Infrared's PR improves as new apps emerge
[makes me wanna TWIRL!!]
Mobile connectivity requirements for PDAs and new applications, such as "point and pay," breathe new life into infrared data links.
Ron Schneiderman, Contributing Editor, Wireless Technologies
For the longest time, infrared (IR) data links in portable devices simply couldn't get any respect. They were a pain to use, too slow, and often incompatible. They were also limited mostly to notebook computers, accounting for well over half of all IR data links in portable products in 1997. Virtually every notebook computer shipped in 1998 had an IR port. The problem is that hardly anyone ever used them. (Toshiba estimated a few years ago that barely 5% of its notebook computer customers actually used the IR feature.) Then Bluetooth comes along. It has features that IR doesn't. For example, it doesn't require line-of-sight communication and can be linked to other devices in a piconet. This has prompted some analysts to observe that Bluetooth will pick up where IR has stumbled. No respect.
All this may be about to change, however, with the huge success of PDAs and digital cameras, as well as the development of a bunch of new and emerging wireless connectivity applications, where very short range is acceptable and high security is required.
Indeed, according to Mike Watson, director of software and a Fellow at Zilog and president of IrDA (the Infrared Data Association), things are already improving.
For one thing, IR usage is up. "Usage now is up to 40% on Palms. We call them loyal Palm beamers."
It's also a cultural thing, says Watson. IR is very popular in Japan and Europe, particularly for exchanging business cards and downloading short messages. Much less so in the U.S. In fact, Casio's IR-enabled QV2000 camera is available everywhere but the U.S.
Data rates have also improved, ranging up to 16 Mbits/s, although the IR link in PDAs operates at 1 Mbit/s (4 Mbits/s in notebooks).
IrDA's new face
IrDA is also changing. Ron Brown, who joined IrDA as executive director earlier this year from his most recent post as CEO of Personal Solutions, says, "The organization is going to change from a technology-driven standards body to a more service and applications-oriented trade association."
One indication of its new aggressiveness was IrDA's first formal appearance at the National Retail Federation Show in January and its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the retail organization covering the development of point-of-sale (POS) applications for IR technologies.
IrDA has also convened a special interest group to deliver low-cost, high-speed wireless connectivity for travel and transportation applications. The new Travel Mobility Special Interest Group (TM-SIG) plans to expand the use of IR technologies in mobile travel markets by fast-tracking deployment of IR connectivity infrastructures on airplanes and autos, and in airports and hotels, as well as other public and private locations.
There are also several working groups within the TM-SIG, including one that covers air travel (for access to ATM services, maps and city guides, in-flight shopping, and more). Another working group is focusing on automotive applications (electronic toll collection, parking, access control, traffic information, and gas-station payment systems). A third group is dedicated to hospitality applications (high-speed Internet access in hotel and conference rooms, along with applications for making hotel reservations, obtaining travel maps, coupons, brochures, and taking orders at a restaurant). Clarinet Systems, a specialist in handheld IR connectivity, for example, is already working with MagiWeb, a Taiwan-based systems integrator, to install IR data links throughout the Crowne Plaza hotels in Taiwan.
Point and pay
Brown says that as the TM-SIG moves forward, it leverages an installed base of more than 250 million IR-enabled devices along with IrDA-developed standards, such as Infrared Financial Messaging (IrFM), a new "point and pay" global wireless POS payment standard for handheld devices.
IrFM is a major international standardization initiative of IrDA whose key participants are Palm, Nokia, Agilent, Ericsson, Motorola, Sharp, Infineon, Extended Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Zilog, Visa, Vishay Telefunken, Harex InfoTech, VeriFone, and CrossCheck, among others. The IrFM protocol defines payment usage models, profiles, architecture, and protocol layers to enable hardware, software, and systems designers to develop IrFM-compliant products, and ensure interoperability and compatibility globally. The IrFM protocol was developed with the Financial Services Technology Consortium, a non-profit group working to create standardized and interoperable technology platforms for financial institutions.
Electronic wallet applications have already been demonstrated using IR-enabled Palm and Handspring Visor PDAs to make consumer purchases at the point of sale. Users "beam" their financial information to make a payment and receive a digital receipt. Harex InfoTech expects to take this technology commercial this year. Broad commercial implementation of Version 1.0 of the IrFM standard is expected in the first half of 2002.
IR meets Bluetooth
Ironically, Bluetooth could be a blessing in disguise for IR. "There's a critical need for IrDA connectivity solutions that enable applications in environments where other technologies, such as radio frequency, may have restricted or limited access," notes Brown. "Solutions enabling travel mobility are yet another example of infrared and RF technologies complementing each other." (IrDA members were well represented among the more than 400 attendees at the first meeting of the newly formed Wireless Airport Association held in California in January.)
The IR community is also working to harmonize its applications with other standards organizations using IR technology, including Bluetooth and SyncML. Recent tests at Brigham Young University, for example, indicate that while it takes 10 to 12 seconds to open an application via Bluetooth, the same task requires only a few seconds using an IR link. Six field trials of similar applications have been scheduled over the summer.
New products, new vitality
Another indication that IR is experiencing a new vitality is the introduction of new transceiver designs with a heavy emphasis on miniaturization. Zilog has begun sampling its new ZHX1810 IR transceiver developed mainly for PDAs. At a height of 2.75 mm, it's expected to replace the company's 4-mm-high 1010 part. Zilog also plans to introduce the VHX1200, a 2.2-mm device, in the third quarter.
Agilent also recently announced a new, smaller serial IR transceiver for new-generation PDAs. The Agilent HSDL-3000 is 2.7 mm high by 9.1 mm wide by 3.65 mm deep. Another Agilent IR transceiver, the HSDL-3210, is only 2.5 mm high, and operates at 9.6 kbits/s to 1.152 Mbits/s (the medium IR standard), targeting cell phones, digital cameras, and PDAs.
Extended Systems has released a new IR software development kit for handheld devices, XTNDAccess IrDA SDK 3.0. Formerly known as JetBeam 2.1, the stack has been updated to include a multi-transport Object Exchange (OBEX) module that's compatible with both IrDA 1.0 and Bluetooth 1.1. The kit is designed for manufacturers to implement IR communications in embedded devices such as cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, and portable office equipment.
Also, Clarinet Systems has unveiled a product for beaming as many as 100 pages of text to Palm OS-based handhelds. Called InfoPort, it consists of a user programmable hub, an IR transceiver, power supply, the software utility, and a Palm-based software tracking program. Developers can create Palm-readable .prc files that users can receive by pointing their Palm devices at kiosks and other public terminals.
Portable Design July, 2001
