News
Analog Devices and imec join
forces on IoT device creation
Belgian nanotech research centre imec
and Analog Devices (ADI) have agreed
to a research partnership to develop the
next generation of Internet of Things
(IoT) devices. With
two initiatives already
underway, imec and
ADI aim to innovate
devices that are not
only low-power but
that also come with
largely improved—or
completely new—
sensing capabilities.
One joint research initiative that has
already been started in the framework
of the strategic collaboration focuses on
localization technology.
“Building on imec’s world-leading
position in innovative ultra-low power
implementations, ADI and imec will
pursue the development of a low-power
sensor for highly accurate indoor localization
in the context of smart building
or smart industry solutions,” stated
Kathleen Philips, imec program director.
“Concretely, we want this sensor to
localize objects with a superior accuracy
in a robust manner and achieve
up to five times better accuracy than
today’s best-performing
solutions.”
A second initiative includes
the creation, and
ultimately the commercialization,
of a highlyintegrated
liquid sensor
that can be used in a
variety of application
domains, such as the
analysis of water, blood or urine. The
image at the head of this report shows
a prototype low-power integrated liquid
sensor.
Kathleen Philips added: “Our
single-chip sensor comprises multiple
electrodes and excels in terms of cost
and size, while demonstrating industry
leading sensitivity and accuracy.”
www.analog.com
www.imec-int.com
On-device AI for mobile
and IoT
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and
SenseTime Group Limited have
announced that they are collaborating
on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine
learning (ML) for future mobile and IoT
products. SenseTime will contribute
ML models to the parnership while
Qualcomm will offer algorithms with
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ premium
and high-tier platforms, which offer
advanced heterogeneous computing
capabilities for client based AI. The companies
expect to drive the popularity and
development of on-device AI in areas
such as innovative vision and camerabased
image processing.
“To develop an AI ecosystem, it
takes efforts from players in multiple
industries,” said Dr Li Xu, co-founder
and chief executive officer, SenseTime.
“The strategic collaboration between
SenseTime and Qualcomm Technologies
will advance on-device intelligence by
leveraging our algorithm and Qualcomm
Technologies’ chipset.”
www.sensetime.com
www.qualcomm.com
Optical comb enables generation
of elusive terahertz frequencies
Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson
School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences (SEAS) are exploring the possibility
of using an infrared frequency comb
to generate elusive terahertz frequencies –
which lie in the electromagnetic spectrum
between radio waves and infrared light.
Terahertz frequencies have long promised
to transform communications and sensing
but are very challenging to source. By
harnessing a recently discovered laser
state, SEAS researchers have discovered
an infrared frequency comb in a quantum
cascade laser that offers a new way to
generate terahertz frequencies.
Dubbed a harmonic frequency comb,
this new system produces a spectrum of
teeth with spacing tens of times larger
than traditional frequency combs. The
large but precise spacing allows these
modes of light to beat together to produce
extremely pure terahertz tones.
“The discovery of the harmonic state
of quantum cascade lasers is surprising
from a laser physics point of view,” said
Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace
Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton
Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical
Engineering and senior author of the
paper in Nature Photonics.
“Until recently, it was thought that
multimode lasers would normally lase
on all the possible frequencies of the
cavity. In the harmonic state, many cavity
frequencies are skipped. Even more
remarkable is that this discovery opens
up unforeseen opportunities in unused
regions of the electromagnetic spectrum,
the terahertz.”
The harmonic frequency comb operates
at room temperature, uses commercial
quantum cascade lasers, and
is self-starting, meaning that the laser
can automatically switch to this regime
when electrical current is injected into
the device.
www.seas.harvard.edu
Millimeter-wave radar
measures vital signs
Researchers from Kyoto University’s
Center of Innovation and Panasonic Corporation
developed a radar-based device
in early 2016 that could instantaneously
and accurately measure the body’s vital
signals, which has now undergone a
major upgrade that increases performace
and cuts footprint.The sensor combined
a radar with signal analysis algorithms
to measure how the body moves as the
heart beats. Since, body movements vary
considerably, the software filters isolate
just the heart’s minute motions.
“After extensive testing we achieved
great improvements,” explains Toru
Sato, lead researcher and Kyoto University
professor of communications
and computer engineering. “The device
now utilizes the 79 GHz frequency band,
instead of the previous 60 GHz. We also
incorporated CMOS semiconductors. As
a result, range and resolution improved,
and it’s now only about one tenth the
size – as big as a smoke detector.”
www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en
www.mwee.com November - December 2017 MW 9
