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Design Squad to be Featured on Jeopardy!
On Monday, 18 February 2008, the U.S. version of the popular television program Jeopardy! will feature a category devoted entirely to Design Squad – the reality television show funded by IEEE and other organizations – as part of its Teen Tournament Week. Footage from Design Squad’s first season will be used to test contestants' knowledge of basic engineering concepts through a series of questions co-developed by Design Squad and Jeopardy! producers. The air date of the category is timed to coincide with National Engineers Week which takes place 16-23 February. Jeopardy! has an average daily viewership of 12 million and the Teen Tournament series is one of the program's top-rated episodes each year. Design Squad will begin its second season on PBS in April. Learn more
Networking Vendor Says Wireless Security Fine
Wireless networks encounter few or no significant security risks, according to a survey by networking vendor 3Com, which polled 2,500 companies in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Forty percent of respondents cited security as their most pressing concern, followed by network reliability. The threats faced by companies using a wireless network are not unique and do not vary greatly from those experienced by wired networks. The firm says, in many cases, the use of centrally controlled wireless architecture may actually improve network security due to their ability to block rogue access points and enforce better network admission controls. Read more
Learn more about wireless security in IEEE Xplore®
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2008 Alexander Graham Bell Medal Awarded to IEEE Fellow
Dr. Gerard J. Foschini, an IEEE and Bell Labs Fellow in the Wireless Communications Research Department at Bell Laboratories, has been awarded the 2008 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal. Sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent, the award was given to Foschini for "seminal contributions to the science and technology of multiple-antenna wireless communications." Over the past four decades, Foschini has profoundly impacted communications theory and engineering, most notably through his work on layered spacetime multi-antenna systems. Such techniques, which allow unprecedented levels of spectral efficiency, are being applied to wireless LAN (WiFi) systems and are being proposed in the next-generation mobile wireless communication systems. See other 2008 IEEE Medal Award Winners
See articles written by Foschini in IEEE Xplore®
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In-Flight WiFi Unveiled
American Airlines has installed the first wireless Internet system for passenger use on a Boeing 767 and is expected to equip 14 more planes for a trial run in June. Users will be able to access secured corporate sites, shop online and even download entertainment while in flight. While not finalized, fees for internet access are expected to be around US$12.95 for flights over three hours and US$10 for shorter flights. Surveys by Forrester Research indicate the market for in-flight WiFi has grown in recent years with 45 percent of leisure travelers saying they would be willing to pay for the service. The percentage is thought to be even higher among business travelers. American Airlines has committed to installing the system on planes used to fly the carrier's transcontinental routes, but will expand quickly to other fleets if the test is successful. Read more
Learn more about WiFi in IEEE Xplore®
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Spotwave Wireless, Inc. Acquired
The Indian telecom company Kavveri Telecom Products Ltd. has acquired Spotwave Wireless Inc. USA and Spotwave Wireless Inc. Canada, for US$7 million. The acquisition entitles the company to all the intellectual property, patents, trademarks, domain names and copyrights, technology, products and product designs and fixed assets held by Spotwave Wireless. Kavveri says it will use the acquisition to provide solutions to bring outdoor signal inside for commercial and residential locations. Kavveri, a longtime manufacturer of antennas and RF products for the wireless industry in India, says it will market an intelligent adaptive repeater that can be installed by non-technical personnel and adapts to the nearest base station without interfering with the base station. Read more
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Siemens Says It Has Solved 802.11n Challenges
Introducing its own version of gear for systems based on the emerging high-speed specification for WiFi networks, Siemens Communications is the latest enterprise wireless network vendor to jump into the 802.11n pool. Though not yet officially ratified by the IEEE, the 802.11n standard is expected to offer five times the throughput of existing WiFi networks, plus increased stability and reliability. Final approval is now expected sometime late this year or in early 2009. Siemens says it is the first manufacturer to fully handle the electrical challenge that comes with the new technology. Additionally, the company's solution allows traffic to be routed locally, on the access points, or centrally via the controller. The result is an easier and more cost-effective upgrade path for enterprises wishing to shift from existing 802.11a/b/g to the new standard. Read more
Learn more about 802.11n in IEEE Xplore®
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Wireless Communications & Networking Conference
The 2008 IEEE Wireless Communications & Networking Conference (WCNC) is the premier wireless event, bringing together industry professionals and academics from companies, governmental agencies and universities from around the world to exchange information on advancements in wireless communications and wireless networking technology. The conference will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 31 March - 3 April 2008 and co-located with CTIA WIRELESS 2008, the world wireless show. Program highlights for WCNC 2008 include technology and business application panels featuring cutting edge technologies, applications, market trends and business implications; tutorials focusing on issues and opportunities that will impact the future of wireless communications and its applications; and a technical program including peer reviewed papers representing the best in wireless research and design. Learn more
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Sequans to Lead Next Generation Wireless Communication Project
Sequans Communications recently announced that it would be leading a WiMAX development project established and begun this month by the European Commission. The new project was established to provide significant assistance to the IEEE 802.16m task group which would develop technical specifications for next generation WiMAX systems. Sequans will be spearheading the project to enable a new air interface for the next generation WiMAX system in addition to other developments. The Sequans project team includes 12 partners - six technology companies and six universities - from the countries of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Greece and Turkey. Read more
Learn more about WiMax in IEEE Xplore®
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Firms Struggle with Connectivity Standards
Consumer electronics firms offering high-definition TVs, DVD players and cameras will have to decide which wireless technology should connect them, resulting in a hodgepodge of standards and a broad range of incompatible products, according to industry analysts. Samsung and Hewlett-Packard have plans for the Wireless USB variant of ultra wideband (UWB); Panasonic and Toshiba will use 60-GHz radios; LG Electronics will use WiFi; and Philips and Sony are preparing to use different proprietary versions of UWB. Among the considerations electronics manufacturers must weigh are bandwidth, how widely certain frequencies are licensed and the maturity of the technology. According to experts, the connectivity issues will most likely slow adoption among consumers. Read more
Learn more about UWB in IEEE Xplore®
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Bangladesh Firm Drives RFID Adoption
A startup RFID hardware provider and systems integrator in the People's Republic of Bangladesh is behind the adoption of RFID technology in government, healthcare and industry. Deltech Ltd. was founded in 2005 by Delwar Hossain, a retired Bangladeshi military officer who also spent several years working for a variety of high-tech companies in the United States as a software engineer. Deltech has already helped several organizations implement RFID, including Apollo Hospitals Dhaka, which tracks employee attendance with the technology, and the Bangladesh Army, which plans to employ RFID technology to track soldiers and visitors entering its Dhaka Cantonment via vehicle or on foot. According to its founder, Deltech is the only company in Bangladesh able to provide organizations in that country with RFID analysis, systems design and integration, deployment and support, as well as RFID hardware and software. Read more
Learn more about RFID in IEEE Xplore®
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Bluetooth Turns Ten
Bluetooth, the widely accepted short range wireless communications technology, is 10 years old this month. While the Bluetooth technology concept was developed over a decade ago, the first products did not appear commercially until 2000. In the last eight years, 1.5 billion Bluetooth-enabled devices have been shipped, and the organization behind the technology, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), has grown from a handful of companies to 10,000 members. The Bluetooth SIG qualifies products to a set of strict criteria, overseeing a 13-fold increase in the number of products qualified since 2000. Read more
Learn more about Bluetooth in IEEE Xplore®
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IEEE Foundation Announces 2008 Grant Deadlines
The IEEE Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the IEEE, is now accepting
2008 grant applications for new and innovative projects. Committed to
improving the technological literacy of society from childhood through
adulthood, the IEEE Foundation awarded more than US$250,000 in grants
during 2007 to projects supporting the advancement of the engineering
field. During 2008, unsolicited applications will be accepted from IEEE
units and other organizations working in areas of relevance and
importance to the IEEE and its membership. Projects should achieve one
or more of the following objectives:
- Improve primary and secondary science, technology and math learning
- Encourage pre-university students to consider engineering as a career path
- Increase the public’s understanding of the role of engineers and technology in society
- Preserve the history of IEEE-associated technologies
- Tap the technological expertise of IEEE members
- Demonstrate ability to be replicated
Application deadlines:
18 April 2008 for June Consideration
5 September 2008 for November Consideration
All applications will be considered for funding by both the IEEE
Foundation Board of Directors and the IEEE Life Members Committee.
Questions should be directed to the IEEE Foundation Administrator at +1
732 981 3435 or foundation-office@ieee.org.
Learn more
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