leading personal digital assistants have given their products a capacity boost by offering full compatibility with the IBM Microdrive. IBM's one-inch removable hard disk drive has the ability to support storage-intensive multimedia applications and volumes of data required by mobile users -- more so than any other removable storage product on the market today. In the two years since its release, Compaq, Casio, Hewlett Packard and Toshiba have all unveiled PDAs that feature support for the IBM Microdrive -- the world's smallest hard disk drive. With a 1 gigabyte (GB) capacity in a matchbox-sized form factor, the IBM Microdrive is the highest capacity removable storage for personal digital assistants.
Handheld users can access more applications and maintain large databases of information conveniently with the IBM Microdrive. With a maximum sustained data rate exceeding 4 MB/sec, the IBM Microdrive provides the high performance that consumers have come to expect from hard disk drives in their PCs. As a result, large files can be transferred very quickly, and users can be much more productive. Capacity and portability have converged in the Microdrive to provide users with the personal storage they need to store e-mails and contacts, reports and presentations, audio, video and images in a single handheld device.
According to research firm Cahners In-Stat, global shipments of PDAs grew 17% in 2001 despite a weak global economy and continuing erosion of U.S. consumer confidence. Shipments in 2002 for PDAs are expected to increase about 18%. According to Cahners In-Stat, the future will be about making the PDA a more ubiquitous device and more useful to both the mobile business user and the on-the-go consumer. To handle more robust devices with newer and more reliable applications, many manufacturers have selected the IBM Microdrive as the storage format of choice.
"Pocket PCs offer customers one of the best ways to connect to their most essential information while away from their desk, yet are versatile enough to satisfy the personal needs of today's busy mobile lifestyle," said John Osterhout, Microdrive director of marketing, IBM Storage Technology Division. "Pocket PCs already include a broad range of native business, personal productivity and entertainment applications, yet can easily be expanded to adapt to each customer's changing needs through the high capacity, high performance Microdrive."
"Together, the iPAQ Pocket PC and IBM Microdrive enable users to reach the full potential of mobile computing," said Cindy Box, Compaq's director of marketing, iPAQ Mobile Solutions. "As the undisputed leader in Pocket PCs, Compaq continues to define the next generation of voice and data access solutions that fit in your hand. For data-intensive multimedia applications, the iPAQ Pocket PC combined with IBM's high-capacity removable Microdrive storage is an ideal solution."
"HP believes that a truly mobile experience unites mobile computing with digital entertainment and digital imaging capabilities. With its ability to store large amounts of data and the support of multimedia applications, the IBM Microdrive is a compelling option for HP's Jornada* 560 PDAs," said John Spofford, vice president and general manager of HP's Smart Handheld Appliances.
"Toshiba's GENIOe Pocket PC is designed to redefine the PDA market by realizing higher levels of functionality and full interoperability with corporate IT systems, including groupware, SCM and CRM," said Hidehito Koka, Senior Manager of PDA Product Division, Toshiba's Mobile Communications Company. "We wanted a storage solution as powerful as our PDA and selected the IBM Microdrive."
"The Microdrive family of 1-inch disk drives delivers high capacity and quick connectivity for the CASSIOPEIA E-200," said Koji Moriya, General Manager of 1st MNS Division, Casio Computer Co., Ltd. "Only the Microdrive provides mobile professionals with read/write times that won't slow them down."
The following PDAs, with prices beginning at $499, currently support the IBM Microdrive:
Compaq iPaq
HP Jornada* 560 PDA Series
Toshiba GENIOe
Casio Cassiopeia E-200
* CFIe to CFII adapter needed.
About the Microdrive
The IBM Microdrive offers breakthrough storage capacity for the portable electronic devices industry. With capacities ranging from 340 MB to 1 GB on a single one-inch diameter hard disk drive, the IBM family of Microdrives provides high-capacity and cost-effective personal storage in an industry-standard CompactFlash Type II form factor. Weighing just over half an ounce (16 grams), the Microdrive provides outstanding capacity in a compact, portable package -- a key requirement for today's handheld devices.
The Microdrive is supported by a host of portable handheld devices including digital music players, personal digital assistants, and digital cameras. In addition, the Microdrive supports multiple data types including MP3, text, JPEG, voice, etc., and can hold up 1000 standard digital photographs, a thousand 200-page novels or nearly 18 hours of high-quality digital audio music.
The Microdrive continues IBM's tradition and leadership in the innovation of hard disk drives.
IBM's Microdrive is being offered at price points from $199 for the 340 MB and $379 for the 1 GB. Additional information on the Microdrive can be found at www.ibm.com/storage/microdrive or by calling 1-888-426-5214.
About IBM
IBM develops and manufactures the industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. The IBM Storage Technology Division offers customers worldwide the most comprehensive range of industry-leading storage products available today. These storage solutions are offered through IBM, as well as a large network of IBM Business Partners and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
Microsoft Jostles for Mobile Market Position
Tue Feb 19, 7:12 PM ET
Brian McDonough, Wireless.NewsFactor.com
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) is going after the mobile market in a big way. In a one-two punch that puts the desktop software juggernaut head-to-head with Nokia (news - web sites) (NYSE: NOK - news), the world's leading cell phone maker, Microsoft announced deals with both Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - news) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - news) (TI) to produce reference designs for makers of smartphones and PDAs.
• Analysts: Smartphones Not Yet Top of the Class
• Palm Fends Off Microsoft with New OS Release
• Microsoft Spurs Mobile Data Services
Audio/Video
Payne's Picks: The Market is Suffering From a High-Grade Fever - (Yahoo! Finance Vision)
Strategist: The Nasdaq Hasn't Bottomed Yet, but Long Term Looks Positive - (Yahoo! Finance Vision)
FCC's Ultra-Wideband approval triggers wireless race - (ON24)
At the same time, Nokia announced a similar pact with TI.
The moves, all announced at the 3GSM (global system for mobile communications) World Congress 2002 in Cannes, France, are touted as efforts to accelerate the deployment and adoption of wireless devices and services, according to Ed Suwanjindar, product manager with Microsoft's mobility group.
"The main benefit for manufacturers and developers ... is that this reduces the cost and speed to take products to market," Suwanjindar told Wireless NewsFactor. "It also means much of the research and development burden is taken on by Microsoft and Intel or Texas Instruments."
They may also determine who dominates the wireless device market in the coming years. Texas Instruments is the top manufacturer of circuits for mobile phones, and Microsoft and Intel control 80 percent of the desktop markets for operating systems and chips, respectively.
On allying itself with both TI and Intel for reference designs, Suwanjindar said Microsoft is trying to serve the entire market. "These original equipment manufacturers have existing relationships with TI or Intel," he noted. "We want to be able to work with interested vendors whether they want to work with TI or Intel."
Wintel Moves Together
The Microsoft-Intel deal will have the chipmaker and the software behemoth creating reference designs based on the Windows Pocket PC and Smartphone 2002 software platforms and the Intel Personal Internet Client Architecture (Intel PCA).
"We're creating standard building blocks for PDA and cell phone design," Intel spokespersonn Mark Miller told Wireless NewsFactor. "The unique aspect of the Intel-Microsoft relationship is that folks understand the developer communities each of us brings to the table. Independent hardware and software vendors know how their products work on Microsoft and Intel foundations."
The Intel PCA is a development blueprint for building wireless handheld communications devices that combine voice and Internet capabilities. As part of the initiative, Microsoft will be supporting the architecture. The reference designs are in progress and expected to be introduced later this year, Miller said.
If successful, the move would allow the two companies to extend their considerable dominance of the PC market beyond the desktop and could be a serious problem for competing chipmakers and for rival mobile operating systems, such as Palm's.
Stinger This Summer
Microsoft also is setting itself up against handset giant Nokia. As Microsoft was announcing its deal with Intel at the conference, Nokia was a few booths down unveiling a partnership with Texas Instruments to create -- yes, reference designs that will set the standard for the next generation of cell phones and applications.
TI's deal with Microsoft combines the chipmaker's OMAP processors and GPRS technology with Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 software. The partners say the reference designs will power new levels of service in voice, data and such multimedia capabilities as mobile access to e-mail and personal information, robust Web-browsing capabilities, audio and video playback and streaming, and rich gaming.
Microsoft's Suwanjindar said the alliance with Texas Instruments already is bearing fruit. Although the official reference designs will not be published until about the third quarter, products already combining the two companies' technologies can be considered a subset of the forthcoming designs.
"We'll be releasing our Stinger phone in several months," he said of the Microsoft cell phone expected in Europe this summer. "TI's OMAP processor is a key component."
Forward March
Microsoft executives stressed the potential for the Intel deal to lead a host of manufacturers to bring all things wireless to all people.
"Ultimately, we're striving to bring down the barriers to entry for device manufacturers and paving the way for a market explosion of innovative, smart devices at low cost, which will benefit customers, carriers and the industry at large," said Microsoft mobility division vice president Ben Waldman.
Intel is aiming specifically at the corporate market. "As the wireless handset industry integrates data, the combined solutions of Intel and Microsoft will enable wireless devices and applications to effectively become part of the enterprise environment at global businesses," said Ron Smith, senior vice president and general manager of the wireless communications and computing group at Intel.
Microsoft was similarly upbeat about the power of its TI alliance. "Utilizing Microsoft and TI's leading-edge technologies, the new smartphone reference design will make the transition from 2.5G product concept to production fast and simple for handset manufacturers," Waldman said.
Setting the Standard
Microsoft and Intel said they are filling a vacuum, citing a lack of a standard design platform in the wireless industry to speed the development and deployment of next-gen products.
Each device or application is created in its own environment. The Intel and Microsoft reference designs will allow developers to build from a standardized platform, ensuring that high-quality products are designed and deployed in a timely manner.
The Microsoft-Intel and Nokia-TI deals are far from the only attempt to shape the future -- and profit distribution -- of the next generation of mobile devices. Hewlett Packard has a design initiative with Texas Instruments under way, and Motorola and Ericsson (news - web sites) have announced similar efforts.
Texas Instruments Introduces Industry's First Complete Multimedia IDB-1394 And Bluetooth(TM) Technologies for Automotive Market
DALLAS, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Targeting the automotive telematics market, Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN - news; TI) unveils the industry's first automotive 1394b bus solution to support in-car infotainment applications such as rear seat entertainment and other complete audio and video solutions. In addition, TI recently demonstrated automotive Bluetooth chipsets enabling wireless connectivity solutions for the vehicle. (See www.ti.com/sc/mil7673u )
Automotive 1394: High Speeds, Media Flexibility
TI's new automotive IDB-1394 technology supports the 1394b protocol at 100 megabits per second (Mbps) over 10 meters of plastic optical fiber (POF) or unshielded twisted pair, category 5 (UTP5) cable. Developers thus have a choice of media between POF, which minimizes electromagnetic interference (EMI) for greater overall signal fidelity, and UTP5 (pending automotive EMI qualification), which significantly reduces overall node cost. TI offers a complete IDB-1394 solution, including various link layers such as the CELynx which supports MPEG2 video streaming with 5C copy protection and the physical layer interface (PHY) for POF or UTP5.
Emerging end-user automotive applications include digital audio and video (MPEG2 DVD, MP3 players, cameras, etc.), navigation units, and gateways to the other automotive buses that are increasingly used in vehicles for communications, control and diagnostics. Avionic and industrial systems are also poised to benefit from the high speeds, long distance and robust performance offered by this technology.
``By providing the industry's first IDB-1394 silicon, TI is demonstrating our commitment to enabling 1394 high-speed communications in the automotive market,'' said Brad Little, manager of TI's worldwide automotive advanced bus products. ``TI's solution will help bridge the gap between the automobile and consumer electronics, allowing people to enjoy mobile multimedia entertainment and information.''
TI Leadership in 1394
The IDB-1394 specification is an automotive supplement to the existing IEEE 1394 standards, which are already well established in the consumer electronics industry. Through the use of this standard, consumer multimedia applications can be leveraged for in-vehicle networking. In addition, existing 1394 portable devices can be plugged directly into the new automotive multimedia bus through the use of an IDB-1394 defined customer convenience port.
TI is the industry leader in providing 1394 solutions and has been among the first to demonstrate 1394b solutions targeting the automotive market. TI has also played a key role in establishing 1394 automotive standards. In addition, TI is a primary participant in the Rolling Test Bed 2002 program, an IDB-1394 AuWG (1394 Automotive Working Group) development project designed to validate the standard and demonstrate its practicality for vehicle implementation.
``TI is the first supplier to provide working IDB-1394 automotive silicon,'' said Frank Desjarlais, senior network engineer at Ford Motor Company. ``The recent introduction of TI's 1394b silicon gives automotive manufacturers the ability to quickly provide industry standard state-of-the-art electronic features to their customers. In addition, providing an externally accessible 1394 Customer Convenience Port gives passengers the ability to plug in their latest portable electronic devices into the vehicle for entertainment or vehicle services.''
Bluetooth Automotive Solutions
TI's Bluetooth wireless chipsets enable hands-free car kits in the automotive market, and when used in conjunction with the IDB-1394 bus, allow for complete advanced telematics communications in automotive applications.
``TI's Bluetooth automotive solutions will enable us to cost-efficiently provide hands-free phone operation to our products,'' said Gerhard Nuessle, Head of Development, TEMIC Sprachverarbeitung GmbH. ``Customers will find that Bluetooth communications give them easy-to-use wireless flexibility for a wide range of applications that can now be used in the car as well as the home.''
TI is extending its line of Bluetooth solutions for wireless transmission to support automotive applications. TI chipsets provide high-performance, full-rate Bluetooth links, supporting wireless data communications and up to three simultaneous voice links with very low power consumption. Bluetooth solutions from TI will enable automotive developers to offer value-added products such as hands-free car kits and wireless communication links to games, PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other types of systems such as vehicle diagnostic tools.
``We are very excited to be able to introduce an automotive grade complete Bluetooth module to the market. This product has been made possible through the combination of Texas Instruments' durable, high performance chipsets and our high frequency, multi-layer and high density mounting technologies,'' said Shoichi Sekiguchi, general manager and team leader of the Bluetooth Development Group at Taiyo Yuden.
``We have had good success working with TI's Bluetooth solution in developing hands-free and telematics applications. We are looking forward to a continued relationship with TI in the future,'' said Tim Reilly, CTO for Stonestreet One.
Availability
IDB-1394 development boards and samples are available today in limited quantities. TI plans to introduce select versions of commercially available Bluetooth devices characterized for the automotive temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C during the first half of 2002.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. In addition to Semiconductor, the company's businesses include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at www.ti.com .
SOURCE: Texas Instruments Incorporated
SANYO Licenses ARM PrimeXsys Wireless Platform for Wireless Multimedia ASICs
PrimeXsys Wireless Platform Reduces Development Time for Wireless Applications
CAMBRIDGE, UK and GUNMA, Japan, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ARM [(LSE: ARM) (Nasdaq: ARMHY - news)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions, and SANYO Semiconductor Company (SANYO), today announced at the GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, that SANYO has licensed the ARM® PrimeXsys(TM) Wireless Platform. SANYO is the second licensee of the PrimeXsys Wireless Platform and will use the technology in its development of multimedia ASICs targeted at the wireless market.
ARM PrimeXsys platforms complement ARM's current microprocessor offerings by enabling rapid development of a range of open architecture platforms. These licensable open platforms are integrated building blocks that lower development risks by delivering pre-validated, application-targeted hardware sub-systems, along with the relevant application software and a wide range of operating system (OS) ports. SANYO licensed the Platform to reduce its design and development times, thereby meeting the requirements of their customers.
``Our customers are demanding that we develop system-on-chip ICs for wireless devices with increasingly complex software and silicon components. This complexity is having an impact on the risks and development timescales of such devices,'' said Toru Watanabe, manager, System Micro Business Unit, SANYO. ``The ARM PrimeXsys Wireless Platform enables us to use ARM's platform expertise in our product development and we are already seeing positive results in terms of reducing our development time.''
``In the current climate, pressure is on every company to get their products to market as quickly as possible. This licensing agreement with SANYO demonstrates that the PrimeXsys Wireless Platform can provide a significant advantage by enabling developers to get their leading-edge products to market faster,'' said Ian Thornton, PrimeXsys product manager, ARM. ``Platform technologies are becoming a major part of design and development within the industry, and for ARM Partners working in the wireless market, the PrimeXsys Wireless Platform will play a key role.''
Availability
The PrimeXsys Wireless Platform is available now from ARM. It is being licensed under ARM's normal IP model for implementation within an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or application specific standard product (ASSP) design. The first PrimeXsys Wireless Platform samples will be available from key ARM Partners in 1H02.
About ARM
ARM is the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions. The company licenses its high-performance, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals and system-on-chip designs to leading international electronics companies. ARM also provides comprehensive support required in developing a complete system. ARM's microprocessor cores are rapidly becoming a volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, hand-held computing, multimedia digital consumer and embedded solutions.
About SANYO Semiconductor Company
SANYO Semiconductor Company is one of the five principal companies of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. SANYO provides semiconductor devices, flat panel displays and system solutions for leading applications in the electronics industry such as mobile communication equipment, PC/PC-related products and analog/digital AV equipment. SANYO Semiconductor Company has 3-wafer fabs and 5-assembly fabs in Japan, with an additional 6-assembly fabs in the Asia- Pacific region. Sales bases of the Company are located in North America, Europe, Asia and Japan. In the fiscal year 2000 (ended March 2001), SANYO Semiconductor generated sales of 407 billion yen with approximately 15,000 employees including subsidiaries. Further information is available at http://www.semic.sanyo.co.jp/index_e.htm .
ARM is a registered trademarks of ARM Limited. PrimeXsys is a trademark of ARM. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. ``ARM'' is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and Nasdaq: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM, Taiwan; and ARM France SA
Intel explores ultrawideband technology
Wed Feb 20, 8:43 AM ET
By John G. Spooner, ZDNet News
Intel is diving into a full-fledged research program for its ultrawideband technology, which uses the airwaves to carry data between computers.
The Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) approved the wireless technology last week.
Ultrawideband, or UWB, has the potential to become a high-bandwidth wireless connection between computers or between computers and consumer-electronics devices such as digital cameras, said Kevin Kahn, co-director of Intel Labs' Communications Interconnect Technology Lab.
Kahn and his fellow Intel researchers think UWB shows enough promise for it to be put into use some time in the next five to seven years. Indeed, Intel Labs--which is the chipmaker's research arm and which studies processors, networking and user interfaces, among other things--is charged with identifying the new and important technologies that Intel might incorporate in its products.
UWB uses a different technique for transmitting data over radio waves than most radio communications use. It sends many short, sharp pulses of data over a wide frequency, allowing the transfer of large amounts of data over short distances using a relatively low amount of power. Most radio communications use a narrow, modulated frequency.
UWB is capable of transferring at speeds of between 400 and 500 mbps (megabits per second) over relatively short distances (about 15 feet), Intel said. Current wireless technologies, such as 802.11b, offer data rates of 10 mbps, but at distances of about 150 feet.
At those speeds, consumers could conceivably transfer digital stills or even video at practical speeds between PCs or other devices in the same home or office. While manufactures of radar had hoped UWB could be applied as an object-penetrating radar, such as for search and rescue, the technology's current, FCC (news - web sites)-approved form does not have the power required to do this.
Because of its high bandwidth, UWB can offer the wireless equivalent of USB (universal serial bus) in speed. USB is wired connection for sharing data between computers and computer peripherals such as printers. The latest version, USB 2.0, is capable of 480 mbps.
UWB "could certainly do a replacement for something like USB for system interconnect," Kahn said. As an added benefit, "Data (transfer) rates would be high enough so that it could work with very large files."
Another way to think about UWB is as the Bluetooth of the future. Bluetooth is short-range wireless communications technology aimed at eliminating cables for attaching devices such as PDAs (personal digital assistants) to a PC.
UWB could be third-generation Bluetooth, but with a fatter pipeline between devices. Bluetooth transfers data between devices up to 30 feet apart at up to 1 mbps.
Industry analysts such as Gartner's Martin Reynolds predict that UWB could debut at about 100 mbps within the next three of four years and increase from there.
Using UWB for devices such as a camera "would be neat," Reynolds said. "But the challenge will be getting all the software working."
"There are some usability things that have to be worked out," he said. For example, the company has to figure out how to let people control when and with whom they share their data. "It better be your camera, not everyone else's camera, that's downloading photos onto your PC," he joked.
But overall Reynolds was optimistic in his assessment of UWB.
"It's still in the research stages and it may well be eclipsed by other technologies, but it's promising," he said.
Intel's UWB vision
There are several other applications for the UWB technology in different industries. Aside from radar, they include using it to create radio-frequency tags that adhere to products and would track and locate inventory, and using it to help cars avoid accidents.
But Kahn said he believes it's better to focus on using UWB for communicating between devices, instead of networking PCs.
It is possible to use the technology to create grid networks, where several radios are placed in close proximity in a grid and work to pass data from one point to another, Intel said. As a result, data could be sent between people's workstations at high speed inside a company.
However, this approach is likely to be more costly than 802.11 networks, such as 802.11b, because of the need for multiple radios. The 802.11b technology, which can transfer data at up to 150 feet, also offers much greater range than UWB.
Intel said UWB might end up inside another chip. The chipmaker has been working to develop a program that will allow it to manufacture radios using its standard chipmaking technology, which goes by the acronym CMOS. Intel is expected to elaborate on these efforts at this month's Intel Developer Forum.
If these radios can be made using CMOS, the cost of manufacturing drops considerably because the company would be able to manufacture these radios on its existing factory lines. Also, radios made through this process could be integrated easily into chipsets or other components, which further cuts costs.
Indeed, UWB "looks like a technology that's friendly to implement in CMOS, which means in principle at least that it could be quite cheap," Kahn said. CMOS is Intel's standard chipmaking technology.
"We're not there today, but that's certainly the vision. That's where we would like to go," Kahn said.
braveheart--for the record, my dripping sarcasm was directed at the company NOT YOU. btw, don't worry, i have canceled my subscription to NG. say good night, gracie.
Telematics Strategies Mature as Business Model Realities Sink In
Article from Issue 10 of Telematics Update Magazine (2/19/2002)
Telematics Update is a free print magazine dedicated to bringing you the latest content and interviews from the leaders in automotive telematics and wireless.
- CLICK HERE - for your free subscription.
By: Aldo Morri, Sr. Consultant, The Strategis Group
OEMs are now under some pressure to demonstrate that they haven't been spinning their wheels on telematics. They must show that they can equip vehicles with telematics both profitably and in a way that enhances the driver experience. Fortunately, supply-side and demand-side drivers continue to suggest that robust forecasts for telematics growth remain justified.
Automakers are likely to continue to struggle to find profitable safety-based telematics business models, however, even as hardware costs decline. Meanwhile, automakers are increasingly motivated by the strategic possibilities of telematics such as customer relationship management (CRM) and vehicle relationship management (VRM) applications, but OEMs will find many speed bumps along this road as well.
At the same time, voice calling has already emerged as a profitable application in the vehicle. The next logical step is for automakers and wireless operators to work together to improve the quality and the level of integration of voice into mass-market vehicles so that we the industry can move telematics to the next level.
The Growth of the Telematics Market:
The Strategis Group remains sanguine about the near- and long-term growth projections for the automotive telematics industry. In our 2000 report U.S. Telematics Marketplace, we projected that:
U.S. telematics adoption rates will reach about 49% of U.S. new car sales by 2005.
Approximately 85% of new U.S. vehicles sold by 2005 will offer telematics as a factory or dealer-installed option
Nearly 17 million telematics subscribers will be on the road in the U.S. by 2005, assuming 75% re-subscription rates.
Telematics equipment revenues will total about $2.5 billion annually by 2005, while telematics service revenue will increase to $2.8 billion per year by the same time (not including non emergency-related wireless phone airtime, or application use fees).
The Strategis Group forecasts include assumptions that auto OEMs will present consumers with simple and less expensive plans that reduce basic service fees to about $16 per month by 2005. We also tether our forecasts to the assumption that telematics hardware suppliers will be able to get prices down to an average of about $300 per system by 2005.
There is good reason for optimism on both of these fronts. Airtime and hardware costs keep decreasing, while safety-related services draw from a robust base of consumer demand. The Strategis Group's consumer research has repeatedly signaled significant interest in safety-related telematics services, especially "emergency roadside assistance."
Skeptics of the depth of consumer demand can point to some fairly disturbing anecdotal evidence regarding OnStar's experiences. GM's competitors claim that only two-thirds of OnStar-equipped vehicles are ever activated despite the fact that the service is free for one year (OnStar will not corroborate this information). Meanwhile, the same sources claim that OnStar resubscription rates are hovering below 50%, well below the 90% that is commonly cited as needed for telematics service providers to be profitable.
The Strategis Group has used a 75% resubscription assumption for its 2000 forecasts, and ATX Technologies reports as much as 92% resubscription rates for their services, depending on the car model. Nonetheless, taken at face value, the competitor claims about OnStar do raise some doubts about telematics demand. Consumers may be willing to accept safety-related telematics equipment in their vehicles, so long as they are not asked to pay for it.
If the rumors regarding the OnStar experience are true, automakers and their TSPs must ask themselves some critical questions:
Does the OnStar experience indicate that latent demand for safety-related applications is not as robust as originally thought, and that safety-related equipment costs will remain recoverable only in high-priced, luxury automobiles?
Might the OnStar difficulties stem from a lack of dealer enthusiasm to sell telematics?
Is there a better mix of services, driver interface and technologies that would be more exciting or useful to consumers?
Automotive OEMs Broadening Their Outlook Automakers have widely considered the merits of telematics on the premise that recurring subscriptions for services could be enabled by an embedded hardware platform in the vehicle. The obstacle has been -- and remains -- that the cost of the hardware is usually unrecoverable in the price of the car. Daimler Chrysler has calculated that customer breakeven for a set of services such as those delivered by OnStar is achievable only after a customer has subscribed for 40 months. The 40-month breakeven, furthermore, assumes no erosion in the margin structure.
The business model dilemma has forced OEMs to take a broader look at the strategic benefits of telematics:
Sales Benefit - Scant evidence to date suggests that telematics is a determining factor in today's vehicle purchasing decisions, but most consumers have had no introduction to telematics. The Strategis Group's 2000 survey found, for instance, that only 8% of consumers are "very familiar" with telematics. It is likely that the shape and content of telematics systems will affect buying behavior as consumers become more aware of telematics, pressuring automakers to find the correct combination of technologies, interfaces and services that will be competitive.
Customer Relationship Management - Increasingly, the automotive industry is recognizing that telematics could improve the OEM relationship with customers. Automakers can use telematics to keep in touch with customers continuously rather than only every four years when customers are in the market for a new car. Insights into peoples' driving and consumption habits could enable more effective marketing of cars as well as other services, such as insurance. OEMs can also enhance the customer experience by making improvements both in vehicles already on the road as well as those in production and planning.
The problem is that implementing advanced telematics platforms will require that OEMs make an enormous investment in infrastructure. OEMs are also traditionally reluctant to embrace too much technology too quickly because product flaws turn into expensive warranty work and can significantly tarnish brand image.
Wireless Operators: In the Driver's Seat?
Wireless operators that have been preoccupied with more pressing growth-related issues are now focusing attention on the automobile. They will bring significant strengths to the telematics market. Wireless operators know how to operate an on-going service business, unlike automakers. Wireless operators know how to manage monthly billing provisioning, for instance -- a deceptively complicated and costly matter -- and operators know how to staff and operate call centers.
Embedded vehicle systems will always have advantages relative to cell/PCS phones or PDAs in providing services such as automatic crash notification. Embedded systems guarantee, unlike cell phones, that the system is always powered on whenever the car is on, and an embedded system can never be lost or left behind.
But consumers want more than safety, especially the so-called "X & Y Generations" that are highly comfortable with ubiquitous connectivity. Most services that consumers will want will be available on portable devices, and most consumers will probably not want to pay twice to have services delivered via an embedded system in the car when they already have those services on their cell phones.
Converging Technologies
Operators and OEMs are learning that both of their interests are best served by working together. Wireless operators should focus on providing great wireless services while auto companies focus on making great cars.
Mass market telematics appears at best a cost neutral incremental business for auto OEMs, while wireless operators are already providing wireless services in the car very profitably. That said, the experience and utility of voice services could be greatly enhanced by fully integrating cell/PCS phones into the automobile (a simple hands-free kit does not represent true hands-free service).
A convergence of new technologies can enable the marriage of both automaker and wireless operator interests. Bluetooth eliminates the need for docking stations, for which there is no industry standard, and avoids the hardware installation and stocking complexities that docking stations would create. Bluetooth also solves problems associated with automobiles lasting longer than cell phones by enabling the wireless user to upgrade a phone with freedom from the limitations imposed by an embedded phone. Bluetooth even eliminates safety hazards associated with phones hurling out of docking stations in an accident. Users can just keep the phones in their pockets if they desire.
Speech recognition systems, though still expensive and probably an iteration or two less than mature, will further enhance the safety and desirability of voice-services in the car by mitigating -- although clearly not eliminating -- driver distraction. And, as Fujitsu Electronics -- a maker of cell phones for NTT DoCoMo's I-mode service -- points out, speech recognition also makes the use of the phone in the car more fun. Lastly, over the next one to two years, wireless operators will have ubiquitously implemented location technology into their networks, making embedded location technology redundant.
Conclusion: A Giant Step Forward with Voice
All of this evidence points to a case for a return to basics. Let's review some of these assumptions:
Telematics platforms must be compatible with all of the devices that people use to manage their lives.
Driver distraction is an increasingly heated topic that will not go away.
Mass market penetration will require simple, easy-to-use, but compellingly useful services. The goal, as OnStar's Robert Egdorf said in Detroit this past May, is to enhance the driving experience, not complicate it."
Drivers love talking in their automobiles -- Never has an industry spent so much time and energy finding a "killer ap" when it has been staring us in the face the whole time.
The comforting notion that there is "always someone to help," is one of the most powerful aspects that telematics can bring to the driving experience. High-quality, integrated hands-free voice in the automobile can enhance that feeling. The next step for OEMs and wireless operators is to work together to improve the calling experience, while attaching relevant services that are enabled by the voice interface, such as concierge services.
Well, this is my first post to this board, but I have been following it regularly for quite some time. I speak now because I really just can't stand the asinine posts by V2 and Brocoboy any longer. I would also like to express my gratitude to Saneguy, on2sage, tincan and others whose posts I have found informed and enlightening.
Japan
I am an M&A attorney with a big firm currently living in Asia. I have lived here for years and watch with fascination the buildup of the internet in Japan. Some of the ASDL providers and ISPs are among my biggest clients. All I can say by way of public information I can reveal is that the broadband revolution is happening in Asia and will take hold. Streaming VOD has already demonstrated a broad and popular appeal that will only continue to expand. Right now the biggest problems facing greater penetration are hardware concerns (both on the line/switch/router level to the availability of modems believe it or not). It will continue to grow at a rapid pace.
By the way, whomever posted that statement on NTT having and hiding the extent of its control was 100% correct - great intuition.
Where do I see On2 fitting into this - well, as some of you have noted before. On2 is well positioned in Asia, but regardless of whether MPEG eventually "wins" or not is hardly the point. There will always be an active market for broad band solutions until such time as everyone has T-20 lines and compression is no longer an issue. With people willing to pay for all kinds of VOD events, and with the providers of such vod content continuing to grow as well, there will always be a place (and hopefully substantial revenue) for On2. I don't think anyone on this board expects On2 to shoot to 100$ a share - it is a good, well managed company that makes a superior product. While it is true that we shouldn't forget betamax, On2's chances of being ultimately sucessful are very good and only a phuckkkiiing **** wouldn't acknowledge that.
Also, we should not understate the value of real-time encoding services useful in everything from digital conferencing to video transmission via cell- phone (currently in production in Japan and threatening to be hugely sucessful- as it is, over 80% of Japanese between 15-26 spend over 20% of their income on cell phone use! No other codec does real-time encoding like the VP line.
claudiusdrusus
Feb 18 2002 nok/txn smartphones
Top-ranked mobile phone maker Nokia said on Monday it would offer other mobile handset suppliers a complete design kit for making Internet-ready phones, seeking to stave off a push by Microsoft Corp. into the mobile market.
The move by Nokia, maker of one of every three mobile phones sold globally, takes aim at computer software giant Microsoft (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news), which said earlier on Monday it was offering phone makers a standard kit of software and computer chips to build new ``smartphones''.
The Finnish mobile phone maker said in a statement released in Cannes, France with circuit-making partner Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN - news) that they would deliver by autumn 2002 blueprints for other phone makers to design their own models.
Following through on a commitment made in November, Nokia said the company would open up its terminal software for use by industry rivals, combined with TI's semiconductor hardware and the Symbian mobile phone operating system.
Both companies made their announcements ahead of this week's 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, the biggest annual trade fair for the world's mobile communications industry.
The potential appeal of these offers by Microsoft and Nokia is that they allow phone makers to cut their own development costs and focus instead on differentiating their brands by being the first to offer distinctive features or new services.
These include the capacity to offer multimedia text and picture messaging, or simpler access to corporate email or common business software programs, to mention just a few of the growing ranges of functions from such higher-powered phones.
Not to be counted out, U.S.-based Motorola Inc (NYSE:MOT - news), also said on Monday it would work with mobile network operators directly to help them develop services that cash in on higher data speeds allowed by soon-to-arrive upgraded networks.
Nokia is seeking to rally other mobile phone makers in Europe, the United States and Asia in order to rebuff inroads being made by Microsoft into an industry where each cellphone maker has previously relied on its own custom-designed technology.
By contrast, Microsoft is working with both Texas Instruments, the leading maker of circuits used in mobile phones, and Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - news), the biggest computer chip maker, to offer a version of Microsoft's PocketPC handheld computer operating system software for use in mobile phones.
In striking deals with both Nokia and Microsoft, Texas Instruments is seeking to benefit no matter who wins the software battle.
The battle to define a new generation of phones capable of handing high-speed Internet data without sacrificing any voice-calling capabilities parallels the decade-old battle Microsoft fought and won to set a common standard for the personal computer industry through its Windows software.
The latest generation of networks capable of handling high-speed Internet data represent a historic opening for Microsoft into the market for small devices such as cell phones, which will soon pack computer chips more powerful than most desktop computers only five years ago.
Microsoft is betting that consumers and employees will want to read their email and messages in a format that resembles their computer email.
For its part, Nokia also hopes to speed development of the market for new smartphones capable of doing double duty as both phones and business-ready handheld computers.
The industry has been suffering a steep downturn in the past year as the market for voice-only phones reached a saturation point, especially in Europe and North America.
Nokia's so-called Series 60 software system for smart phones works with many of the latest programming technologies, including XHTML, multimedia messaging service, and Java that allows phone companies to develop customized new services that tap the Internet.
Of the top five cellphone manufacturers, only Samsung Electronics has said it would use Microsoft Windows-powered Smartphone 2002 software. The South Korean company, the world's fourth largest cellphone maker, is expected to launch a Microsoft-based product at the end of this year.
MGM movies, straight to your PC or TV
By Gwendolyn Mariano
Special to ZDNet News
February 19, 2002, 8:10 AM PT
Video-on-demand provider Intertainer said it has struck a distribution deal with MGM Home Entertainment to offer movie buffs an array of Hollywood films.
Under the deal, Intertainer said it has secured rights to some of MGM's new releases as well as its 4,100 archive titles. The films will be available through Intertainer's broadband video-on-demand service, which can deliver content to both PCs and TV sets.
Studio licensing deals have been a significant hurdle for video-on-demand services. Analysts said the deal would give Intertainer a boost by expanding its available content.
"Whether it's a 99-cent feature or $1.99, (the MGM) deal is an important step for Intertainer, which is one video-on-demand start-up that has consistently announced growth over the last year," said Richard Doherty, director of research for The Envisioneering Group.
Still, Intertainer faces steep competition in its attempt to take a foothold in the video-on-demand market. Miramax-backed CinemaNow has also been in negotiations with the major studios, according to CEO Curt Marvis, but he declined to comment on whether a deal with MGM is imminent.
Unlike pay-per-view, which consumers must watch on a scheduled basis, video-on-demand lets people view a movie multiple times at their convenience as well as pause, rewind and fast-forward the service. Movies automatically time out when their "rental" periods end, preventing late fees that often plague people renting videos.
"MGM is always looking for new ways to build audiences for our new and classic library films," David Bishop, president of MGM Home Entertainment, said in a statement. "As part of that commitment, we often embrace new technologies early in their lifecycle in order to gain insights about consumer behavior and to maintain our competitive edge."
Last year, Intertainer secured rights to Universal Studios Pay-Per-View films, and it has struck pacts with broadband-network provider WinFirst and Liberate Technologies, which develops interactive TV software.
02/19/2002 - Supreme Court to hear digital copyright case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to intervene in a fight over copyrights, deciding whether Congress has sided too heavily with writers and other inventors.
The outcome will determine when hundreds of thousands of books, songs and movies will be freely available on the Internet or in digital libraries.
Groups challenging copyright law argued that justices should protect the public's right to material.
The Bush administration urged the court to reject the groups' appeal. Because copyrighted material can be used under some circumstances, "the concerns and values reflected in the First Amendment are therefore fully satisfied," Solicitor General Theodore Olson wrote the court.
The Constitution authorizes Congress to give authors and inventors the exclusive right to their works for a "limited" time. In 1790, copyrights lasted 14 years. Now it's 70 years after the death of the inventor, if the person is known.
Lawrence Lessig, attorney for the challengers, said the latest 20-year extension approved by Congress in 1998 is ill-timed and unconstitutional.
"Just as the time that the Internet is enabling a much broader range of individuals to draw upon and develop this creative work without restraint, extensions of copyright law are closing off this medium to a broad swath of common culture," he wrote.
The challengers include organizations and businesses that specialize in former copyrighted material, like books, movies and songs. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that they "lack any cognizable First Amendment right to exploit the copyrighted works of others."
The Bush administration said Congress promotes progress by giving people rights to their material. The administration also defended lawmakers' decision to apply the 20-year extension to all current copyrighted material, not just future.
"Congress was entitled to establish a system of copyright that treats authors in a more evenhanded fashion," Olson wrote in the government filing.
The 1998 copyright changes, known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, bring U.S. rules in line with those in the European Union.
Congress extended the term of copyright 11 times in the past century, said law professor Mark Lemley, representing the non-profit Internet Archive.
Lemley told the Supreme Court that copies of old books, movies and sound recordings are being lost before they can be archived. He said in 1930, 10,027 books were published but as of last year, all but 174 were out of print.
If it wasn't for the law, "digital archives could inexpensively make the other 9,853 books published in 1930 available to the reading public starting in 2005," he wrote. If the law "still stands, we must continue to wait, perhaps eternally, while works disappear and opportunities vanish."
Settling another copyright battle, the court ruled last year that free-lance writers have online rights to their work. That decision affected tens of thousands of articles that were in regular newspapers and magazines that had been reproduced in electronic form. In another case in 1991, justices said that telephone directory listings generally are not protected by copyright law.
The case is Eldred v. Ashcroft, 01-618.
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telematics: an overview
Research findings show that the global market in telematics would be worth up to $47 billion a year by 2001. Car manufacturers are drooling over the prospects that telematics offers. More than ever before they will be able to realize their dream of having continual income from their customers. Early success of GM's Onstar is further driving this trend. Companies are already spending millions of dollars on this endeavor in a hope of catching the wave earlier on.
Most modern cars already have several computers that control everything from engine idle speed to keeping the CD player from skipping. But compared with the advances in home and office technology, automotive technology lags far behind. Some standards even date back to the 1950s and '60s. In the auto industry, designing a new vehicle now takes anywhere from 18 to 36 months.
The tech industry's product cycle is much shorter, with some computer components obsolete in 18 months. The hi-tech industry could have easily overcome that and come out with products to keep pace with the latest technology, but, there are no basic set of standards for how hi-tech devices would plug into a vehicle. Until now that is.
Today a consortium of automakers announced plans to develop world industry standards for multimedia-vehicle electrical systems. Standardization is intended to make it easy to plug in electronic devices, including cellular phones, portable computers and navigational aides. The Automotive Multimedia Interface Consortium is composed of BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, GM, Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot Citroen, Renault, Toyota, Volkswagen. Eventually, all of the world's automakers are expected to join. Automotive suppliers could then build a variety of electronic devices, all with universal plugs designed to fit the standardized vehicle wiring.
Commuters are spending more time behind the wheel. U.S. consumers spend about 10 percent of their waking hours driving or riding in their vehicles. Auto makers desperate for new sources of income are seeing this as the next point of focus. Today, fewer than a million people access the Net from their vehicles. But by 2004, the industry estimates more than 11 million people will use the Net and telematics on the road. Delphi president J.T. Battenberg says the market for auto electronics will grow from $300-million (U.S.) last year to $5-billion in 2003.
While converging technology would give consumers new productivity, safety and entertainment, there is also the ever increasing danger of driver distraction making it unsafe on the roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that driver distraction is involved in 25 percent of the 6 million vehicle crashes reported each year. On the other hand, surveys show customers want devices in their vehicles to get help when needed, find directions around a new place and provide them with other information they can use while on the roads.
This interest jives well with the recent advances in technology from the Bluetooth consortium such as the protocol for cellphones and other wireless devices that enables communication via radio waves for up to 10 metres. Over 1,200 companies across a range of industries are now looking for ways to implement this radio frequency connectivity technology to secure easy, quick and reliable short-range connections between devices.
http://www.telebeat.com/telematics.htm
Companies to watch -telematics
Consultancy group Strategy Analytics projects the world market for in-car telematics will grow from \$7.7 Billion USD by end 2000, to $24.3 Billion USD by 2006, with North America accounting for \$9.4 Billion of that market. By integrating wireless and GPS, this technology can be used to protect against vehicle theft, to control car door locks and engines from remote locations or to monitor whether drivers or equipment users are traveling outside of customer designed geographic regions.
ALK Corporation
ALK's CoPilot suite of award-winning GPS navigation and route guidance products deliver seamless turn-by-turn directions, real-time mapping, and real-time travel information to individual vehicles and fleets nationwide. CoPilot helps drivers save time, money, and aggravation and includes more than 100 million addresses, 3 million points of interest, and over 7 million miles of roadway. CoPilot runs on laptop-based computers and Clarion's AutoPC. The CoPilot API is also available to hardware OEM providers and other resellers.
Alpine
ATX Technologies
CellPort
ComWorxx
Comworxx is a leader in the development and commercialization of telematics systems in North and South America. Through the integration of globally available technologies – GPS (Global Positioning System), digital cellular, and web-based information systems – the company provides a far-reaching network for telematics services.
ComROAD
ComRoad’s GTTS (Global Transport Telematics Services) telematics service centers combine such technologies as GPS (Global Positioning System), GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications) and the Internet with server-based applications that provide the technology back bone for key vehicle applications such as fleet management, road assistance, traffic information, news, navigation and more.
CSI Wireless
CSI Wireless identifies Telematics as one of its growth segments. Its high bandwidth TDMA technology will allow the delivery of Internet services to the vehicle. The Company has a development/supply agreement with LoJack Corporation ("LoJack") for an advanced low-cost telematics product. LoJack has been a telematics pioneer since 1985 and has successfully developed and marketed wireless stolen vehicle recovery systems for consumer and commercial vehicles in the US and 18 other countries.
CUE
DaimlerChrysler: Telematics
Delphi Automotive: Telematics
Ericsson
EverTrac: Location-Aware e-business applications
Fonix Corporation develops and markets software products that enable intuitive human interaction with computers, consumer electronics, and other intelligent devices. Leading chip manufacturers, independent software and hardware vendors, and Internet content providers incorporate Fonix technologies to make their products easier and more convenient to use. Fonix products, including automatic speech recognition (ASR), and handwriting recognition technology, provide the most natural communication solutions available. Fonix solutions can be easily implemented on multiple hardware and software platforms via the Fonix FAASTTM (Fonix Accelerated Application Solutions Technology) software development kit.
Ford Motor Company: WingCast
GM OnStar
Hertz NeverLost
InfoMove
the company aggreates traffic, automotive, internet and other content from other companies such as AllData, bSquare, Engage, ETAK & InfoSpace and integrates this with wireless and GPS technologies to deliver personalized services into the car on PDAs, hand-held PCs, in-dash computers and phones.
Johnson Controls
NavTech
map database with 150 navigable attributes for every 150 meters of roadway, road sign text and address ranges
Nokia
MobilEye
Motorola
NTT Communications
Philips Car Infotainment
recognized as a major player in the converging fields of car entertainment, communications and information systems.
Response Services
telematics service center operations to AAA members, Automotive OEMs and Wireless Carriers
RobertBosch corporation
The TravelPilot RNS149 combines a great car audio and a terrific navigation system all in one along with the COMAND [Cockpit Management and Data] system which features navigation, state-of-the-art automotive sound system and connection to the optional cell phone. ATX Technologies is the service provider.
Siemens Driver Information Systems
Sirius
digital satellite radio system for US motorists
SmartMove USA
open Java-based architecture that enables delivery of an unlimited amount of information and services to a car.
ST Microelectronics
system-on-chip solutions developed by the Company for three major application areas: car multimedia; wireless connectivity and digital consumer.
Telelogic
supplier of solutions for real-time software development and requirements management mainly for the telecommunications industry. By providing tools, services and components, Telelogic enables its customers to deliver their products faster, with higher quality and at minimized cost. Customers in these segments include Airbus, Alcatel, BMW, Boeing, Cisco, Daimler-Chrysler, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Siemens.
TrafficStation
provider of personalized, real-time, route-specific traffic information via the Internet and mobile wireless devices.
Visteon
one of the contenders for the Telematics market
Organizations
The Association for Information and Image Management [AIIM]
community for the users and suppliers of the content, document and process management technologies that drive e-business.
Telematics Forum
Its vision is that within the next decade automotive and traffic telematics will become a commodity on a wide range of vehicles across key markets in the North America, Europe and Asia -Pacific regions. There will be rapid market growth in advanced driver assistance, convenience, and safety-enhancing products, giving the traveller access to personalized information and seamless connection to the outside world. Telematics will pave the way for mobile e-commerce solutions around, and in the vehicle.
Telematics Suppliers Consortium
Telematics Thematics Group
U of Warwick Vehicle Electronics Group links
HP said the company chose the OMAP710 processor due to its performance and low power requirements, and as an added bonus, the processor has built-in hardware processing support for MPEG-4, MP3, JPEG and speech technologies like speech recognition.
http://www.infosync.no/show.php?id=1473
LOL-- guess that could mean only one thing- Fred must have been close to Jo and Pol before they went to jail--anyone know when visiting hours are? they had better SW anyway, just ask Bill or Andy....
LOL--3 years later-- Fred and Ozzie are still "talking"- goodness gracious great balls of fire!!!
e.Digital does not need bashers to create FUD!
Motorola Counts on New-Generation Wireless Phones
Fri Feb 15, 4:33 PM ET
By Ben Klayman
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wireless technology giant Motorola Inc. this week introduced a range of new wireless telephones, including one of the industry's first third-generation models, that it hopes will add fuel to its recent resurgence in the global handset market.
The Chicago-area based company unveiled on Thursday at a company design center in Milan, Italy, five new wireless phones, three existing models with enhanced technology and several accessories to provide additional entertainment and functionality.
Motorola, which ranks far behind Finland's Nokia (news - web sites) as the world's No. 2 maker of wireless phones, has lost market share over the past decade to Nokia's sleek and popular phones.
Motorola's stock closed off 41 cents, or 3.12 percent, at $12.74 on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) on Friday.
In recent quarters, Motorola has returned its wireless phone unit, or Personal Communications Sector business, to profitability and boosted market share with new models.
It said it had about 17 percent of the global handset market in the fourth quarter of 2001 -- half of Nokia's leading share -- and has targeted 25 percent long term.
"Anyone who tracks our industry will recognize the new direction represented by our 2002 portfolio," Mike Zafirovski, president of Motorola's handset business, said in a statement. "Design, style, elegance, entertainment and overall experience -- these are all the hallmarks of a renewed and refocused Motorola PCS."
COUNTING ON SLICKER DESIGNS
Motorola is counting on the new models, with slicker designs including one with a rotating cover and circular display and such innovations as color screens, to increase pressure on Nokia and other competitors. However, other handset makers, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson (news - web sites) , Siemens AG (news - web sites) and Philips Electronics , are also launching new handsets.
The wireless industry desperately needs new types of services to jump-start growth this year after a miserable 2001, when the number of handsets sold fell for the first time.
The new models were not enough to prompt Lehman Brothers analyst Tim Luke to change his "neutral" rating on Motorola's stock, citing the tough market.
"While we remain encouraged by these initial product introductions, we believe that visibility on full-year market-share opportunities and margin improvement on handsets continues to remain somewhat limited," he said in a research note.
Nokia has said it will start selling phones with built-in digital cameras and a big color screen in the second quarter. These will enable consumers to send and receive digital pictures with text attachments -- a service called multimedia messaging service (MMS).
MMS builds on the unexpected success of Short Message Service, which has grown to a billion-a-day text-messages market in just a few years.
Nokia says it is not worried, despite an avalanche of recent announcements from wireless carriers postponing the commercial introduction of so-called 3G, or third generation mobile networks. It expects to start shipping 3G phones in the third quarter and sell them by the millions in the fourth quarter.
Japan is already using 3G technology, which is not catching on as fast globally as some industry observers first predicted.
Motorola's new portfolio includes Java-enabled handsets, allowing users to add applications to their mobile phone. The new models will be introduced at various times over this year.
Several handsets in the new portfolio provide either enhanced or MMS technology, adding audio, graphic, text and imaging content to short messages. Additionally, they offer faster data and Internet connection speeds through GPRS, or General Packet Radio Service, technology.
Motorola also introduced one of the industry's first 3G products, offering faster, "always-on" Internet connections and moving image services. It will deliver models to Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. in the third quarter.
Among the accessories Motorola introduced were an MP3 player, Bluetooth headset and car kit, desktop speaker phone, and retractable and one-touch headsets. Bluetooth is a wireless connectivity technology for linking laptop computers, wireless phones and other devices.