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- IrDA Is Ready For Prime Time!
- The IrDA Technology Showcase in Taipei - Real Products to Match the Promise of Today and the Future.
ACTiSYS and IrDA jointly sponsored a one-day IrDA Technology Showcase
on May 11th, 1999, held at the International Conference Center
in Taipei, Taiwan.
The conference registered a full house with an audience of 260,
primarily senior engineering management, with a good turnout from
the national press. The Taiwanese newspapers covered the event
extensively in the weeks following with more than 15 articles
published. There was also a monthly magazine, OptoElectronics,
which dedicated a complete issue to the details
of this IrDA Showcase.
Companies participating in the exhibit showcase of IrDA-enabled
products included ACTiSYS, Counterpoint Systems Foundry, Hewlett-Packard,
IBM, Vishay-Telefunken and the Chung-Shan Institute of Science
and Technology. Conference topics were presented by Lawrence Faulkner,
IrDA's Executive Director and Dr. Keming Yeh, President of ACTiSYS,
along with Dr. Chuck
Knutson of Counterpoint Systems, Aw Chye Huat of HP, Simon Lee
of IBM, Jan Nilsson of Vishay-Telefunken and Dr. Chen of CSIST.
Mr. Faulkner and Dr. Yeh also held back-to-back interviews with
newspaper and magazine editors
and reporters.
The main focus of the conference centered around new IrDA technology
such as VFIR, AIR, IrDA certification and test tools, and the
IrREADY 2000 program. There was also a lively debate between the
arrival of Bluetooth and the future of IrDA, giving the speakers
an opportunity to clarify many of the issues and misconceptions
in comparing the two technologies. This was featured in the press
as the battle between "red and blue" with IrDA being given the
winning vote with concerns raised over Bluetooth's high cost,
low transfer rate, security issues and lack of Windows 2000 support.
The Taiwanese marketplace is evolving into a strategically important
area for IrDA. Taiwan companies now manufacture over 50% of the
world's mobile products: notebook PC, PDA and shortly the digital
smart phone. Taiwan also continues to produce the majority of
IrDA capable desktop PC motherboards. Taiwan is rapidly emerging
into a very important marketplace for IrDA components, protocol
software, adapters and certification testing. Therefore contributing
to the success of the IrDA's evolution.
Taiwan also has the world's first IR-based freeway Electronic
Toll Collection (ETC) system that recently began full-scale field
trials with successful results.
ACTiSYS exhibited their IrDA products and solutions, including
Protocol software products, printer adapter, Com Port serial adapter,
ISA-Bus Add-On Card, and motherboard adapter. Each ACTiSYS model
has been tested by the Test Centers and certified by the IrDA
Board as an "IrDA Reference Product," with the official logo to
match.
ACTiSYS also operates an IrDA Compliance Test Center, one of the
five IrDA Authorized Certification Test Centers worldwide, providing
full IrDA compliance and inter-operability tests. In addition,
ACTiSYS supplies a suite of IrDA system test tools that include
a Hand-Held System Tester, Desktop PC IrDA Tester and System Test
software.
Counterpoint Systems Foundry featured their infrared software
solutions that are used in many different mobile devices. Counterpoint
software stacks support such products as JetBeam 2.0 SDK, JetBeam
Mobile Communications, QuickBeam Suite for Windows, Jetbeam IrLite
SDK, QuickBeam file transfer program, add-in modules and test
tools.
IBM presented its impressive Advanced Infrared (AIr) initiative,
which represents a next generation, high-speed wireless communications
node, developed by IBM and other members of IrDA. This recent
development promises a 4M bps connection, 8-meter infrared connectivity
with a 120-degree cone angle.
IBM's demonstration of this IR wireless solution featured three
notebook PC's each with AIR PCMCIA card plus AIR adapter. Multiple
users can conveniently share work notes wirelessly at 4Mbps, at
a convenient wide angle, with longer IR coverage. There are no
security concerns or bandwidth reductions due to neighboring unknown
working groups. It covers most of the Bluetooth user models and
caught the majority of attendees and reporters attention. It was
described in the press as "the one technology that significantly
expands the usefulness and scope of IrDA technology, animportant
milestone in IrDA history."
The IBM exhibit also featured a low-power transceiver, offering
fast IR in a small package. IBM Microelectronics integrated solutions
include a family of infrared products designed for implementing
a complete IR communication subsystem quickly and easily. In addition
to a range of IR transceivers, IBM Microelectronics offers industry-standard,
IrDA-compliant controllers and software that complete the solution
for a wide range of applications and requirements.
Hewlett-Packard unveiled an important demonstration of VFIR, showcasing
the 16M bps data rate extension to the IrDA standard that was
released in January 1999. Their exhibit also featured the new
JetSend technology with JetSend Office ADK, HP JetSend Mobile
ADK, and HP JetSend Software Development Kit. JetSend is a protocol
that builds intelligence into devices for easy communication and
offers simple, flexible and direct communications between intelligent
devices. HP's infrared components
included transceivers, emitters, detectors and ICs.
VISHAY Telefunken exhibited their IrDA transceiver portfolio,
including a range of products offering the smallest, most economical
solution, a 1M bps, 3V and the first 4M bps, 3V device on the
market.
The Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology representing
the Ministry of National Defense, Taiwan, R.O.C. exhibited their
IrDA transceivers and ICs. The exhibit featured an IR Photoprinter
for digital cameras for direct printing of photos using IR communication.
A significant outcome to this highly successful conference was
an initiative brought forward from audience discussions to further
promote IrDA by establishing a self-financed Taiwan IrDA Consortium
with government funding to match the newly formed, government-funded
Taiwan Bluetooth Working Consortium. ACTiSYS plans to work closely
with Taiwan agencies and
companies to bring this to fruition and to help with local IrDAimplementations.
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