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UPDATE 13 THE LASER TURNS 50—a ﬁne excuse for reviewing the many records this pivotal technology has set. By Neil Savage

14 MODULAR NUKE PLANTS

16 TECH IN SIGHT: MOVING PEOPLE

18 BATTERIES GO WITH THE FLOW

19 LIGHT AT THE END OF THE CHIP

19 FETCHING A PIECE OF HEAVEN

20 THE BIG PICTURE A robot vends Volkswagen vehicles.

28 OPINION 10 SPECTRAL LINES Google’s troubles in China show why the Internet must oer both security and liberty. By Rebecca MacKinnon

12 FORUM A Corvette enthusiast ﬁnds his dream job; another reader touts engineering as a dream job for women.

27 REFLECTIONS Being a present-ist is a lot tougher than being a futurist. By Robert W. Lucky DEPARTMENTS 6 BACK STORY Nikola Tesla’s old wireless-power lab didn’t die, but it is fading away.

8 CONTRIBUTORS 46 34 TOOLS & TOYS BUG COVER STORY 22 Store photos and other ﬁles on BARBECUE: your own personal data cloud. Mosquitoes’ By Harry Teasley tiny brains are 46 ANDREW VITERBI’S 23 NeuroSky’s headsets may soon no match for allow you to control more than just our high-tech FABULOUS FORMULA electric carts with brain waves. weaponry This soft-spoken IEEE Medal of Honor winner crafted an algorithm By Susan Karlin [top left]; for picking out signals from noise—and made a fortune along the way. electrical 24 EDUCATION power can ﬂow By Tekla S. Perry MIT has a new program that’s giving even without student engineers the street smarts wires [right] ; 28 BACKYARD STAR WARS they lack. By Susan Karlin Andrew Viterbi’s Lasers haven’t yet been able to shoot swarms of missiles out of the 25 CAREERS life is a modern- sky, but they sure can zap mosquitoes. By Jordin Kare For women, leadership roles in day Horatio engineering can be isolating. Alger story. 34 ELECTRONS UNPLUGGED By Prachi Patel COVER: Sending useful amounts of electrical power through the air using 26 BOOKS PHOTO: BRAD SWONETZ magnetic induction is tricky. But that hasn’t stopped people from Two new biographies look at troubled THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE geniuses. Review by Mark Anderson FROM RIGHT: HOL LY LINDEM, BRAD SWONETZ, trying. By David Schneider JUDE BUFFUM 60 THE DATA 40 LITTLE GIZMO, BIG PICTURE Some countries spend a lot more than others on information and Soon even handheld devices will contain tiny digital projectors, entertainment—and not just because allowing us to view big pictures on the go. By Jacques Lincoln they’re richer. By Dana Mackenzie

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IEEE SPECTRUM (ISSN 0018-9235) is published monthly by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2010 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5997, U.S.A. The editorial content of IEEE Spectrum magazine does not represent oªcial positions of the IEEE or its organizational units. Canadian Post International Publications Mail (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40013087. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department, IEEE Spectrum, Box 1051, Fort Erie, ON L2A 6C7. Cable address: ITRIPLEE. Fax: +1 212 419 7570. INTERNET: [email protected]. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS: IEEE Members: $21.40 included in dues. Libraries/institutions: $399. POST MASTER: Please send address changes to IEEE Spectrum, c/o Coding Department, IEEE Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing oªces. Canadian GST #125634188. Printed at W224-N3322 Duplainville Rd., Pewaukee, WI 53072-4195, U.S.A. IEEE Spectrum circulation is audited by BPA Worldwide. IEEE Spectrum is a member of American Business Media, the Magazine Publishers of America, and Association Media & Publishing. IEEE prohibits discrimination, harassment, and bullying. For more information, visit http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/whatis/policies/p9-26.html.

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE S PECTRUM • NA 5

05.Contents.NA.indd 5 4/15/10 1:44 PM back story

EDITORIAL

EDITOR IN CHIEF Susan Hassler, [email protected]

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Glenn Zorpette, [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth A. Bretz, [email protected]

is now a Superfund site. A not-for- SENIOR EDITORS Harry Goldstein (Online), [email protected]; proﬁt group in the area hopes to Jean Kumagai, [email protected]; Samuel K. Moore (News), turn it into a science museum one [email protected]; Tekla S. Perry, [email protected]; Philip E. Ross, [email protected]; David Schneider, [email protected]

day, but for the moment the building SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Steven Cherry (Resources), remains shuttered, slowly decaying, [email protected] and surrounded by barbed wire. ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sally Adee, [email protected]; Erico Guizzo, [email protected]; Joshua J. Romero (Online), Senior Editor David Schneider [email protected]; Sandra Upson, [email protected]

[left] visited this historic locale, ASSISTANT EDITOR Willie D. Jones, [email protected]

not so much to see the building SENIOR COPY EDITOR Joseph N. Levine, [email protected] but rather to examine the remains COPY EDITOR Michele Kogon, [email protected] of something long gone: a tower EDITORIAL RESEARCHER Alan Gardner, [email protected] that once jutted 57 meters into the EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, SPECTRUM RADIO Sharon Basco ASSISTANT PRODUCER, SPECTRUM RADIO Francesco Ferorelli, air. Google’s satellite view of this [email protected]

intersection shows vestiges of it— ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS Ramona Gordon, [email protected]; an octagon of concrete and granite Nancy T. Hantman, [email protected] measuring more than 20 meters IEEE SPECTRUM JOURNALISM INTERN Anne-Marie Corley, [email protected] across, which once served as the CONTRIBUTING EDITORS John Blau, Robert N. Charette, tower’s footing. When he started Peter Fairley, David Kushner, Robert W. Lucky, building the tower in 1901, Tesla Paul McFedries, Prachi Patel, Carl Selinger, Seema Singh, William Sweet, John Voelcker planned to use it to project not only radio signals but also useful ART & PRODUCTION amounts of electrical power. Alas, SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Mark Montgomery ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Michael Solita it was torn down in 1917, before ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Brandon Palacio Tesla could ﬁnd out if his wildly PHOTO EDITOR Randi Silberman Klett

ambitious vision could ever be DIRECTOR, PERIODICALS PRODUCTION SERVICES Peter Tuohy

more than that. EDITORIAL & WEB PRODUCTION MANAGER Roy Carubia “What better place to start SENIOR ELECTRONIC LAYOUT SPECIALIST Bonnie Nani a story about the prospects WEB PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Jacqueline L. Parker for sending electrical power MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION SPETC IALIS Michael Spector Up in the Air wirelessly—an idea that a century EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD later is again gaining currency?” Susan Hassler, Chair; Marc T. Apter, Francine D. Berman, Jan Brown, Raaello D’Andrea, Hiromichi Fujisawa, Kenneth earch on “Tesla Street” asks Schneider [see “Electrons Y. Goldberg, Susan Hackwood, Bin He, Erik Heijne, Charles H. in Google Maps and you’ll Unplugged,” in this issue]. Though House, Christopher J. James, Ronald G. Jensen, Ruby B. Lee, come up with ﬁve streets Tesla never managed to transmit Tak Ming Mak, David A. Mindell, C. Mohan, Fritz Morgan, Andrew S M. Odlyzko, Barry L. Shoop, Curtis A. Siller Jr., Larry L. Smarr, in the United States bearing the power wirelessly from his tower as Harry L. Tredennick III, Sergio Verdú, William Weihl, Bas¸ak Yüksel

name of the Serbian inventor who he had hoped, companies are now EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE brought us the induction motor and attempting similar feats, albeit at IEEE Spectrum, 3 Park Ave., 17th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5997 AC power transmission, among much smaller scales. Attn: Editorial Dept. Tel: +1 212 419 7555 Fax: +1 212 419 7570 Bureau: Palo Alto, Calif.; Tekla S. Perry +1 650 328 7570 other pathbreaking contributions What would Tesla think of Responsibility for the substance of articles rests upon the to technology. One of those Tesla today’s eorts with wireless authors, not IEEE or its members. Articles published do not represent o¬cial positions of IEEE. Letters to the editor may be Streets is special: It’s located power? “He thought he could excerpted for publication. in Shoreham, N.Y., on the site send kilowatts across oceans ADVERTISING CORRESPONDENCE of Nikola Tesla’s last and only and continents to power distant IEEE Spectrum, 3 Park Ave., 17th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5997 remaining laboratory building. airships and automobiles,” says Attn: Advertising Dept. +1 212 419 7760 This turn-of-the-20th-century Schneider. “He’d probably The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising. brick structure, designed by the laugh at engineers who are now REPRINT PERMISSION renowned New York City architect working on systems to send a few LIBRARIES: Articles may be photocopied for private use of patrons. A per-copy fee must be paid to the Copyright J Stanford White, languishes on what watts across a room.” Clearance Center, 29 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970. For other copying or republication, contact Business Manager, IEEE Spectrum.

CITING ARTICLES IN IEEE SPECTRUM COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS: IEEE Spectrum is a registered IEEE Spectrum publishes two editions. In the international edition, the abbreviation INT appears at the trademark owned by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics foot of each page. The North American edition is identified with the letters NA. Both have the same Engineers Inc. Careers, EEs’ Tools & Toys, EV Watch, Progress, editorial content, but because of dierences in advertising, page numbers may dier. In citations, you Reflections, Spectral Lines, and Technically Speaking are should include the issue designation. For example, the first Update page is in IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 47, trademarks of IEEE.

no. 5 (INT), May 2010, p. 9, or in IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 47, no. 5 (NA), May 2010, p. 13. GUIZZO ERICO

6 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • M AY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

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05a.p7.NA.indd 7 4/12/10 10:25 AM IEEE MEDIA STAFF DIRECTOR; PUBLISHER, IEEE SPECTRUM James A. Vick, [email protected] ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, SALES & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Marion Delaney, [email protected] RECRUITMENT SALES DEVELOPMENT MANAGER JORDIN KARE, Big Splat, or How the Moon Came Michael Buryk, [email protected] an EE turned to Be, was published by John Wiley BUSINESS MANAGER Robert T. Ross astrophysicist, is & Sons in 2003. IEEE MEDIA/SPECTRUM GROUP MARKETING MANAGER Blanche McGurr, [email protected] perhaps best known INTERACTIVE MARKETING MANAGER Ruchika Anand, [email protected] for his work on PRACHI PATEL, LIST SALES & RECRUITMENT SERVICES PRODUCT/MARKETING MANAGER Ilia Rodriguez, [email protected] propelling spacecraft with laser a Spectrum contribut- REPRINT SALES +1 212 221 9595, EXT. 319 light. He is now a contributing ing editor, reports MARKETING & PROMOTION SPECIALIST Faith H. Jeanty, [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES +1 212 419 7760 brain at Intellectual Ventures that only 7 percent of SALES ADVISOR John Restchack +1 212 419 7578 Management, an idea-making engineering ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER Felicia Spagnoli (and -selling) company run by managers are women, in SENIOR ADVERTISING PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Nicole Evans ADVERTISING PRODUCTION +1 732 562 6334 ex-Microsoftie Nathan Myhrvold. “It’s Lonelier at the Top” [p. 25]. IEEE STAFF EXECUTIVE, PUBLICATIONS Anthony Durniak When Bill Gates sought new ways And in Update [p. 18] she writes IEEE BOARD OF DIRECTORS to fight malaria, Myhrvold put about advances in flow batteries, PRESIDENT & CEO Pedro A. Ray +1 732 562 3928 FAX: +1 732 465 6444 [email protected] Kare on the trail of a mosquito which are based on liquid electro- PRESIDENT-ELECT Moshe Kam death ray powered by lasers. It shot lytes. Patel, who holds a master’s in TREASURER Peter W. Staecker its first bloodsucker out of the sky electrical engineering from SECRETARY David G. Green PAST PRESIDENT John R. Vig in 2008. Kare built the system on a Princeton, has written for Discover shoestring, as he relates in and the Web sites of Scientific VICE PRESIDENTS Tariq S. Durrani, Educational Activities; Jon G. Rokne, “Backyard Star Wars” [p. 28]. American and Technology Review. Publication Services & Products; Barry L. Shoop, Member & Geographic Activities; W. Charlton Adams, President, Standards You can also hear her on Spectrum Association; Roger D. Pollard, Technical Activities; Evelyn H. Hirt, President, IEEE-USA JACQUES Radio and Public Radio LINCOLN, global International’s “Living on Earth.” DIVISION DIRECTORS Hiroshi Iwai (I); Robert E. Hebner Jr. (II); product manager Nim K. Cheung (III); Roger W. Sudbury (IV); Michael R. Williams (V); Mark I. Montrose (VI); for consumer BRAD SWONETZ Enrique A. Tejera M. (VII); Stephen L. Diamond (VIII); projection displays at photographed Alfred O. Hero III (IX); Richard A. Volz (X) Microvision, is a 17-year technology Andrew Viterbi, the REGION DIRECTORS Charles P. Rubenstein (1); William P. Walsh Jr. (2); Clarence industry veteran. He has worked at 2010 IEEE Medal of L. Stogner (3); Don C. Bramlett (4); Sandra L. Robinson (5);

Leonard J. Bond (6); Om P. Malik (7); Jozef W. Modelski (8); ISION V Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Honor winner, for this Tania L. Quiel (9); Yong Jin Park (10) RO Motorola Semiconductor, and month’s cover story [p. 46]. Swonetz DIRECTORS EMERITUS Microsoft. Microvision’s laser-based moved to Los Angeles to learn the Eric Herz, Theodore W. Hissey KENZIE; MIC projection technology, which can be photography trade after pursuing IEEE STAFF embedded in handheld consumer his passion for surﬁng and sculpture EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & COO James Prendergast MAC +1 732 502 5400, [email protected] products like cellphones and media at the University of California, Santa HUMAN RESOURCES Betsy Davis, SPHR players, is vying with at least four Barbara. In his work, he loves to +1 732 465 6434, [email protected] PUBLICATIONS Anthony Durniak K AYEASLEY; other approaches to ultraminiature show how interesting the seemingly +1 732 562 3998, [email protected] projectors, which Lincoln describes mundane can be. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Douglas Gorham +1 732 562 5483, [email protected] in “Little Gizmo, Big Picture” [p. 40]. STANDARDS ACTIVITIES Judith Gorman +1 732 562 3820, [email protected]

HARRY TEASLEY, T HARRY WONETZ; MEMBER & GEOGRAPHIC ACTIVITIES Cecelia Jankowski DANA MACKENZIE a longtime contribu- +1 732 562 5504, [email protected] CORPORATE STRATEGY & COMMUNICATIONS Matthew Loeb, CAE NNA S is a Ph.D. mathema- tor to Spectrum’s +1 732 562 5320, [email protected] CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER tician and science blogs, has been Alexander J. Pasik, Ph.D. REDD; A +1 732 562 6017, [email protected] writer, based in developing video BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Thomas R. Siegert Santa Cruz, Calif. He games professionally for nearly +1 732 562 6843, [email protected] TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES Mary Ward-Callan eagerly agreed to take on The Data, 20 years. A graduate of the +1 732 562 3850, [email protected] IEEE Spectrum’s back page, saying, Maryland Institute College of Art, MANAGING DIRECTOR, IEEE-USA Chris Brantley +1 202 530 8349, [email protected]

“I’ve always been a fan of Harper’s he never touched a computer before JOEL P VENTURES; TUAL IEEE PUBLICATION SERVICES & PRODUCTS BOARD C Magazine’s Index, although I don’t getting a job on the debut version of Jon G. Rokne, Chair; Tayfun Akgul, John Baillieul, Silvio E. Barbin,

Deborah M. Cooper, Celia L. Desmond, Tariq S. Durrani, NTELLE like that they present their data in a the classic game Civilization. He has Mohamed E. El-Hawary, Gerald L. Engel, David A. Grier,

far-from-unbiased way. It’s better if subsequently worked on such Jens Hannemann, Lajos Hanzo, Hirohisa Kawamoto, I EFT: Russell J. Lefevre, Michael R. Lightner, Steve M. Mills, you can let the numbers speak for blockbuster games as Half-Life and Pradeep Misra, Saifur Rahman, Edward A. Rezek, Curtis A. Siller Jr., W. Ross Stone, Ravi M. Todi, Robert J. Trew, themselves.” In this issue, we Halo. Teasley’s need for massive Karl R. Varian, Timothy T. Wong, Jacek Zurada

publish Mackenzie’s initial data storage led him to the IEEE OPERATIONS CENTER

445 Hoes Lane, Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08854-1331 U.S.A. L TOP FROM KWISE

infographic oering: “Old and New Pogoplug 2, which he reviews in C Tel: +1 732 981 0060 Fax: +1 732 981 1721

Media” [p. 60]. His ﬁrst book, The “Your Very Own Cloud” [p. 22]. CLO

8 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

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Congress supporting robust engagement Liberty or Safety? Both—or Neither by the public and private sectors to secure digital freedoms throughout the world.” Sounds great. Who could be against that? n 12 January, Google announced raises a couple of questions: Who is The problem is that in Washington, that it had been a victim of in charge of anticipating conflicts and the phrase “global Internet freedom” is Osophisticated cyberattacks working to avoid them? Who will be the like a Rorschach test, in which dierent originating in China. Suspecting that final arbiter as conflicts inevitably arise? people look at the same ink splotch and the Chinese government had at the very As a free-speech activist, I’m see very dierent things. least been turning a blind eye to the delighted that the U.S. government U.S. politicians all agree that the problem, the company announced that wants to support technologies that will concept of global Internet freedom should it would no longer censor its Chinese enable dissidents and whistle-blowers apply to prodemocracy activists in for- search results. This ti eign dictatorships. But not many of them between the biggest country seem to have considered the possibility and the biggest Internet that the rights of their own constituen- company aects 1 billion cies to hear unpopular viewpoints also people, tens of thousands of need protection. So, therefore, if we want companies, and hundreds of to expand global Internet freedom for the research institutions. It also long haul, we have to set the priorities. sets a problem before the rest Do we fund software engineers who of the world: Many countries, build censorship-circumvention tools? Or including the United States, do we engage in the much more dicult are now grappling with the work of ensuring that the Internet’s tech- question of how to balance IN MEMORIAM: Flowers outside its Beijing oce mark nical standards, protocols, regulations, freedom and security in the Google’s decision to shunt its Chinese trac to Hong Kong. governance practices, laws, and business Internet age. norms will maximize freedom and mini- In the United States, Republicans and to use the Internet anonymously and mize the potential for abuse everywhere? Democrats took a brief time-out from securely all over the world. It gives me As I sat in the front row listening tearing one another apart over health-care hope that as the Internet’s architecture to Senator Joe Lieberman speak at the reform to praise Google for its principled and technical standards continue to launch of the Global Internet Freedom stand. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton evolve, the possibility of individual Caucus, I had to bite my lip when he said, gave a rousing speech declaring Internet anonymity and privacy may not be “The United States has both a strategic freedom to be a pillar of U.S. foreign obliterated—despite the headaches interest and a moral imperative to ensure policy. Lawmakers called on the Obama that these freedoms cause for banks, that the Internet works to empower administration to do more—and yes, businesses, and law enforcement. people everywhere to secure their spend more money—to support activists What worries me, however, is that inalienable human rights—rather than fighting censorship around the world. based on the congressional hearings allow the dictators who hope to use new Those seeking more government I’ve attended and conversations I’ve technologies to achieve greater control funding for cybersecurity are suddenly had with people in dierent parts of the and stifle dissent.” This is the same enjoying unprecedented support from U.S. government, there is no political person who in 2008 demanded that Congress and U.S. government agencies. consensus whatsoever on how to YouTube take down hundreds of videos Funding may be tight for a lot of things coordinate the conflicting interests and by extremist Islamic groups. You can’t in Washington, but not, it would seem, policy goals. Since 2006, Google had gone have it both ways, Joe. As Benjamin for anything tagged with “cybersecurity” along with China’s demands that it block Franklin said, “Those who would give or “Internet freedom.” access to sites that China’s government up Essential Liberty to purchase a little The problem is that eorts to disapproved of. But in late March, Google Temporary Safety, deserve neither advance one of these goals can easily announced it would move its Chinese- Liberty nor Safety.” That’s why China conflict with or cancel out the other. For language search service to Hong Kong has neither. —Rebecca MacKinnon

example, Internet freedom requires and cease censorship. Two days later, a ES

anonymity—people need to be able bipartisan group of senators launched Rebecca MacKinnon is a visiting fellow at AG to post or access whatever they want something called the Global Internet Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy, cofounder of Global Voices Online, and without fear of reprisal. But anonymity Freedom Caucus. The idea, according to a founding member of the Global Network works against security, because it allows Democrat Ted Kaufman of Delaware, is to Initiative. She is writing a book about the future of freedom in the Internet age. cybercriminals to hide. So that tension “provide bipartisan leadership within the IM LI XIN/AFP/GETTY

10 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.SpectralLines.NA.indd 10 4/14/10 3:05 PM Can semantic technologies make the Web truly worldwide?

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09-CRS-0223d-Telecom-7x10-Final-2010.indd 1 11/23/09 2:24:04 PM

05a.p11.NA.indd 11 4/12/10 3:37 PM forum

WHAT MOTHER my Prius is no longer DIDN’T TELL YOU trendy, but I do enjoy all Cover Story ’m a woman who owns of those other things.) I an electrical consulting 2. Engineering can Lite, BBriterite business specializing in allow women to work construction drawings, part time. I know sev- Displays and I employ as many eral consulting engi- women as men. There neers who dropped Kindle, iPad, Droid— these compact mobile are a number of reasons from full time to devices are essentially why fewer women than part time when they all display. But the screens started families. aren’t all we’d like them men go into engineer- to be. Yet. ing, and some of those 3. Engineering is reasons arise from mis- a helping career. For By JASON HEIKENFELD conceptions about engi- example, IEEE and

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MARCH 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • NA 29 neers. I believe that if other engineering orga- more women knew the nizations can make a following things about di¤ erence in the coun- 03.BistableDisplays.NA.indd 28 2/16/10 12:59:52 PM 03.BistableDisplays.NA.indd 29 2/16/10 12:59:55 PM engineering, more tries that su¤ ered dam- LETTERS do not PAPER OR LIVING THE would choose it as a age from the two recent represent opinions PHOTONS? DREAM career. Here are a few: major earthquakes. of IEEE. Short, concise letters are ’ve been reading always read with 1. Engineering can 4. Engineering can preferred. They Inews stories and I interest the Dream Jobs provide both a nice o¤ er a lot more variety may be edited technical articles articles [February]— income and adequate than many other fi elds. for space and about e-book readers— they’re so refreshing. leisure to enjoy a high There is drama and clarity. To post but I’m reading Now I have my own standard of living. It’s there are heroes, and your comments online, go to them in magazines, dream job! I’ve been a a myth that women the puzzles are at least spectrum.ieee.org. newspapers, and on Corvette groupie ever engineers don’t bask as good as the ones on Or write to Forum, the Internet [Spectral since I saw the 1963 in the sun, get pedi- the TV series “House.” IEEE Spectrum, Lines and “Lite, Brite Corvette Sting Ray con- cures, wear makeup 3 Park Ave., name withheld 17th Floor, New York, Displays,” March]. cept car at the New York and jewelry, live in upon request NY 10016-5997, Print publications have Coliseum as a very young nice houses, and drive IEEE Member U.S.A.; fax, a convenience that child. A few years ago, stylish cars. (Okay, Lafayette, Ind. +1 212 419 7570; the Internet doesn’t— Chevrolet resurrected e-mail, n.hantman durability. If I go to this car and brought it @ieee.org. the beach and drop my to a Corvette event at CORRECTIONS paperback in the water, Carlisle, Pa., where I was Several readers pointed out that following the I can dry it out and read able to examine, sit in, wiring instructions in “The Smart Power Strip” by James Turner [Hands On, March] would create it afterward. If I hike and generally just drool a dangerous condition. One wrote: “I was abso- the Appalachian Trail, over this historic vehicle. lutely appalled that James Turner switched the I can read my book by Being a knowledgeable neutral connections (white wire) to the outlets candlelight, lantern Corvette player, after my instead of the hot (black wire) connections.” Says Turner: “I was absolutely wrong to switch the neu- light, or sunlight. It unintended “retirement” tral rather than the hot. The issue is easily fi xed, never dies due to a from the Silicon Valley as several readers suggested, by swapping the lack of power. When I tech world after 9/11 I was inputs to the two bus bars so that the hot leg finish reading my book, able to secure a num- goes into the switches and current monitors and I can put it on a shelf, ber of contracts creating the neutral runs straight to the plugs. Thanks to everyone who pointed out the problem.” take it down 20 years Web sites for some sig- The authors of “Vice Over IP” [February] later, and reread it if I nifi cant Corvette-related acknowledge their error in referring to a “32-bit- am so inclined. Where businesses. Talk about per-second codec.” The correct capacity is will my e-book be in a dream job. Life’s a trip 32 kilobits per second. 20 years? In a landfill, when you’re a single guy We would like to acknowledge Samuel M. Goldwasser’s Web site, Sci.Electronics.Repair probably. with gas money! FAQ (http://www.repairfaq.org), as the source Alexander F. Jaszek Robert T. Wardell for the green laser illustration in “Lasers Get the IEEE Life Member IEEE Member Green Light” [March]. Needham, Mass. Ft. Collins, Colo.

12 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05F.forum.NA.indd 12 4/14/10 10:09 AM more online at spectrum.ieee.org

PETAWATT POWER: The world’s highest- power laser delivers nearly 200 joules in less than 200 femtoseconds. PHOTO: THE TEXAS CENTER FOR HIGH INTENSITY LASER SCIENCE

confine electrons to desired energy states. FASTEST PULSES An electron entering a well creates a An attosecond is to a second what a The Laser at 50 photon and a lower-energy electron, and second is to the age of the universe. It’s the golden anniversary of then the electron tunnels to another Pulses of X-ray laser light lasting this fundamental technology well and repeats the process. Qing Hu 80 attoseconds—fast enough to take of MIT shaped the wells to achieve long snapshots of quantum-level events, such wavelengths, then used a magnetic as the motion of electrons in an atom— ifty years after the first beam of field to further control the electrons, have been produced by scientists at the coherent light shone out of a ruby getting an output of 0.68 terahertz, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Fcrystal, lasers have expanded in or 440 micrometers—long enough in Munich. They fire a femtosecond laser every direction, ranging from as big as to serve as an investigative tool in into a neon gas, where extreme nonlinear three football fields to as small as a few biochemistry and explosives detection. eects upshift the photons from visible layers of atoms, producing wavelengths light to X-rays. The process of combining from deep in the X-ray regime to far into SHORTEST WAVELENGTH X-rays into a coherent beam shortens the the infrared. Engineers are pushing the X-ray wavelengths of 0.15 nanometer, in pulse to tens of attoseconds. technology ever further, and here are coherent pulses lasting just 100 femto- some of the records they have set. seconds, come out of the Linac (for linear HIGHEST ENERGY —Neil Savage accelerator) Coherent Light Source, at One megajoule—enough energy to boil Stanford University. The 3-kilometer- about three quarts of water—is the LONGEST WAVELENGTH long Linac takes short pulses of electrons current record energy output of what is IN A DIODE LASER and accelerates them to nearly the also the largest laser in the world: the Terahertz radiation, in the infrared speed of light, then runs them through 192-beam setup at the National Ignition spectrum just short of microwaves, is alternating magnets that jerk the elec- Facility, in Livermore, Calif. In January, the specialty of the quantum cascade trons back and forth, making them emit NIF produced that much ultraviolet laser—a semiconductor inscribed with a X-ray photons. Physicists use the device light in just a few nanoseconds; ladderlike series of quantum wells that to investigate the structure of matter. ultimately it will provide 1.8 MJ. Later

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPE CTRUM • NA 13

05U.News.NA.indd 13 4/15/10 11:57 AM The level of energy to 3.5 TRILLION ELECTRON VOLTS which each proton was accelerated in the inaugural run of the Large Hadron Collider, outside Geneva, on 30 March.

this year, scientists expect to shine the combined beams Downsizing on test capsules containing deuterium and tritium, Nuclear in the hope of igniting thermonuclear fusion. Power Plants Project director Ed Moses expects to reach scientifi c Modular designs rely on breakeven—when more “economies of multiples” to energy comes out of the make small reactors pay o big system than what goes in— within a couple of years. standard nuclear power plant generates a gigawatt or more of HIGHEST POWER Alow-carbon power, a boon in this The laser with the highest age of anxiety over climate change. The peak power in the world— problem is getting the thing built in the 1.1 petawatts, about 2200 times fi rst place: At US $7 billion to $10 billion MULTIPLE MEGAWATTS: Engineering the power output of the entire apiece, nuclear plants are tough for even fi rms are hoping that many smaller U.S. electrical grid—is run the largest utilities to fi nance. reactors will be easier for utilities to fi nance than a few large ones. by the University of Texas at President Obama proposes to handle ILLUSTRATIONS: CHINERGY CO. Austin. The laser starts with a the problem by tripling federal loan short, low-energy laser pulse guarantees to such plants, to $54 billion. and stretches it to 10 000 times But now a more economical solution are small enough to be shipped on a truck basis, but because mPower could be its length, amplifi es it to is coming under scrutiny: downsizing or railcar and designed so that they can built in bite-size chunks with a relatively 186 joules, then recompresses nuclear plants from gigawatt scale to more be snapped together on-site. “It’s almost modest overhead investment, using it to 167 femtoseconds. The a ordable units that can be built by the Lego-style assembly,” says Kadak. the same reliable light-water reactor laser provides scientists dozen. “Size matters. In this case, small These innovators hope to avoid the technology, it’s much more likely to with enough power to size,” says Andrew Kadak, a professor of sprawling construction sites required to work and to start working on schedule. study thermonuclear fusion nuclear science and engineering at MIT. build today’s gigawatt-plus reactors, which That means the cost of fi nancing and as well as to examine the Small modular reactors, or SMRs, of are prone to quality problems and delays. insuring the project should be much nature of plasmas and the 70 to 210 megawatts are under construction For example, in 2005 France’s Areva lower. “You could have 10 to 20 percent properties of dense matter in China and Russia, and a mix of start-ups boasted that its fl agship 1.65-gigawatt cheaper electricity,” says Mowry. in brown dwarf stars. and established nuclear technology pressurized water reactor, the EPR, would Jack Baker, vice president for energy fi rms, such as Westinghouse Electric be completed by 2009. Now the company and business services at Washington SMALLEST LASER Co., General Atomics, and the Babcock is admitting that faulty materials and state–based Energy Northwest, sees A particle of gold in a silica & Wilcox Co., are shopping similarly planning snafus have set the completion mPower as a clean and economically shell only 44 nm across is the modest designs in the United States. target back to 2012 and raised the viable way to meet a 250- to 350-MW smallest laser yet devised. This strategy overturns the drive toward project’s estimated cost by 66 percent, to increase in demand for base-load capacity. Scientists from Cornell, economies of scale that has pushed nuclear a budget of €5.3 billion ($7.2 billion). His public power cooperative is taking Norfolk State, and Purdue designers toward ever-larger reactors since Proponents of SMRs admit that their extra care in assessing investments, universities designed the the industry’s inception. Now the designers installation costs may turn out to be as having defaulted on $2.25 billion in laser, which exploits surface may instead rely on the “economies of much as or even more than that of today’s bonds in 1983 thanks to an overly plasmons—oscillations of multiples” that accrue to the mass produc- behemoths, but they argue that the lower ambitious reactor construction plan. electrons that occur where a tion of everything from cars to iPhones. risk involved should make SMRs the better Firms are also developing other metal touches an insulator. The “We want to manufacture in a plant with deal anyway. Christofer Mowry, CEO concepts for small-scale reactors. Take laser emitted light in the green supply-chain management. This enables of Babcock & Wilcox’s Modular Nuclear Beijing-based consortium Chinergy Co., spectrum at a wavelength you to drive down cost and control the Energy subsidiary, leads the development which just launched construction of a of 530 nm, far larger than schedule,” says John Parmentola, senior vice of a 125-MW SMR called mPower that 210-MW SMR using a pebble-bed reactor, the laser itself, which is tiny president for energy and electromagnetic he estimates will cost about $600 million so-named for its 6-centimeter-wide enough to place on a computer systems at General Atomics. That means in parts and labor. That’s comparable to fuel pellets. Protective carbon sheaths chip or attach to a cancer cell. J building modules, including reactors, that Areva’s Olkiluoto plant on a per-megawatt encapsulating the pellets’ fi ssile fuel cores

14 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05U.News.NA.indd 14 4/15/10 11:57 AM The level of energy to 3.5 TRILLION ELECTRON VOLTS which each proton was accelerated in the inaugural run of the Large Hadron Collider, outside Geneva, on 30 March.

14 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

MODULAR DESIGN: Chinergy Co. plans small pebble-bed nuclear reactors.

MULTIPLE MEGAWATTS: Engineering fi rms are hoping that many smaller reactors will be easier for utilities to fi nance than a few large ones. ILLUSTRATIONS: CHINERGY CO. are small enough to be shipped on a truck basis, but because mPower could be allow pebble-bed reactors to operate at “Nuclear Wasteland,” IEEE Spectrum, or railcar and designed so that they can built in bite-size chunks with a relatively double the temperature of a large reactor, February 2007, http:// spectrum.ieee.org. be snapped together on-site. “It’s almost modest overhead investment, using at which point they can generate at up to nuclear-wasteland]. However, EM2’s Lego-style assembly,” says Kadak. the same reliable light-water reactor 50 percent higher e® ciency and sell waste modularity makes it safer and more These innovators hope to avoid the technology, it’s much more likely to heat to industrial processors. The fuel’s economically viable, says Parmentola. sprawling construction sites required to work and to start working on schedule. design also ensures that if the cooling Microsoft’s Bill Gates recently endorsed build today’s gigawatt-plus reactors, which That means the cost of fi nancing and system should fail, the reactor will shut that view by investing in Bellevue, are prone to quality problems and delays. insuring the project should be much itself down passively, rather than melt its Wash.–based TerraPower, which is For example, in 2005 France’s Areva lower. “You could have 10 to 20 percent way down. Chinergy’s permit application talking up a similar breeder SMR. boasted that its fl agship 1.65-gigawatt cheaper electricity,” says Mowry. seeks permission to build up to 18 of the However, there are political objections pressurized water reactor, the EPR, would Jack Baker, vice president for energy pebble-bed SMRs at its site in Shandong, to SMRs. Precisely because they are be completed by 2009. Now the company and business services at Washington where coal-fi red chemical industries more a ordable, they may well increase is admitting that faulty materials and state–based Energy Northwest, sees produce some of China’s dirtiest air. the risk of proliferation by bringing the planning snafus have set the completion mPower as a clean and economically General Atomics, meanwhile, sees cost and power output of nuclear reactors target back to 2012 and raised the viable way to meet a 250- to 350-MW an advanced SMR design that breeds within the reach of poorer countries. project’s estimated cost by 66 percent, to increase in demand for base-load capacity. and burns its own fuel as the answer to Russia’s fi rst SMR, which the nuclear a budget of €5.3 billion ($7.2 billion). His public power cooperative is taking the nuclear waste quandary, which has engineering group Rosatom expects Proponents of SMRs admit that their extra care in assessing investments, been heightened by the cancellation of to complete next year, is of particular installation costs may turn out to be as having defaulted on $2.25 billion in the Yucca Mountain repository. General concern. The Akademik Lomonosov is a much as or even more than that of today’s bonds in 1983 thanks to an overly Atomics’ reactor should be able to go fl oating nuclear power plant sporting behemoths, but they argue that the lower ambitious reactor construction plan. 30 years before refueling, about 20 times two 35-MW reactors, which Rosatom risk involved should make SMRs the better Firms are also developing other as long as light-water reactors can go. expects to have tethered to an Arctic oil deal anyway. Christofer Mowry, CEO concepts for small-scale reactors. Take Large-scale breeder reactors and gas operation by 2012. The reactor’s of Babcock & Wilcox’s Modular Nuclear Beijing-based consortium Chinergy Co., analogous to General Atomics’ Energy portability prompted Greenpeace Russia Energy subsidiary, leads the development which just launched construction of a Multiplier Module, or EM2, have so far to call this fl oating plant the world’s most of a 125-MW SMR called mPower that 210-MW SMR using a pebble-bed reactor, proven unwieldy and uneconomical. dangerous nuclear project in a decade. he estimates will cost about $600 million so-named for its 6-centimeter-wide France’s 1250-MW Superphénix breeder SMRs may be smaller than today’s in parts and labor. That’s comparable to fuel pellets. Protective carbon sheaths cost €9 billion and ran just 174 days reactors. But, politically at least, they’re Areva’s Olkiluoto plant on a per-megawatt encapsulating the pellets’ fi ssile fuel cores before being shuttered in 1998 [see just as nuclear. —Peter Fairley

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • NA 15

05U.News.NA.indd 15 4/15/10 11:57 AM Tech in Sight Three ways to move people— fast, faster, fastest

ere we are in the future, yet we’re still wasting time stuck Hin tra® c and trussed in a pressurized cabin for long hours in ﬂ ight. For the speed boost that was promised us in so many futuristic movies, look to these three technologies.

SEGWAY/ GENERAL MOTORS EN-V The Segway Personal Transporter was billed as revolutionary, but you still don’t see lots of people riding to Segway/General Motors EN-V PHOTO: GENERAL MOTORS work on them. The commuter version of the machine has a top speed of 20 kilometers per hour (12.5 miles per hour), faster than walking, but still too slow to get you across town. So how about making the Segway more like, um, a car? The scooter maker collaborated with General Motors to design a concept vehicle called EN-V, for electric networked-vehicle. This two-person vehicle uses a Segway-like China Railways Boeing X-51 drivetrain, but it can achieve twice the PHOTO: REUTERS ILLUSTRATION: BOEING speed: 40 km/h (25 mph). Oh, and it has a roof, so rain won’t be a problem. Wuhan and Guangzhou in 3 hours, a of the Concorde showed, the economics journey that takes half a day by car or of supersonic travel are no breeze. Still, CHINA RAILWAYS regular rail. The Harmony Express there’s hope. Sometime this year, the WUHAN-GUANGZHOU TRAIN is part of China’s massive rail e ort, X-51, developed by a consortium that The world’s fastest rail line, the new which aims to build 30 000 km of includes the U.S. Air Force, NASA, China Railways Wuhan-Guangzhou railways in the next fi ve years. and Boeing, will test its air-breathing service, opens this year. The Hexie scramjet—or supersonic combustion Hao, or Harmony Express, reaches BOEING X-51 ramjet—engine to achieve Mach 7, which 350 km/h (217 mph), beating the HYPERSONIC AIRCRAFT is 10 times as fast as a conventional current record speed of 320 km/h Imagine boarding a plane in New York airliner. Unfortunately, the missile- set by France’s TGV. In a trial run, City and stepping out just 3 hours later shaped X-51 is still more like a missile the Chinese train reached nearly in Sydney—a trip that would normally than an airplane: After this fl ight it 400 km/h (250 mph)—faster than a take an entire day. A supersonic aircraft will plunge into the ocean. So wannabe Formula 1 racing car. The service will fl ying at 10 times the speed of sound— hypersonic travelers will have to wait cover the 1000-km route between Mach 10—could do it, but as the demise for a future model. —Erico Guizzo

16 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05U.News.NA.indd 16 4/15/10 11:57 AM 05a.p17.NA.indd 17 4/12/10 10:58 AM A nanometer-wide sheet SMALLEST SUPERCONDUCTOR of four pairs of molecules showed no resistance to electric current at 10 kelvins, according to scientists at Ohio University, in Athens.

Light at the End of Batteries That Go the Chip IBM’s low-power With the Flow germanium Flow batteries promise to photodetectors even out fl uctuations in solar may bring optical and wind power BACKUP POWER: Batteries with fl owing electrolytes could be key to interconnects to smoothing out intermittent wind and solar power. PHOTO: ZBB TECHNOLOGIES microprocessors f we’re ever to run our electric grid to jump-start fi ve utility-scale projects. Falls, Wis., and Premium Power Corp., better photodetector on the on-again, o -again power that Cost is critical for grid storage, and in North Reading, Mass., sell trailer- could bring optical Iwind and sun provide, we’re going to this is where fl ow batteries deliver. Some transportable zinc- bromine systems that Adata transfer between need better batteries. About half a dozen zinc-bromine devices in the works store megawatt-hours of energy. ZBB computer chips closer to reality, types of batteries are now grid-ready, but could store energy for less than $500 a tested its 2-megawatt-hour system in according to the IBM researchers a 30-year-old technology known as a fl ow kilowatt-hour, a third as much as for California for reducing peak loads in who created the device. Such battery could be the best bargain. lithium-ion batteries and about three- 2007, while Premium Power will test an advance could overcome a In place of the solid electrodes of quarters as much as for its toughest seven 2.8-MWh systems for three years looming speed limit—the rate at a conventional battery, fl ow batteries competitor, the sodium-sulfur battery. with DOE-allocated Recovery Act money. which data can move between use two liquid electrolytes that react The inherent architecture of fl ow Many other grid-ready fl ow-battery a processor’s cores, or from one when pumped through a cell stack. batteries makes them particularly safe, systems will be on the market within chip to another, over copper wire. The battery is broken down into a cell says Craig Horne, CEO of fl ow- battery fi ve years. Beijing-based Prudent The detector is built from a stack and two large electrolyte tanks; start-up EnerVault, in Sunnyvale, Energy is likely to be a major player. germanium crystal that amplifi es as the electrolyte fl ows past a porous Calif. “With a fl ow battery you can And start-ups such as Primus Power, signals tenfold, operates at membrane in each cell, ions and have megawatt-hours of energy stored EnerVault, and Deeya Energy are 40 gigabits per second, and electrons fl ow back and forth, charging [in the electrolyte tanks], but only a working on newer chemistries. consumes one-twentieth the or discharging the battery. Recharging small fraction of the volume is in the Sodium-sulfur batteries have one power of previous e orts while simply means putting in fresh electrolyte; stacks at any instant,” Horne says. “It’s edge over fl ow batteries: They’ve been producing less noise. Solomon to increase the energy storage, you simple to shut o the electrolyte supply.” tested extensively in the fi eld. The Assefa and his colleagues at merely need to make the tanks larger. There are many chemical reactions only manufacturer, Tokyo-based IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Such batteries are already used for around which such a battery can be NGK Insulators, has sodium-sulfur Center, in Yorktown Heights, backup power at factories and cellphone designed, but those involving vanadium storage in Japan capable of producing N.Y., reported on their work in towers. Now manufacturers are and zinc-bromine are the most familiar. 270 MW. Utilities in the United States the 4 March issue of Nature. attracting millions of dollars in venture Vanadium systems have been tied to the have installed 9 MW of capacity, with “The idea is to build all the capital to develop the batteries for grid- grid to reduce peak loads and store wind projects of an equal amount on the way. di erent components we need level systems. The U.S. Department energy, mostly in Japan by Sumitomo However, the advent of the smart to replace copper wires,” Assefa of Energy (DOE) has poured in Electric Industries. In the United States, grid could make these distinctions says. The photodetector “was US $31 million in Recovery Act funds ZBB Energy Corp., in Menomonee moot. Utilities are now looking for a basically the last piece of the mix of energy storage technologies, puzzle.” Niche applications for

Yaw fl ow batteries included. the detectors may come soon, news briefs Pitch “The technology is well understood,” he adds, but it may be as long says Dan Rastler, an energy-storage as 10 years before they can be Three Axes in One Device expert at the Electric Power Research used in high-end computing. Institute. “The biggest challenge is Germanium is attractive To orient themselves properly, smartphones require not just GPS capability but also an electronic compass, an adapting to utility scale and doing because it’s compatible with accelerometer, and increasingly, digital gyroscopes, which complete system integration, which silicon and is already used in can sense changes in an object’s axis of rotation. Up until Roll also involves power electronics and complementary-metal-oxide now, gyroscopes measured movement around the three axes controls.” In the next two to three semiconductor manufacturing. with three sensors—one for pitch, one for yaw, and another for roll. But in February, years, he adds, fl ow-battery technology J.R.C. GARRY But a germanium avalanche STMicroelectronics unveiled a 4- by 4- by 1-millimeter gyroscope whose single sensing structure tracks all three angular motions. The device draws only 6 milliamps; will get plenty of opportunities to photo diode, which amplifi es

two years ago, each one of ST’s single-axis devices drew 5 mA. —Willie D. Jones prove its mettle. —Prachi Patel STMICROELECTRONICS a signal by using an incoming

18 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05U.News.NA.indd 18 4/15/10 11:57 AM A nanometer-wide sheet SMALLEST SUPERCONDUCTOR of four pairs of molecules showed no resistance to electric current at 10 kelvins, according to scientists at Ohio University, in Athens.

charge carriers—both electrons Light at and holes—which reduced the noise by as much as 70 percent. the End of Generally engineers deposit germanium on silicon through epitaxy, but because the two the Chip elements have dierent crystalline IBM’s low-power structures, strain between the germanium materials causes defects. The photodetectors IBM group used a rapid-melting may bring optical growth technique instead. news interconnects to The researchers started with briefs microprocessors a strip of silicon that would later act as a waveguide. On top of Fetching Falls, Wis., and Premium Power Corp., better photodetector that they deposited a thin layer a Piece of in North Reading, Mass., sell trailer- could bring optical of silicon oxynitride that would Heaven A small, severely transportable zinc- bromine systems that data transfer between isolate the silicon from the A damaged spacecraft store megawatt-hours of energy. ZBB computer chips closer to reality, germanium so that the charge named Hayabusa, tested its 2-megawatt-hour system in according to the IBM researchers carriers wouldn’t pass between launched by the California for reducing peak loads in who created the device. Such them in the finished device. They Japan Aerospace 2007, while Premium Power will test an advance could overcome a made a tiny hole in the oxynitride Exploration Agency, is limping back to seven 2.8-MWh systems for three years looming speed limit—the rate at to expose a bit of the underlying Earth with a jury- with DOE-allocated Recovery Act money. which data can move between silicon, then put down a thin rigged ion drive that Many other grid-ready flow-battery a processor’s cores, or from one layer of germanium on top to would have made systems will be on the market within chip to another, over copper wire. GERMANIUM JUXTAPOSED: match the waveguide underneath. Star Trek’s Scotty proud. Already five years. Beijing-based Prudent The detector is built from a IBM integrated nanoscale After adding another layer of germanium-based avalanche seven years into its oxynitride to encapsulate the Energy is likely to be a major player. germanium crystal that amplifies photodetectors on a silicon chip. planned five-year And start-ups such as Primus Power, signals tenfold, operates at IMAGE: IBM germanium, they then heated mission to retrieve EnerVault, and Deeya Energy are 40 gigabits per second, and the whole thing up until the soil samples from an working on newer chemistries. consumes one-twentieth the photon to create a cascade of germanium melted. Because the asteroid, the probe faces one last round Sodium-sulfur batteries have one power of previous eorts while electrons, produces too much germanium was touching the of hazards before edge over flow batteries: They’ve been producing less noise. Solomon noise to dierentiate the signal. In still-unmelted silicon through the its midnight landing tested extensively in the field. The Assefa and his colleagues at 2008, Intel came up with a solution hole, as it cooled, the silicon acted in Australia with only manufacturer, Tokyo-based IBM’s T.J. Watson Research that used a layer of germanium as a crystalline seed, imprinting a sample canister sometime in June. NGK Insulators, has sodium-sulfur Center, in Yorktown Heights, to detect the photons and a layer its structure onto the germanium, Even if the canister storage in Japan capable of producing N.Y., reported on their work in of silicon to do the amplification, which formed a single crystal. turns out to be 270 MW. Utilities in the United States the 4 March issue of Nature. but the sheer size of the device, These are the first detectors empty, the probe will have installed 9 MW of capacity, with “The idea is to build all the about a micrometer thick, limited that can amplify the input tenfold still have brought projects of an equal amount on the way. dierent components we need signal speed to about 10 Gb/s. and work at 40 Gb/s, “which back useful scientific observations, However, the advent of the smart to replace copper wires,” Assefa The IBM team overcame will be extremely important for demonstrated grid could make these distinctions says. The photodetector “was the limits of germanium by on-chip interconnects,” says Franz the technology, moot. Utilities are now looking for a basically the last piece of the controlling the characteristics of Kaertner, an electrical engineer and provided mix of energy storage technologies, puzzle.” Niche applications for electric fields in the device over a at MIT, who was not involved in an inspirational example of ingenuity flow batteries included. the detectors may come soon, distance of just a few nanometers. the project. Though integrated and perseverance. “The technology is well understood,” he adds, but it may be as long They placed a series of tungsten germanium photodetectors have —James Oberg says Dan Rastler, an energy-storage as 10 years before they can be plugs in a thin layer of germanium been demonstrated before, none expert at the Electric Power Research used in high-end computing. and attached lines of copper to performed the amplification in the Institute. “The biggest challenge is Germanium is attractive the plugs. The close spacing of germanium layer itself, and none adapting to utility scale and doing because it’s compatible with the plugs, 200 nanometers apart, operated at such low voltage. “In complete system integration, which silicon and is already used in combined with the thinness of the that context it is unique,” he says. also involves power electronics and S complementary-metal-oxide germanium, 150 nm thick, created The challenge now, he adds, is RONIC controls.” In the next two to three T semiconductor manufacturing. very strong electrical fields in to reduce the current that runs years, he adds, flow-battery technology G J.R.C. But a germanium avalanche the germanium, which sped up through the device in the absence will get plenty of opportunities to ARRY photo diode, which amplifies the electrons. It also narrowed of an input of light, a type of noise

prove its mettle. —Prachi Patel STMICROELEC a signal by using an incoming the range of energies of the called dark current. —Neil Savage

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05U.News.NA.indd 19 4/15/10 11:57 AM 20 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.BigPicture.NA.indd 20 4/13/10 9:31 AM Channel: Geek Life—Tools & Toys

Keywords: Volkswagen, Matchbox car garage

the big picture

VEHICULAR VENDING MACHINE They say that the dierence between men and boys is the size of their toys. Here’s the man-size version of the Matchbox car garage, which turned legions of lads into gearheads. It’s one of two 60-meter- tall glass towers connected by an underground tunnel to Volkswagen’s vehicle production facility in Wolfsburg, Germany. Each tower stores 400 cars. A European car buyer, having chosen to pick up a new vehicle at the factory, can watch as a robotic arm snatches the car from a shelf and brings it to the ground. The car arrives without being driven so much as a meter. PHOTO: SEAN GALLUP/ GETTY IMAGES

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.BigPicture.NA.indd 21 4/13/10 9:31 AM tools & toys

YOUR VERY write, any file or folder. You MIND OVER MATTER can also set up the Pogoplug OWN CLOUD to back up the computers on A $199 headset controls Cloud Engines’ your home network just by objects via brain waves Pogoplug is a $129 specifying the folders. When device that puts up files in those folders change, t was a typical technology product to four storage drives Pogoplug copies them. party—a swank Beverly Hills hotel, on the Internet If you can access your Iloud music, and tiny sausages on data from anywhere, can but not via the Web page Pogoplug 2 sticks. Then partygoers started zooming s wireless Internet others as well? They may be or applications: You, too, Cloud Engines; US $129 around in mind-controlled electric carts. http://www.pogoplug.com connectivity gets able to if you don’t change need to be comfortable with PHOTO: CLOUD ENGINES Yes. Mind-controlled electric carts. A better, cloud storage— the password for the root a Unix terminal interface. The drivers were wearing storing your data “out there,” account, which by default is Changing the Pogoplug’s protection). To be sure, the NeuroSky MindSet headsets. The on Internet servers—seems the same for every Pogoplug. root password from its music-playing interface devices were launched last July, more reasonable. But which Anyone comfortable with settings Web page is a sorely is noticeably bare bones if but they were being introduced at cloud? It seems risky to store a Unix terminal interface needed option. you’re used to the power and this October party as a prelude to all your personal information and a log-in utility like SSH At least you don’t have to flexibility of iTunes. And a possible TV game show where on someone else’s server. The could connect and gain root worry about accessing your for video, your outbound contestants might use their minds company could go bankrupt, bandwidth from home needs to ignite or levitate various objects. get hacked, or leak your data to be excellent, or streaming A show hasn’t materialized yet, but through sheer incompetence. will be unacceptably slow. since the beginning of this year, Then there’s the expense, My home DSL connection NeuroSky’s technology has been used usually in the form of a in Massachusetts wasn’t in toys from Mattel, Roll 7, and Square monthly fee. Meanwhile, up to the task. I was able to Enix. Players use the power of their storage drives are cheap, watch a movie after using minds to float an actual ball through and home networking is some included software perilous mazes, explode on-screen easy. Why not set up your that reprocesses video into objects, or reveal hidden avatars. own cloud? a more streaming-friendly It’s not all fun and games, though. Cloud Engines, a 2007 version, but it takes about a Initially marketed as both a game start-up in San Francisco, day to process a standard- and a meditation tool, the MindSet is has come up with a length motion picture. being deployed in studies that attempt remarkably simple way to Pogoplug does much better to improve the focus of children with do just that. Its Pogoplug 2, with photos—the included attention-deficit, sleep, and post- a box about the size of a software lets you quickly traumatic stress disorders, as well as the Wi-Fi router, connects to REMOTE ACCESS: The create slideshows and share memories of patients with Alzheimer’s Pogoplug [above, in pink] lets your home network with you put photo albums [left] them with anyone. disease. It may soon be used in the an included Ethernet cable. and other files online. Strictly speaking, the automotive and medical industries. Plug one or more storage PHOTO: CLOUD ENGINES Pogoplug isn’t a cloud— The US $199 headset is a simplified drives into its four USB ports, at least, not in the sense that version of an electroencephalograph. register your Pogoplug on device if Cloud Engines goes if your house burned down Scientists have long understood that the company’s Web site, and out of business. A copy of the your data would be safely dierent EEG waves are linked with you’re now o¢cially running Pogoplug’s source code is in in the ether. But if you need dierent mental states: Alpha waves, at a file server. It’s that easy. an escrow account, to become to access your data from 8 to 12 cycles per second, are associated You can access the drives open source in that event. anywhere, the Pogoplug is with a restful, meditative mind, and via your Web browser or access, if the Pogoplug has The Pogoplug does more about as easy as it gets. This beta waves, at 13 to 30 cycles per second, with an application that a routable IP address or if than simple file sharing. You is a file server you could with an alert, engaged mind. Primitive runs on Windows or OS X. it’s on an accessible wireless can be on the other side of direct your parents to, if you biofeedback machines that emit dierent Even better, there’s an network. (Cloud Engines the planet and stream any have files you need to send sounds for each wave have been used iPhone app. By default, files says that SSH will be turned songs, photos, and videos them. In fact, this is a file since the 1970s to help meditators are accessible only to you, o by default in an upcoming that were copied to the server your parents could increase their alpha wave activity. but you can give anyone software update.) You can device (so long as the videos run themselves. The MindSet detects changes in permission to read, and also easily change the password, aren’t encoded with copy —Harry Teasley brain-wave patterns via metal sensors

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05U.Resources.NA.indd 22 4/13/10 9:59 AM Proof #7 LAYOUT FINAL 4/13/10 @ 9:58 am BP NA

MIND OVER MATTER at the front and back of the head and Cart racing is just a start. NeuroSky’s at the earlobes. A chip digitizes and sexiest future app is an actual thought- A $199 headset controls transmits that information wirelessly controlled “smart” car. This is no pipe objects via brain waves via Bluetooth or RFID to a computer or dream, says the company; it’s working PDA, which in turn translates it into with unnamed automakers, although t was a typical technology product commands that go back to the device. not for any mission-critical tasks like party—a swank Beverly Hills hotel, Concentrating on an object or steering. Potential applications include Iloud music, and tiny sausages on thought produces dierent patterns of mental control of the car’s temperature Pogoplug 2 sticks. Then partygoers started zooming brain waves; after the headset calibrates and song selection. Cloud Engines; US $129 around in mind-controlled electric carts. EEGs are normally taken in quiet, http://www.pogoplug.com PHOTO: CLOUD ENGINES Yes. Mind-controlled electric carts. low-lit labs with minimal electro- The drivers were wearing magnetic noise that can interfere with protection). To be sure, the NeuroSky MindSet headsets. The getting a clear signal. NeuroSky has music-playing interface devices were launched last July, already developed electronic filters is noticeably bare bones if but they were being introduced at that cancel out electronic signals you’re used to the power and this October party as a prelude to from light, muscle movement, and the flexibility of iTunes. And a possible TV game show where surrounding environment. The San for video, your outbound contestants might use their minds Jose, Calif.–based company now must bandwidth from home needs to ignite or levitate various objects. adapt those filters to cars so they pass to be excellent, or streaming A show hasn’t materialized yet, but safety certifications. will be unacceptably slow. since the beginning of this year, “We’ve also had inquires from My home DSL connection NeuroSky’s technology has been used cellphone companies,” says CEO in Massachusetts wasn’t in toys from Mattel, Roll 7, and Square Stanley Yang, who was born in Taiwan up to the task. I was able to Enix. Players use the power of their and earned an EE degree from the watch a movie after using minds to float an actual ball through University of California, Berkeley, some included software perilous mazes, explode on-screen in 1986. “They are interested in the that reprocesses video into objects, or reveal hidden avatars. levels of distraction caused by using a a more streaming-friendly It’s not all fun and games, though. cellphone while driving.” version, but it takes about a Initially marketed as both a game The big bucks may lie in the video- day to process a standard- and a meditation tool, the MindSet is game industry, though probably not length motion picture. being deployed in studies that attempt right away. Last year a San Francisco Pogoplug does much better to improve the focus of children with company, Emotiv Systems, launched with photos—the included attention-deficit, sleep, and post- a $300 headset for computer-based software lets you quickly traumatic stress disorders, as well as the games; its 14 saline sensors also read create slideshows and share memories of patients with Alzheimer’s brain waves that correlate to your them with anyone. disease. It may soon be used in the facial expressions. IEEE Spectrum Strictly speaking, the automotive and medical industries. reviewed the device in January 2009 Pogoplug isn’t a cloud— The US $199 headset is a simplified and found it wanting. at least, not in the sense that version of an electroencephalograph. For its part, NeuroSky is working if your house burned down Scientists have long understood that with several game platforms on a suite your data would be safely dierent EEG waves are linked with of mind-controlled console games. in the ether. But if you need dierent mental states: Alpha waves, at MIND THE GAP: MindSet wearers can control The company also anticipates that to access your data from 8 to 12 cycles per second, are associated games and race carts using brain waves. developers will release mind-game PHOTOS: TOP: NEUROSKY; BOTTOM: COURTESY OF “THE DOCTORS” anywhere, the Pogoplug is with a restful, meditative mind, and AND CBS TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION iPhone apps by August. about as easy as it gets. This beta waves, at 13 to 30 cycles per second, “We’re expecting this approach to is a file server you could with an alert, engaged mind. Primitive itself to the individual, its algorithms be a game changer—no pun intended— direct your parents to, if you biofeedback machines that emit dierent detect those characteristic patterns. by taking interactivity to a new level in have files you need to send sounds for each wave have been used As the electric cart drivers, for example, that industry,” says NeuroSky marketing them. In fact, this is a file since the 1970s to help meditators increased their focus on a point ahead director Tansy Brook. “Imagine actually server your parents could increase their alpha wave activity. or thought of moving forward, the carts being able to cast a spell or kill a monster run themselves. The MindSet detects changes in moved faster in a straight line. The first using just your thoughts. Harry Potter —Harry Teasley brain-wave patterns via metal sensors person to reach the finish line won. would be proud.” —Susan Karlin

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05U.Resources.NA.indd 23 4/13/10 9:59 AM education careers

and engineering, such as That was never a problem 12 hours a week with industry Making Engineers quantum mechanics and for Gordon himself. The mentors and on in-class nano technology, require MIT-trained electrical exercises that develop Smart—and Savvy faculty with stronger engineer developed the first initiative, responsibility, A new MIT leader- scientific backgrounds, fetal heart monitor and some decision making in the face ship program grafts and the new hires have of the earliest high-speed of uncertainty, negotiation, social skills onto come at the expense of analog-to-digital converters. advocacy, and ethics. One problem solvers practicing engineers. That He founded and led Analogic example: creating and trend has drained the Corp., an airport security executing a team plan to universities of role models. and medical imaging firm in move a (mock) radioactive ushed by an entre- Meanwhile, social media Peabody, Mass., and more object from one side of a room preneurial alumnus, have an egalitarian eect recently founded the medical to another without touching PMIT is determined to that’s transforming the imaging firm NeuroLogica it. Less intensive versions of retire the stereotype of the way organizations operate. Corp., in Danvers, Mass. the course are available to anti social engineer. “Today’s students tend to The money he gave MIT other students. Come June, the Bernard do things by consensus to start the leadership Ultimately, Gordon, M. Gordon–MIT Engineering Crawley, and Schindall hope Leadership Program will MIT can inspire such training graduate its first class. The at other universities, leading program is designed to give to more competitive products budding engineers skills that and the United States’ go beyond the technical—risk regaining its technical edge. assessment, decision making, Gordon has also started simi- interpersonal relations, lar programs at the Technion– IT’S LONELIER AT THE TOP resourcefulness, and flex- Israel Institute of Technology, ibility. Gordon, a successful in Haifa; the University of Seven percent of engineering managers are inventor, made it all possible California, San Diego; and women, but things are looking up by donating US $20 million. Tufts and Northeastern uni- “Bernard’s complaint— versities, in Massachusetts. etty Shanahan shared by many industry Even before the first class remembers often being professionals—is that departs for the world of work, B the only woman in engineering students he’s the students have become a meeting room. Someone hired from top colleges have more eective, fulfilled, would curse and then been very smart and can solve and mature. “Reports from immediately look at her and di¢cult problems but don’t THE DECIDERS: A new engineering leadership program at MIT teaches employers with whom say, “Sorry, Betty.” “They risk assessment, flexibility, and decision making. PHOTO: BRUCE MENDELSOHN have the perspective and students interned this past were doing it as a nice street smarts needed to solve summer were staggering,” gesture,” says Shanahan, now customers’ problems, bring and don’t appreciate the program is but a fraction of Schindall says. “One student, the executive director of the in a project on budget and strengths of a hierarchical some $300 million he has whose company raved Society of Women Engineers, on schedule, and motivate system for deciding things,” committed to philanthropic about the new idea that she in Chicago. “But the subtle others,” says Joel Schindall, says Schindall. “You’re and charitable causes. proposed and implemented, message is ‘Oh, I can’t swear an MIT professor of electrical deemed too bossy if you try Before the program rolled told us that without this pro- because Betty’s here.’ ” It’s a engineering. Schindall, who to direct things. But projects out in September of 2008 gram, she wouldn’t have had trivial example, she admits, has a 35-year aerospace go downhill because [the with an initial class of 16 (to be the courage to speak up about but add up enough incidents H

and telecommunications students] haven’t organized expanded to 30) competitively her ideas.” —Susan Karlin UGH KRE like this one and it says you industry background, runs them well.” The result is an chosen juniors, Gordon, don’t belong.

the program with Edward entire generation of managers Crawley, and Schindall spent TO PROBE FURTHER TS For women, leadership C Crawley, a professor of who don’t know how to a year honing the curriculum For more information about HM E roles in engineering can be aeronautics, astronautics, get the most out of their with the help of professionals the Bernard M. Gordon– R/GETTY I isolating. The U.S. numbers and engineering systems. engineers and engineers who from industry, academia, and MIT Engineering Leadership are typical—and daunting. Schindall says that don’t know how to make their the military. The students, Program, see http://mit.edu/ MAG Female undergraduate new areas of physics innovative voices heard. now seniors, spend roughly gordonelp. ES engineering majors are

24 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05U.Resources.NA.indd 24 4/13/10 9:59 AM careers

12 hours a week with industry engineering firms, because pay attention to what you mentors and on in-class EE lags other engineering have to say. “If you’re one exercises that develop disciplines when it comes to of three or four women out initiative, responsibility, recruiting women. of a hundred, then people decision making in the face Even other women in recognize you,” she says. of uncertainty, negotiation, the workplace can have “I look at it as an opportunity advocacy, and ethics. One an unconscious bias, to make my voice heard.” example: creating and believing that managers It’s not only companies executing a team plan to and executives should be that are changing, but also move a (mock) radioactive stereotypically masculine: husbands. They’re much object from one side of a room aggressive, dominating, more willing to see their to another without touching and decisive. The belief in wives take on big jobs out- it. Less intensive versions of the corresponding female side the home. Chris Coon the course are available to stereotype—that women says that when she was pro- other students. are collaborative, nurturing, moted to a vice president Ultimately, Gordon, and team oriented—starts position in national opera- Crawley, and Schindall hope at an early age, according to tions at Denver-based Qwest MIT can inspire such training Pat Heim, CEO of the Pacific Communications, her hus- at other universities, leading Palisades, Calif., consulting band took early retirement. to more competitive products firm The Heim Group and Technology helps, too. and the United States’ an expert on gender issues Running a meeting or regaining its technical edge. in the workplace. As a making a presentation Gordon has also started simi- result, Heim says, men are remotely is now easier, as lar programs at the Technion– IT’S LONELIER AT THE TOP comfortable with hierarchy is staying home with a sick Israel Institute of Technology, and know where they fit, child or watching a kid’s in Haifa; the University of Seven percent of engineering managers are while women want to share soccer match—BlackBerry California, San Diego; and women, but things are looking up power equally. in hand, of course. Both men Tufts and Northeastern uni- Not that there’s and women have benefited versities, in Massachusetts. etty Shanahan outnumbered by men four anything wrong with that, from that, Coon says. Even before the first class remembers often being to one. When they join the says Sharon Nunes, vice Another surprising boon departs for the world of work, B the only woman in workplace, the ratio gets only president of IBM’s Big for women engineering the students have become a meeting room. Someone more dismal: 9:1. Move up Green Innovations program. managers could be the free more eective, fulfilled, would curse and then the ladder into management Most women engineers market’s obsession with and mature. “Reports from immediately look at her and and it’s 14:1. Yes, according she knows do in fact fit the share prices. Catalyst, a New employers with whom say, “Sorry, Betty.” “They to the U.S. Bureau of Labor stereotype. “They’re much York City–based nonprofit students interned this past were doing it as a nice Statistics, in 2006 just more collaborative—let’s aimed at advancing women summer were staggering,” gesture,” says Shanahan, now 7 percent of engineering figure out a way to do this so in business, recently ranked Schindall says. “One student, the executive director of the managers were women. And that everybody wins,” she Fortune 500 companies by whose company raved Society of Women Engineers, although ever more women says. Even five years ago, participation of women in about the new idea that she in Chicago. “But the subtle are becoming engineers, it management style was much top management levels and proposed and implemented, message is ‘Oh, I can’t swear will take years for them to more “top-down, military,” found that the more diverse told us that without this pro- because Betty’s here.’ ” It’s a rise through the ranks. where bosses made decisions those circles, the better the gram, she wouldn’t have had trivial example, she admits, It’s not that males treat and gave orders. “Corporate company’s financial results. the courage to speak up about but add up enough incidents their female peers with America is much more about Shanahan of the Society H her ideas.” —Susan Karlin UGH KRE like this one and it says you less respect than they do collaboration these days,” of Women Engineers says don’t belong. colleagues of their own she says. The result is that the dierence isn’t just

TO PROBE FURTHER TS For women, leadership gender, says Shanahan; women are more welcome in ﬁnancial. “Particularly in C For more information about HM E roles in engineering can be you just happen to be executive circles. engineering, you get better the Bernard M. Gordon– R/GETTY I isolating. The U.S. numbers dierent from everybody Besides, Nunes says, results if you have diversity,” MIT Engineering Leadership are typical—and daunting. else and can feel out of place. being dierent can also be she says. “You make better Program, see http://mit.edu/ MAG Female undergraduate The comparison is more a good thing. People will products, you make better ES gordonelp. engineering majors are pronounced in electrical ask for your feedback and decisions.” —Prachi Patel

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • I EEE SPECTRUM • NA 25

05U.Resources.NA.indd 25 4/13/10 9:59 AM books

hosted by Magueijo, for the Poincaré (1854–1912)—are Science Channel.) outlined sparingly and in Two Beautiful Minds, From its first pages, soft focus. So the chapters Darkness grabs the reader that discuss Soviet-era One Perfectly Rendered with the grand mystery mathematics as a kind of at its core—that strange ersatz samizdat for would-be A new biography of geometry genius night in 1938. It’s no spoiler dissidents oer no fascinating Grigory Perelman is enjoyable, but not to say that it never finds a historical digressions but as successful as one of unheralded definitive answer; merely teasers physicist Ettore Majorana Magueijo captivates that leave a reader the reader by yearning for more. n the evening of New biographies of these navigating the tale’s As a nonmathema- 26 March, 1938, a renegade “beautiful minds” historical, scientific, tician, I came away Oyoung Italian nuclear are now on bookshelves. and biographical with an unsatis- physicist boarded a ferry in Like their subjects, both currents—at turns fied curiosity about Palermo, Sicily. At the time, books are idiosyncratic. contemplative and the very thing that Ettore Majorana—a working A Brilliant Darkness: brooding like its makes Perelman fit colleague of nuclear pioneer The Extraordinary Life and subject, acerbic and for a biography: the Enrico Fermi, a friend Mysterious Disappearance of cheeky like its author. Perfect Rigor: A mathematical bril- to uncertainty principle Ettore Majorana, the Troubled Not so Genius and the liance of his proof. Mathematical developer Werner Heisenberg, Genius of the Nuclear Age surprisingly for Breakthrough To be sure, and an undisputed genius by João Magueijo, in fact, people working of the Century Gessen elegantly in his own right—seemed carves out its own subgenre. in such highly By Masha Gessen; sets the stage, poised to shake up or even Rarely can the phrases abstract fields, Houghton Miin revealing revolutionize physics. Instead, “page- turning mystery” and both biographical Harcourt, 2009; 256 pp.; the Poincaré US $26.00; ISBN: 978- he was never heard from “creative introduction to subjects suered 0-15-101406-4 conjecture’s lin- again. Some believe Majorana modern physics” be uttered from personality eage from Euclid committed suicide. Others about the same tome. Part disorders that probably put to modern-day topology. But suspect he slipped away to thriller, part biography, them somewhere on the even here, there’s not a sin- start a new life elsewhere. part history, part scientific autism spectrum. Rendering gle diagram or illustration to Less eerily but primer, Darkness such characters sympathetic help make sense of the many no less strangely, is a remarkable is no easy task. But Magueijo abstruse (but still geomet- in December 2005, book because makes Majorana, as well rical!) underlying concepts. Russian mathe- of Majorana’s as the physics he pioneered, Ultimately, I learned more matician Grigory singular nature approachable and engaging. about the Poincaré proof Perelman quit his and incredible In Perfect Rigor: A from a Wikipedia entry. job at the Steklov story, but also Genius and the Mathematical Near the end of Perfect Mathematical because Magueijo Breakthrough of the Century, Rigor, mathematician Jim Institute in St. is a superb story- author Masha Gessen Carlson addresses the book’s Petersburg. The teller and, as does not similarly succeed. author about Perelman’s A Brilliant preeminent genius a theoretical Although her subject never oftentimes murky proofs. Darkness: The who two years Extraordinary physicist at gave her an interview, she “There were many methods earlier proved the Life and Imperial College clearly talked with nearly and ideas,” Carlson says. “It’s Poincaré conjecture, Mysterious London, an ideal everyone else in his puzzling always hard to communicate one of the greatest Disappearance biographer of life, and her reconstruction of these to a general audience, of Ettore problems in math- Majorana, Majorana. (In Perelman makes Perfect Rigor but I hope you can do that ematics, simply the Troubled the interest of an enjoyable narrative. But when you write your book.” stopped working. Genius of the full disclosure, all too often she skips over In the final analysis, He reportedly hasn’t Nuclear Age this reviewer the mathematics in favor of A Brilliant Darkness fulfills By João Magueijo; Basic done any math since once worked on gumshoe reporting. Carlson’s conjecture, while Books, 2009; 280 pp.; and today lives with US $27.50, ISBN: 978-0- a television pilot Core subjects—topology, Perfect Rigor does not. his mother. 465-00903-9 about cosmology geometry, and Jules Henri —Mark Anderson

26 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05U.Resources.NA.indd 26 4/13/10 9:59 AM reﬂections BY ROBERT W. LUCKY The Ephemeral Now

ight now, things are happening How the world has changed! In the going viral? What are the instant polls out there. I know, because I can few moments since you began reading telling us? What trends are appearing? Rhear the buzz of terabytes in the this, terabytes have flowed across Which individuals seem to be the ether. If I listen closely, I can hear the the global grid. If we listen we can opinion leaders at this moment? singing of flying tweets, and if I squint hear the cries from the void, the tears Governments can look for signs I can see the haze of raging blogs. There and laughter, the sorrows and the of impending revolution and social is a melody and a dance there that I joys. All that noise can be processed unrest. Companies can track the real- might discern, and if I could, I would and distilled, and we can search for time popularity of their products know what is happening right now. keywords and phrases and apply and learn where their brands are I confess that I used to be weakest. Analysts can use a futurist. I would predict query behavior as a leading things, and people would indicator of home sales. Social sometimes pay attention as experiments can be conducted if I really knew something by changing a few HTML codes. about what would happen As the evanescent “now” in technology. I was seldom slides by and becomes the right. But in the futurism recent past, all this distillation business you’re rarely found out, is available for instant retrieval because by the time the future and response. The feedback loop arrives, people have forgotten gets tighter and tighter and the your misguided predictions. delay in the system gets ever Still, I gave up on futurism. shorter. As engineers, we should Talking about the past, when be leery, perhaps, knowing what you’ve lived there as a kind of can happen to systems with technological Forrest Gump, is feedback as the gain is increased. a lot more legitimate and easier. But here we are dealing with an However, through the immensely complicated system. years I have gradually come Some even believe that a “global to appreciate that the really brain” is evolving, in which we important predictions are individuals serve merely as about the present. What is neurons with no comprehension happening right now, and of what the brain itself is what is its significance? The thinking. Some praise this Internet’s progression from amassed heterogeneous input as static to streaming—and the “wisdom of crowds,” while solitary to social—has not only others warn of a dangerous, made predicting the present ever-growing herd mentality. possible, it has redefined More than half of all U.S. the whole concept of what Web users are on Facebook, we mean by “right now.” for example, and they spend A century ago, “now” lasted about a tools such as automated sentiment an average of 7 hours a month on the week. There was a lot of lag in the system. and social-network analysis. We can site. The connectivity of the global More recently, but before the Internet, analyze query data and track locations network, its speed, and its instantaneous we were content with one or two daily in real time. We can study patterns and nature continue to increase. updates from the morning newspaper look for correlations. It’s an immense I’ve just been checking on some or the evening news. Paradoxically, trash pile, but there’s a pony in there of the Web sites that monitor what’s our world of technology was even somewhere—lots of them, in fact. happening out there. So I know exactly slower—our leading magazines and What subjects are being discussed what is happening right now. Oops! That

DAN PAGE journals were often a year behind, and most frequently? How is Twitter knowledge just slipped into the past. I no even word of mouth from meetings feeling today? What Web links are longer know what is happening now. Just and conferences lagged by months. particularly busy? What videos are give me a minute here... J

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPE CTRUM • NA 27

05.Reflections.v2.NA.indd 27 4/13/10 4:31 PM A long time ago, in a suburb far, far away...

28 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MA Y 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 28 4/15/10 12:03 PM SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • I EEE SPECTRUM • NA 29

05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 29 4/15/10 12:03 PM AVOID BLINDING YOUR GUESTS! Spend a few thousand dollars on a near-infrared fiber laser operating at 1570 nanometers, which won’t harm the human retina. Or find an ultraviolet laser (but avoid the 266-nm wavelength, which can cause cataracts with prolonged exposure). Or use a nice, cheap SSY-1 flashlamp-pumped neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser. And make your barbecue 30 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MA Y 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG guests wear FDA-approved safety goggles.

05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 30 4/15/10 12:03 PM SPOT THE SKEETER using a video camera with a resolution high enough for the creature to occupy at least one pixel. At least 1.3 megapixels will do it.

RECOGNIZE THE INSECT for the blood-sucking little demon it is. Check for clear YOU’LL NEED pixels all around it, and ignore 50 MILLIJOULES anything ﬂying faster or slower or more in your laser pulse, than a mosquito. delivered within a few milliseconds, to fatally injure a typical malaria- carrying mosquito species.

AVOID BLINDING YOUR GUESTS! Spend a few thousand dollars on a near-infrared fiber laser operating at 1570 nanometers, which won’t harm the human retina. Or find an ultraviolet laser (but avoid the 266-nm wavelength, which can cause cataracts with prolonged exposure). Or use a nice, cheap SSY-1 flashlamp-pumped neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser. And make your barbecue SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG guests wear FDA-approved safety goggles.

05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 31 4/15/10 12:03 PM coverage fence (two at the top do this by selecting a rectangular CHOOSE and two at the bottom facing “region of interest.” Using less YOUR WEAPON the two adjacent fence posts— than the full frame may also let Why build a fence? You could see “Spot the Skeeter”). The you increase the frame rate. try to lure bugs to one spot cameras don’t have to be sharp Next you need to get all and kill them, but more will enough to take a good photo of those pixels into a computer. Not THE IDEA OF BUILDING a high-tech just keep arriving. For all a mosquito many meters away, only do you need a high data rate defense against disease-carrying pests had come up in practical intents, the supply of but they should have a resolu- but also low latency—as little discussions that Myhrvold and Wood had been having mosquitoes is infinite. tion high enough so that a dis- delay as possible between the with Bill Gates, who was Myhrvold’s boss when he You could build a system that tant insect will at least fill up moment the pixels are captured was chief technology ocer at Microsoft in the 1990s. scans your entire yard for bugs. most of one pixel. If the bug and when they’re available for But as any infantryman knows, occupies several pixels in the processing. USB connections Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates the first step in defense is to frame, that’s even better, as this are probably too slow; we’ve has been trying to improve living conditions in some of establish a perimeter; it’s much will allow you to find its center. found that IEEE 1394 (FireWire) the world’s poorest countries and in particular to come more eective (and safer) to or gigabit Ethernet interfaces up with ways to eradicate malaria, a mosquito-borne concentrate your firepower work fine. (Best of all would disease that sickens about a quarter billion people a year in a narrow zone. Mosquitoes be to create a custom image- and kills nearly a million annually, including roughly 2000 generally don’t spend their processing chip and integrate whole lives in your backyard, it directly into the camera. But children a day (see Web-only sidebar, “New Techniques unless you live in a swamp. that’s a dierent project.) Against a Tenacious Disease”). They fly back and forth from Mosquitoes are dark and Wood, a veteran of advanced weapons development their breeding grounds, so to typically fly at dusk, so they’re at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California, get to you they have to cross hard to see by reflected light. your laser-guarded perimeter. A LIGHTS, CAMERA... Here’s It’s much easier to pick out their and one of the scientists behind the Strategic Defense some of the equipment needed few may fly over the fence, but silhouettes against a bright Initiative (otherwise known as “Star Wars”), had to image a tiny bloodsucker flying not many. The average flying at up to 1 meter per second. background. Fortunately, in suggested trying a similarly high-tech approach against altitude varies among mosquito a fence, we can use one post malarial mosquitoes—to take advantage of inexpensive, species but is usually only about A 1.3-megapixel (1280- by 1024- as the background, as seen low-power sensors and computers to somehow track 2 meters. They will fly over pixel) camera turned sideways from the next post in line. individual mosquitoes and shoot them out of the air. If it obstacles when necessary—even can cover a 4-meter-high fence Put a light source next to could be done cheaply enough, this might oer the first into an upper-story window— post with pixels 3 millimeters on each camera and aim both but if your virtual fence is 3 to 5 a side. If you’re economizing, you the light and the camera at an really new way in many years to combat malaria, as well meters high, it can catch almost could even try VGA-resolution adjacent fence post. Cover the as other diseases transmitted by flying insects, such as all mosquitoes that fly by. (640- by 480-pixel) cameras. target post with retroreflective West Nile virus and dengue fever. Of course, there are any num- The speed of your cameras tape, which will reflect the Hyde and I had worked with Wood at Livermore. Hyde ber of ways to build a fencelike matters as much as the incoming light directly back now manages Intellectual Ventures’ stable of sta and barrier. You could detect mosqui- resolution. It’s no good if the bug toward the camera, much as a toes acoustically, with radar, or is already through the fence by highway sign does. We often consulting inventors, and he assigned me the challenge with ultrasonic sonar. You could the time your system registers its use 3M’s Diamond Scotchlite of making the idea work—or showing why it couldn’t. shoot them down with tiny bul- presence. Mosquitoes fly up to a material, which reflects 3000 Three years later, my colleagues and I at Intellectual lets, break them apart with sonic meter per second, so if the active times as much light back Ventures have now worked out many of the trickiest pulses, or cook them with micro- zone is 10 centimeters wide, the toward the source as a matte aspects of the photonic fence and have constructed waves. We considered these and frame rate must be more than white surface does. Other prototypes that can indeed identify mosquitoes from many other possibilities, but it’s 10 frames per second. Standard “safety marker” retror eflective hard to beat the range, precision, video cameras supply 30 frames materials should work too. many meters away, track the bugs in flight, and hit and literally lightning-fast per second, but the frames are Single-color LEDs or diode them with debilitating blasts of laser fire. And we response of optics. Good digital interlaced—odd and even rows lasers are good choices for the did it without a multimillion-dollar grant from some cameras and powerful diode of pixels are delivered separately, light source, because you can put 1 national Department of Entomological Defense. Nearly lasers are relatively aordable /60 second apart—which will a filter on your camera to block everything we used can be purchased from standard and easy to find. So for us, pho- make it hard to follow a small out stray visible light from the tonic technology is the way to go. moving object. So you’ll want sun or nearby lamps. Infrared electronics retailers or online auction sites. to use noninterlaced cameras, LEDs work better if you’d rather

In fact, for a few thousand dollars, a reasonably or at least units on which you RYAN SMITH/ I not attract insects, pets, or skilled engineer (such as a typical IEEE Spectrum reader) can disable the interlacing. curious children to your fence; if could probably assemble a version of our fence to shield GETTING A You’re interested only in a you prefer a high-tech look, you backyard barbecue parties from voracious mosquitoes. We BUG IN THE narrow vertical strip of image, less NTELLECTUAL VENTU RES can use red LEDs. You can add therefore present the following how-to guide to building a than 100 pixels wide, so you can lenses or reﬂectors to focus the

CROSSHAIRS drastically cut down the amount VENTU RES NTELLECTUAL light at the target post, so that photonic bug killer, in ﬁve parts: selecting an appropriate To detect mosquitoes, you’ll of data your cameras produce if as little is wasted as possible. weapon, spotting the bugs, distinguishing friends from foes, need several video cameras— you capture only that strip. Many Now that you have streaming

getting a pest in your sights, and ﬁnally shooting to kill. four per fence post for a full- digital video cameras allow you to SMITH/ I RYAN video of bug shadows, the next

32 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MA Y 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 32 4/15/10 12:03 PM coverage fence (two at the top do this by selecting a rectangular step is to track the bogies. In Simple filters such as these galvo and the mirror will rotate and two at the bottom facing “region of interest.” Using less simplest form, this just means may be su¬cient for backyard by an amount proportional to the two adjacent fence posts— than the full frame may also let generating a list of darker-than- use. Although you don’t want the current. A built-in encoder see “Spot the Skeeter”). The you increase the frame rate. usual pixels and grouping sets of to wipe out beneficial insects feeds back the mirror position for cameras don’t have to be sharp Next you need to get all adjacent dark pixels into objects. wholesale, it is probably okay closed-loop control. Individual enough to take a good photo of those pixels into a computer. Not More sophisticated software to shoot gnats, flies, and small galvos are often mounted in a mosquito many meters away, only do you need a high data rate might calculate the geometric moths that attempt to crash pairs to provide x-y motion. but they should have a resolu- but also low latency—as little center, or centroid, for each object, your barbecue. Certainly the High-quality galvos are tion high enough so that a dis- delay as possible between the to achieve much better than fence will inflict no more damage carefully matched to their drive tant insect will at least fill up moment the pixels are captured single-pixel accuracy, or it could on the local ecology than an circuits and tuned by the man- most of one pixel. If the bug and when they’re available for match up objects from one frame insecticide spray or an electric ufacturer to provide maximum occupies several pixels in the processing. USB connections to the next, thus generating bug zapper. For large-scale speed without overshoot or frame, that’s even better, as this are probably too slow; we’ve flight paths and measuring malaria control, though, we oscillation. They can be expen- will allow you to find its center. found that IEEE 1394 (FireWire) velocity. Extrapolate a track need to be more selective (and sive: The Scanlab units we use— or gigabit Ethernet interfaces into the future and you can even more energy e¬cient), and so designed for laser marking and work fine. (Best of all would predict where an insect will be— we have one more filter: We micro machining systems—cost be to create a custom image- at least until its next zig or zag. check how fast an insect beats upward of US $10 000 new. We processing chip and integrate If you have more than one its wings (see Web-only sidebar, managed to find some at an it directly into the camera. But camera looking at the same “Hold Your Fire Until You Hear online industrial auction for that’s a dierent project.) target area, you can experiment the Beat of Their Wings”). This about $500 each (although we Mosquitoes are dark and with stereo imaging to estimate allows us not only to accurately then had to buy a controller card typically fly at dusk, so they’re the range of each insect. The identify the mosquitoes but also for close to $2000). But lower- hard to see by reflected light. OpenCV software library (http:// to tell in a split second whether cost galvos, designed for laser LIGHTS, CAMERA... Here’s It’s much easier to pick out their opencv.willowgarage.com) they’re male or female. That light shows, are widely available. some of the equipment needed silhouettes against a bright has many prebuilt functions way we can conserve power by You can also experiment to image a tiny bloodsucker flying at up to 1 meter per second. background. Fortunately, in for tracking and ranging. sparing the lives of the males, with other beam- deflecting a fence, we can use one post which do not suck blood. techniques. Acousto-optic A 1.3-megapixel (1280- by 1024- as the background, as seen modulators deflect narrow pixel) camera turned sideways from the next post in line. laser beams over small angles can cover a 4-meter-high fence Put a light source next to WHO FLIES (up to a few degrees) at high post with pixels 3 millimeters on each camera and aim both READY, AIM… speed. Yet another approach a side. If you’re economizing, you the light and the camera at an THERE—FRIEND An insect has now wandered, is to rotate a pair of prisms could even try VGA-resolution adjacent fence post. Cover the OR FOE? unsuspecting, into the forbidden relative to one another. (640- by 480-pixel) cameras. target post with retroreflective Let’s assume you don’t want to zone, and your program has Whatever strategy you The speed of your cameras tape, which will reflect the shoot down bumblebees, scare decided it’s a bad bug. It’s time choose, keep in mind that the matters as much as the incoming light directly back o hummingbirds, or freak to point your resolution. It’s no good if the bug toward the camera, much as a out the neighbor’s cat while death ray at it. is already through the fence by highway sign does. We often annihilating mosquitoes. How How fast and the time your system registers its use 3M’s Diamond Scotchlite do you pick out the pests? The accurate your presence. Mosquitoes fly up to a material, which reflects 3000 first test is size: Anything bigger aiming system meter per second, so if the active times as much light back than, say, 2 centimeters is not needs to be, and zone is 10 centimeters wide, the toward the source as a matte a mosquito (except perhaps in how large your frame rate must be more than white surface does. Other Minnesota, where the mosquito killing pulse is, A PEST’S LAST MOMENTS: The laser pulse [purple dot] induces an instant case of “heatstroke” 10 frames per second. Standard “safety marker” retror eflective is reputed to be the state bird). will depend on that causes the critter to burn and crash. video cameras supply 30 frames materials should work too. Another useful check is the geometry of per second, but the frames are Single-color LEDs or diode whether the target is isolated, your fence. As interlaced—odd and even rows lasers are good choices for the with clear pixels on all sides. This an example, if you want to be laws of diraction will limit of pixels are delivered separately, light source, because you can put test will rule out fingers, tree able to place a lethal pulse of how well you can focus your 1 /60 second apart—which will a filter on your camera to block branches, or other objects that energy anywhere within a target killing laser. So the smaller the make it hard to follow a small out stray visible light from the are thin but long. It should also zone that’s 4 meters high and spot you want to produce, the moving object. So you’ll want sun or nearby lamps. Infrared prevent your fence from shooting 10 centimeters wide (at a distance wider the beam must be before to use noninterlaced cameras, LEDs work better if you’d rather at anything that’s too close to a of 10 meters), then your beam it enters the focusing optics. or at least units on which you RYAN SMITH/ I not attract insects, pets, or large object, like your neighbor. must be able to swing 22 degrees If, for example, your kill can disable the interlacing. curious children to your fence; if You may want to tune your up and down and about half laser is an 808-nanometer You’re interested only in a you prefer a high-tech look, you system to reject things flying too a degree from left to right. infrared laser diode (with a narrow vertical strip of image, less NTELLECTUAL VENTU RES can use red LEDs. You can add fast (any more than 1 meter per The most common way to high- quality single-mode than 100 pixels wide, so you can lenses or reflectors to focus the second, unless there’s a breeze) steer a laser beam is to use beam), then a 4-mm-wide beam

drastically cut down the amount VENTU RES NTELLECTUAL light at the target post, so that or too slow. And anything galvanometers. A galvo is will remain nearly constant in of data your cameras produce if as little is wasted as possible. moving vertically downward is essentially a simple motor with diameter over 10 meters and you capture only that strip. Many Now that you have streaming more likely to be a raindrop or a mirror mounted on the shaft. will illuminate a 4-mm spot on

digital video cameras allow you to SMITH/ I RYAN video of bug shadows, the next a falling leaf than a mosquito. Drive a current through the Continued on page 52

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • I EEE SPECTRUM • NA 33

05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 33 4/15/10 12:03 PM If your camera can’t see your laser pixel will need slightly di erent laser-beam actually die of. Let’s call it heatstroke. Backyard Star Wars wavelength, you’ll need a way to fi nd where pointing, depending on how far away it is. We’ve shot high-speed video of Continued from page 33 the laser is pointed, such as an infrared- I mentioned stereo imagery above as one mosquitoes being zapped with 50 to 100 mJ sensitive card, and mark the spot in a way way to fi nd the range to bug; astute readers of light and found that although they keep the far fence post. But if you want to focus the camera can see. A little algebra will will no doubt think of other approaches. fl apping their wings, they lose attitude that beam on a 1-mm spot at 10 meters or give you the o sets and scale factors you control and fall out of the sky. Boost the on 4 mm at 40 meters, you’ll need to start need to point your laser accurately. energy further and wings burn through with a beam that’s 16 mm in diameter. Usually, though, life won’t be so simple. or fall o , bodies emit pu s of steam, legs In any case, you’ll need a beam expander Either your camera or your pointing system BLAST ’EM! and antennae char, and so forth. Yes, it is a to enlarge the narrow beam produced by may be nonlinear; for instance, many camera Now comes the fun part: zapping the waste of laser energy, but revenge is sweet. your laser, as well as galvo mirrors or other lenses have “pincushion” or “barrel” distortion, nasty little things. How much of a wallop For a backyard system, the safest route aiming optics big enough to accommodate which is really a change in magnifi cation with should your laser pack? We’ve yet to would be to insist on “eye-safe” lasers, the beam. Or you can defl ect the beam fi rst, the angle. You can measure the distortion fi nd an engineering handbook—or even which emit wavelengths that the eye will then magnify it, which means you’d need by pointing your camera at a calibration a paper in the entomological literature— not focus onto the retina. Alas, there are to trade smaller galvo mirrors for bigger grid and noting the nonlinearities. Or you that specifi es the energy that’s lethal to few inexpensive high-power lasers at eye- (but stationary) lenses. In our test system, can just move the beam a few more points, mosquitoes. Certainly it must be less than safe wavelengths, other than carbon dioxide the large output lens is actually a low- make a table of galvo input versus pixel about 2 joules, because that’s enough to lasers, whose wavelengths are so long power telescope, which doubles the beam position, and let your software interpolate boil the water inside a 1-milligram bug. (10.6 micrometers) that they require very large diameter (see photo, “Lights, Camera...”). between table entries. It’s worth the time So we at the Intellectual Ventures optics to focus over any distance. We have For the simplest aiming system, use a to set up an e¬ cient alignment process, laboratory have undertaken the world’s used an eye-safe near-infrared fi ber laser dichroic (wavelength-selective) beam splitter though, because you’ll have to calibrate largest e ort to discover what it takes to kill operating at 1570 nm to kill mosquitoes, but and arrange the camera and galvo so they each camera, and you’ll need to recalibrate a mosquito using various wavelengths, pulse even with diligent bargain hunting at surplus share a common optical center. Then you don’t each time you change your optics or move a lengths, and fl uxes of light. Our conclusion: stores, you’re unlikely to fi nd a comparable need to know the distance to your target; just laser and camera relative to one another. For Anopheles stephensi (not your typical laser for less than several thousand dollars. as if you were sighting along a rifl e barrel, what If the camera and beam defl ector backyard pest but a close relative of the Ultraviolet lasers (shorter than 400 nm) you see is what you hit. You’ll still need to don’t share the same pivot point (as in malaria-carrying strains), a few tens of are safe for the eyes, and pulsed UV light calibrate the system to match up the camera our test system, where the camera lens millijoules, delivered within a few milliseconds, seems to be quite good for killing bugs, but and beam- steering coordinates, though. If and beam-output lens are a few inches will cause most mosquitoes to expire within they are also expensive. In addition, shorter UV everything is linear, that’s easy; you just need apart), you’ll end up with a parallax error 24 hours. The blast gives them a sudden wavelengths, particularly 266 nm (sometimes to steer the laser to three di erent spots and whenever you rotate the line of sight: A high fever, but not an obvious injury. Even used for laser machining), can cause severe fi nd the corresponding pixels on the camera. bug that shows up in a particular camera under a microscope it isn’t clear what they photo chemical damage, including cataracts,

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Rohde & Schwarz Inc. Phone:Rohde & +1 Schwarz 410 910 Inc. 78 00 Website:Phone: +1 www.rohde-schwarz.com/USA 410 910 78 00 E-mail:Website: [email protected] www.rohde-schwarz.com/USA E-mail:52 [email protected] • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

5325_Portfolio_IEEE_400,05x127_e.indd 1 2/5/2010 10:56:17 AM 05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 52 4/15/10 12:03 PM 5325_Portfolio_IEEE_400,05x127_e.indd 1 2/5/2010 10:56:17 AM pixel will need slightly di erent laser-beam actually die of. Let’s call it heatstroke. even though they aren’t focused by the eye. All ready? Then turn everything on pointing, depending on how far away it is. We’ve shot high-speed video of Therefore, if you can observe safety and wait for your fi rst invader to breach I mentioned stereo imagery above as one mosquitoes being zapped with 50 to 100 mJ precautions—particularly wearing goggles the photonic plane. Track! ID! Aim! Fire! way to fi nd the range to bug; astute readers of light and found that although they keep at all times if there’s a chance of a stray will no doubt think of other approaches. fl apping their wings, they lose attitude beam—the best option may be a visible or control and fall out of the sky. Boost the near-infrared diode laser, or perhaps an older INTELLECTUAL VENTURES developed energy further and wings burn through fl ashlamp-pumped laser. (SSY-1 fl ashlamp- the photonic fence to help in an epic or fall o , bodies emit pu s of steam, legs pumped neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum struggle against malaria and other BLAST ’EM! and antennae char, and so forth. Yes, it is a garnet lasers, which can put out about one vicious insect-borne diseases. But Now comes the fun part: zapping the waste of laser energy, but revenge is sweet. mosquito-lethal pulse a second, are often this technology could prove valuable nasty little things. How much of a wallop For a backyard system, the safest route available on eBay for around $100.) Of in other roles as well, such as should your laser pack? We’ve yet to would be to insist on “eye-safe” lasers, course,making your guests wear FDA-approved protecting crops from airborne pests fi nd an engineering handbook—or even which emit wavelengths that the eye will goggles may put a crimp in your barbecue, or simply tallying insect populations a paper in the entomological literature— not focus onto the retina. Alas, there are but so would a cloud of thirsty mosquitoes. rather than reducing them. that specifi es the energy that’s lethal to few inexpensive high-power lasers at eye- We’ve found it helpful, as we assemble We don’t really expect many Spectrum mosquitoes. Certainly it must be less than safe wavelengths, other than carbon dioxide and align all the components, to combine a readers will build a photonic fence for about 2 joules, because that’s enough to lasers, whose wavelengths are so long visible guide beam with the main laser beam, their backyards—although given the boil the water inside a 1-milligram bug. (10.6 micrometers) that they require very large a color-selective beam splitter, or a fi lter. This number of people whose first reaction to So we at the Intellectual Ventures optics to focus over any distance. We have makes it much easier to see where the laser the concept is “How soon can I get one?” laboratory have undertaken the world’s used an eye-safe near-infrared fi ber laser will go. If your system has lenses downstream we wouldn’t be shocked to hear that largest e ort to discover what it takes to kill operating at 1570 nm to kill mosquitoes, but of the galvo, though, you will have a more some of you do. Our compliments: You a mosquito using various wavelengths, pulse even with diligent bargain hunting at surplus complicated job aligning everything, will be helping to make the world a better lengths, and fl uxes of light. Our conclusion: stores, you’re unlikely to fi nd a comparableIEEE Spectrum web iconsbecause master sheet beams1/27/10 of di erent wavelengths place. Or at least a less itchy one. J For Anopheles stephensi (not your typical laser for less than several thousand dollars. will be steered and focused di erently. backyard pest but a close relative of the Ultraviolet lasers (shorter than 400 nm) Before pressing the big red button, make TOPROBEFURTHER For an expanded malaria-carrying strains), a few tens of are safe for the eyes, and pulsed UV light sure your safety systems are working. Double- version of this article, including a video millijoules, delivered within a few milliseconds, seems to be quite good for killing bugs, but check that the kill laser won’t fi re if there’s of the laser in action and sidebars on fi ghting will cause most mosquitoes to expire within they are also expensive. In addition, shorter UV anything bigger than a mosquito in the way. mosquito-borne diseases and killing blood- 24 hours. The blast gives them a sudden wavelengths, particularly 266 nm (sometimes Cover the optical path with an interlock to sucking female mosquitoes while sparing high fever, but not an obvious injury. Even used for laser machining), can cause severe keep unauthorized folks away from beam harmless males, see http://spectrum.ieee. under a microscope it isn’t clear what they photo chemical damage, including cataracts, paths (and high voltage, if any) inside. org/backyard-star-wars.

Rohde & Schwarz Inc. Phone:Rohde & +1 Schwarz 410 910 Inc. 78 00 Website:Phone: +1 www.rohde-schwarz.com/USA 410 910 78 00 E-mail:Website: [email protected] www.rohde-schwarz.com/USA E-mail: [email protected] SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • NA 53

5325_Portfolio_IEEE_400,05x127_e.indd 1 2/5/2010 10:56:17 AM 05.LaserBugZapper.NA.indd 53 4/15/10 12:03 PM 5325_Portfolio_IEEE_400,05x127_e.indd 1 2/5/2010 10:56:17 AM HOLLY LINDEM

34 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.WirelessPower.NA.indd 34 4/16/10 11:57 AM ELECTR NS UNPLUGGED Wireless power at a distance is still far away BY DAVID SCHNEIDER

THE OYSTERMEN must have been puzzled by what they saw going up near the north shore of Long Island in New York state at the turn of the 20th century. Nikola Tesla, a Serbian immigrant from what is now Croatia, had set up a laboratory in the midst of potato fi elds and erected behind it a tower almost 60 meters (200 feet) tall. Tesla said he intended to use it to communicate wirelessly around the world. The idea was ambitious but not unreasonable, Guglielmo Marconi having just sent the fi rst tentative signals across the Atlantic in 1901. But the Long Islanders living next to the huge tower would have been more shocked— perhaps literally—if Tesla had carried out his second plan, which was so auda- cious he hid it initially even from J.P. Morgan, the fi nancier who was bankroll- ing the operation. Tesla wanted to use the tower for wirelessly transmitting not just signals but also useful amounts of electrical power. His strate for accom- plishing that feat was vague, but it seems he had notions of sending power wirelessly to such things as airships in fl ight and automobiles on the move. HOLLY LINDEM

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • NA 35

05.WirelessPower.NA.indd 35 4/16/10 11:57 AM cal transformer, the magnetic lines of force that link the pri - mary and secondary are channeled through iron, maintaining a tight coupling that keeps power losses to a minimum. If you separate the primary and secondary coils by a distance that’s filled with nothing but air, those losses mount and the trans - fer becomes inecient. “Resonance enables ecient ener transfer,” says Soljacˇic´, describing the basic strate his team used to get significant amounts of power to flow. It’s not a new idea: Tesla’s epony- mous coils use that very same principle. A good way to understand why resonance helps is to imagine the mechanical analogue. Suppose you wanted to transfer mechanical ener across a room, but all you had coupling the power source with the load was a long and very weak spring. You’d have to pump the end of the spring you were holding vigorously, moving it back and forth as fast and as far as you could until sweat poured down your brow. It wouldn’t be very ecient, but only with such eort would the far end of the spring wiggle a bit. To make life easier, you could attach your end of the spring to a pendulum swinging in a wide arc, for instance. Now your arm wouldn’t hurt so much, and the far end of the spring would still wiggle. But another difficulty would appear when you tried to attach that far end of the spring to a mechanical load. If you weren’t careful, you’d find the waves of ener being sent POWER TOWER: In the early 20th century, Nikola Tesla planned to use this immense tower to send power wirelessly. PHOTO: TESLA WARDENCLYFFE PROJECT down the spring weren’t being absorbed—most of what little ener that got to the far end would just bounce back. To solve this new problem, you could attach the far end of the spring to a Tesla never did quite finish the enormous tower—Morgan got power wirelessly over modest distances at a laboratory he had second pendulum, one that was built exactly like the first. Now, fed up and cut o funds. Tesla abandoned the lab, which fell into set up earlier in Colorado Springs. But he failed in his grand all you would need to do is give the first pendulum some gen- disrepair, and in 1917 the tower was unceremoniously demolished. attempt to scale up the eort. And by the time his power tower tle rhythmic shoves until the amplitude of its swinging became Decades later, Tesla’s laboratory was turned into a factory for came crashing down, people were too busy stringing electri - large enough to get the far end of the spring wiggling in time photographic paper, an operation that left enough toxic waste cal cables to worry very much about how to do away with them. with it. And those little wiggles would in turn have the right on the grounds to have the property qualify as a Superfund site. Recently, though, some hardheaded scientists and engineers timing to get the second pendulum swinging. Despite having Today the elegant brick lab building is abandoned once again. have been thinking very carefully about how to do just that. only a weak spring as the conduit, you would have transferred Plywood covers its windows. All that remains of the tower is its power across the room. Then you could do something useful huge octagonal footing, now overgrown with trees. IN 2006, exactly 100 years after Tesla laid o his employees with it—maybe smash a window. Scientists and engineers these days, of course, appreci - on Long Island, another immigrant from Croatia surprised This mechanical analo may seem a bit loopy, but in fact ate Tesla’s enormous if rather quirky brilliance—he invented America with a proposal for sending power through the air. it provides a very good parallel for what goes on between the induction motor, for one thing, and Physicist Marin Soljacˇic´, along with sev- the coupled resonant electrical oscillators used to transfer he championed alternating current when eral of his colleagues at MIT, performed power inductively. The mechanical version even shows some Thomas Edison would have none of it, for a theoretical analysis of a system for proof the subtleties of wireless-power systems—for example, another. So it’s no surprise that some of jecting useful amounts of power wire - that the coupling between the primary and secondary oscilla- Tesla’s admirers are seeking to preserve lessly using electromagnetic induction, a tors gives rise to a second, higher frequency of resonance. More his old laboratory. phenomenon that’s been well known since important, this thought experiment helps to illustrate a funda- “To think that Tesla walked here, Michael Faraday first described it in the mental challenge: As the frequency and amplitude of the oscil- walked on this ground, and had his vision early 19th century. lations increase, the primary starts to experience significant and his dream,” says Jane Alcorn as she In 2007, Soljacˇic´’s team went further losses of power. Air resistance would sap the ener of a swing- surveys the laboratory. Alcorn heads a and published an article in the presti - ing pendulum, to take one example. For electrical oscillators, not-for-profit group dedicated to turning gious journal Science describing hardware most of the losses arise just from the resistance of the wires. the now-derelict site into a science museum. that could light up a 60-watt incandescent So when Soljacˇic´ calls his system “ecient,” he’s speaking She knows full well what great things Tesla lamp using power transferred between in relative terms. The actual plug-to-bulb eciency in his dem- imagined for the place. “The transmission two coils separated by a little more than onstration would make an environmentalist cringe—it was of power without wires will very soon cre- 2 meters. Images of that bulb spookily lit only 15 percent. Nevertheless, Soljacˇic´ and his colleagues were ate an industrial revolution and such as the up from afar sparked considerable buzz so enthusiastic about the prospects of using such inductive sys- world has never seen before,” Tesla wrote in the press. But the physics at work was tems to charge cellphones and laptops at a distance that they in a 1906 letter to George Westinghouse. really not so very dierent from what goes founded a start-up to commercialize the technolo. Dubbed While Tesla’s vision may appear ludi- on in any electrical transformer. There, WiTricity Corp., the company, which is located in Watertown,

crous today, things were dierent before AC current ﬂowing in one coil of wire, the EMILY COOPER Mass., now has about 20 employees. power poles and high-tension lines became BRIGHT IDEA: Intel’s wireless- primary, creates an oscillating magnetic Strangely enough, even before Soljacˇic´’s work appeared in power system [top] was inspired a part of the industrialized landscape. ﬁeld, which in turn induces an AC voltage print, others at MIT had been looking into the problem of how by MIT’s [bottom]. PHOTOS: TOP: INTEL; Tesla had demonstrated his ability to send BOTTOM: MARIN sOLJACˇIC´/SCIENCE in another coil, the secondary. In a typi - to send power wirelessly over short distances. Je Lieberman,

36 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.WirelessPower.NA.indd 36 4/16/10 11:57 AM cal transformer, the magnetic lines of force that link the primary and secondary are channeled through iron, maintaining TRANSFORMING a tight coupling that keeps power losses to a minimum. If you A TRANSFORMER separate the primary and secondary coils by a distance that’s A wireless-power system operates fi lled with nothing but air, those losses mount and the trans- much like an ordinary transformer— fer becomes ine cient. but with only air between the coils “Resonance enables e cient ener transfer,” says Soljacˇic´, describing the basic strate his team used to get signifi cant amounts of power to fl ow. It’s not a new idea: Tesla’s epony- mous coils use that very same principle. A good way to understand why resonance helps is to imagine the mechanical analogue. Suppose you wanted to transfer Primary coil Secondary coil mechanical ener across a room, but all you had coupling the power source with the load was a long and very weak spring. You’d have to pump the end of the spring you were holding Magnetic- Iron core vigorously, moving it back and forth as fast and as far as you fi eld lines could until sweat poured down your brow. It wouldn’t be very e cient, but only with such e ort would the far end of the AN ORDINARY TRANSFORMER (shown schematically above) contains spring wiggle a bit. two coils—a primary and a secondary—which are wound around di erent To make life easier, you could attach your end of the spring parts of a steel frame. The steel has high magnetic permeability and channels to a pendulum swinging in a wide arc, for instance. Now your magnetic-fi eld lines within it, so virtually all of the magnetic fi eld created by powering the primary coil passes through the secondary. This tight magnetic arm wouldn’t hurt so much, and the far end of the spring would coupling allows power to fl ow from primary to secondary with high e ciency. still wiggle. But another difficulty would appear when you tried to attach that far end of the spring to a mechanical load. If you weren’t careful, you’d fi nd the waves of ener being sent POWER TOWER: In the early 20th century, Nikola Tesla planned to use this immense tower to send power wirelessly. PHOTO: TESLA WARDENCLYFFE PROJECT down the spring weren’t being absorbed—most of what little Magnetic- ener that got to the far end would just bounce back. To solve fi eld lines this new problem, you could attach the far end of the spring to a power wirelessly over modest distances at a laboratory he had second pendulum, one that was built exactly like the fi rst. Now, set up earlier in Colorado Springs. But he failed in his grand all you would need to do is give the fi rst pendulum some gen- attempt to scale up the e ort. And by the time his power tower tle rhythmic shoves until the amplitude of its swinging became came crashing down, people were too busy stringing electri- large enough to get the far end of the spring wiggling in time cal cables to worry very much about how to do away with them. with it. And those little wiggles would in turn have the right Recently, though, some hardheaded scientists and engineers timing to get the second pendulum swinging. Despite having have been thinking very carefully about how to do just that. only a weak spring as the conduit, you would have transferred power across the room. Then you could do something useful IN 2006, exactly 100 years after Tesla laid o his employees with it—maybe smash a window. on Long Island, another immigrant from Croatia surprised This mechanical analo may seem a bit loopy, but in fact IF THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COILS do not share a common steel core and are instead separated by nothing but air, the magnetic linkage America with a proposal for sending power through the air. it provides a very good parallel for what goes on between becomes far more tenuous. Only a small fraction of the magnetic-fi eld lines Physicist Marin Soljacˇic´, along with sev- the coupled resonant electrical oscillators used to transfer generated by the primary will pass through the secondary coil. The power source eral of his colleagues at MIT, performed power inductively. The mechanical version even shows some would then have to drive very large currents in the primary to transfer the same a theoretical analysis of a system for proof the subtleties of wireless-power systems—for example, amount of power. But those larger currents would give rise to larger losses. jecting useful amounts of power wire- that the coupling between the primary and secondary oscilla- lessly using electromagnetic induction, a tors gives rise to a second, higher frequency of resonance. More phenomenon that’s been well known since important, this thought experiment helps to illustrate a funda- Michael Faraday first described it in the mental challenge: As the frequency and amplitude of the oscil- early 19th century. lations increase, the primary starts to experience signifi cant In 2007, Soljacˇic´’s team went further losses of power. Air resistance would sap the ener of a swing- and published an article in the presti- ing pendulum, to take one example. For electrical oscillators, Capacitance gious journal Science describing hardware most of the losses arise just from the resistance of the wires. that could light up a 60-watt incandescent So when Soljacˇic´ calls his system “e cient,” he’s speaking lamp using power transferred between in relative terms. The actual plug-to-bulb e ciency in his dem- Resonant Resonant primary secondary two coils separated by a little more than onstration would make an environmentalist cringe—it was 2 meters. Images of that bulb spookily lit only 15 percent. Nevertheless, Soljacˇic´ and his colleagues were up from afar sparked considerable buzz so enthusiastic about the prospects of using such inductive sys- in the press. But the physics at work was tems to charge cellphones and laptops at a distance that they really not so very di erent from what goes founded a start-up to commercialize the technolo . Dubbed on in any electrical transformer. There, WiTricity Corp., the company, which is located in Watertown, ADDING CAPACITANCE to the primary circuit causes a resonant oscillation, with energy shifting back and forth between the magnetic fi eld AC current fl owing in one coil of wire, the EMILY COOPER Mass., now has about 20 employees. surrounding the coil and the electric fi eld within the capacitor. In this way, high primary, creates an oscillating magnetic Strangely enough, even before Soljacˇic´’s work appeared in currents can be attained within the primary without su ering losses within the fi eld, which in turn induces an AC voltage print, others at MIT had been looking into the problem of how source powering it. Adding capacitance to the secondary so that it resonates at in another coil, the secondary. In a typi- to send power wirelessly over short distances. Je Lieberman, the proper frequency further boosts the e ciency of the power transfer.

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • NA 37

05.WirelessPower.NA.indd 37 4/16/10 11:57 AM then a graduate student in MIT’s Media Lab (and8 8 HOW ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS aect health ered carts on their assembly lines, these now the host of the Discovery Channel show “Time is a rich subject, both for what is known about it systems proving more robust than ones

Warp”), wasn’t aiming for anything practical;7 and what isn’t. The latter category includes many that rely on brushed contacts. he merely wanted to create an intriguing piece possibilities that may seem more or less reasonable, Another well-established application of art—a levitating lightbulb that lit up. So he con - depending on your perspective. But at radio fre - is the charging of electric vehicles. More fronted the same challenge that Soljacˇic´ and his6 quencies, some of the eects are indisputable. than a decade ago, GM’s ill-fated EV1 colleagues faced: getting power to something with- “Exposure to very high RF energy will heat was charged using an inductive paddle,

out attaching wires to it. Lieberman’s solution 5dif- you—there’s no question about that,” says Richard instead of actually plugging it into an out- fered from Soljacˇic´’s in detail, but the fundamental Strickland, who runs the consultancy RF Safety let. In the ancient port area of Genoa, Italy, approach he took was the same. Solutions. He points out that RF exposure guide- you’ll find electric buses that charge them- “I knew the principles of inductively coupled4 res- lines dier from place to place. In the United States, selves wirelessly at the whopping rate of onant systems had been around,” says Lieberman,8 for example, many follow IEEE’s C95.1 standard, 60 kilowatts for 10 minutes each hour, by who went as far as consulting notes that Tesla had whereas Europeans generally adhere to the somewhat parking over flat charging coils built into 3 recorded at his Colorado Springs laboratory. After stricter guidelines of the International Commission on the road surface. The system was built by 7 much experimentation, and with the help of Joseph Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Conductix-Wampfler of Weil am Rhein, Stark III, another MIT graduate student who wrote2 Consideration of those limits should be sober- Germany, which has also licensed patents his master’s thesis on wireless power transmission,6 ing to anyone hoping to send significant amounts of from the University of Auckland. Lieberman succeeded in building a floating, glowing 1 power using electromagnetic fields. Take the ICNIRP These systems have long ago proved 1 bulb in 2005. But he remained unaware of Soljacˇic´’s guidelines for RF fields at 10 megahertz, the fre - themselves able to move power wire - 5 work in the physics department until the profes - 0.073 quency of the system Soljacˇic´ and his MIT colleagues lessly, often a lot of it, and with good

sor’s scholarly articles on the subject came out. 0 built. For this frequency, those guidelines indicate eciency. That’s possible because they

Those articles brought Soljacˇic´’s group, and4 A /m) A /m) that the general public should not be exposed to mag- transfer the power for only a short P LIMIT

later their spin-off company, much attention out- ER METER) netic ﬁelds in excess of 0.073 ampere per meter, or to stretch through the air—a few tens of side of MIT. And why not? The name WiTricity is, ICNIR electric ﬁelds greater than 28 volts per meter. Were centimeters at most—nothing like the 20 CENTIMETERS20

3 ERES P FROM COILS ( P of course, a play on Wi-Fi. It brings to mind images1500 this RF ener radiated from a distant antenna, you distances WiTricity and Intel are shoot- of transmitting power wirelessly throughout homes (AM could apply either the magnetic or the electric-field ing for. The key question is whether engi- 1 METER FROM COILS ( and oces in the same way that Wi-Fi radios spread2 limit alone, because the ratio of the fields would be a neering improvements will make greater Internet access around. A page on WiTricity’s Web fixed quantity. But inductive power transfer of this separations practical. OUTER LIMITS: site certainly plays on that image, showing an art- kind takes place in what is known as the near field of “I’m skeptical about sending [power] 12001 Magnetic-field ist’s rendering of a compact transmitting coil posi- values [above] and the antenna (the coil), so the relationship between the over distances that are larger than the tioned in a living-room ceiling, sending power to a electric-field values electric and magnetic fields is not so simple. coil diameter,” says Menno Treffers, [below] for the MIT wall-mounted television, various lamps, and a 0lap- According to their 2007 Science p a p e r , S o l j a cˇ i c´ a n d who works for Royal Philips Electronics wireless-power top poised on a coee table. his colleagues measured a magnetic field of 1 A/m at and serves as the head of the two-year- 900 system [yellow and Such thoughts also got Intel to explore the pros- red] exceed ICNIRP the halfway point between transmitting and receiv- old Wireless Power Consortium, which pects for wireless power at its Seattle labs, where limits [green] by ing coils—almost 14 times the ICNIRP limit. The elec- is aimed at establishing industry stan- researchers developed something they call the a wide margin. tric field was 210 V/m, which tops the ICNIRP limit by dards for the wireless charging of con- 1500 Wireless Resonant Ener Link. “We were inspired a factor of 7.5. Things get even worse if you consider sumer electronics. Right now you can get 600 by the MIT paper,” says Joshua R. Smith, the Intel 1400 the fields closer to the coils. Twenty centimeters away, wireless charging pads if you buy a Dell engineer who heads the effort. But the system the magnetic field was more than 100 times—and the Latitude Z laptop or a Palm Pre smart- Intel first demonstrated in 2008 uses flat coils rather electric field 50 times—the ICNIRP limit. phone. BlackBerry and iPhone owners 1200 than the corkscrew coils Soljacˇic´ and his coworkers “They are not going to be able to fill a room with can get this feature too, if they purchase 300 had described the year before. “We didn’t want to use fields and not come up with issues,” says Grant special aftermarket charging sleeves. a helix, which is hard to fit into a laptop,” says Smith. Covic, a professor in the department of electrical and The idea the Wireless Power Con - It turns out they didn’t have to. The underlying computer engineering at the University of Auckland, sortium is pushing is that eventually you’ll 900 reason for Soljacˇic´’s helical coils is that they provide in New Zealand. He should know: Covic and his be able to buy a single charging pad that 0 not only inductance but also capacitance by virtue Auckland faculty colleague John Boys have been will recharge whatever device you place on of the separation between their adjacent loops. So working for two decades on the engineering of such top, regardless of brand. Treers is keen at radio frequencies these coils resonated without systems, which, despite having garnered little pub- to bring such interoperability to what he 600 separate capacitors. The advantage, Soljacˇic´ figured licity, are in fact used widely for a variety of applica- sees as a blossoming consumer technol- when he designed them, was that there would be no tions where power cords would be problematic. ogy, but he doesn’t expect it to get to the losses from capacitors, a worry that may have been One such application is materials handling. point where you can recharge your mobile exaggerated. WiTricity, like Intel, has moved away Daifuku Co., based in Osaka, Japan, for exam - gizmo while using it. “It’s not like you can 300 from Soljacˇic´’s original helical coil design, because 210 ple, has licensed patents from the University of charge your BlackBerry while sitting on the bulky corkscrew form would be awkwardly Auckland to build tracked conveyor systems with the couch,” he says. constraining. “If you’re going to power a device, moving platforms that are powered wirelessly. Eberhard Waenschmidt, a Philips you want the capture coil to be in the device,” says 28 These systems, which make up a significant fraction electrical engineer working with

0 m) WiTricity’s chief technical ocer, Katie Hall. m) of Daifuku’s US $2.5 billion in yearly sales, don’t Treers, has examined the question of

Another constraint appears to be less well known, P LIMIT generate the ﬁne particles that would contaminate what distances are possible for resonant ER METER) P

however—or at least it’s less discussed. It comes from ICNIR sensitive processes like chipmaking, as brushed inductive charging. His calculations

the strength of the electromagnetic ﬁelds being gener- CENTIMETERS20 electrical contacts tend to do. Such conveyances suggest that the prototype systems that OLTS FROM COILS (V/ ated and how they compare with the levels that people (V are useful in other industrial settings, too. Audi Intel and WiTricity have demonstrated

would willingly expose themselves to. 1 METER FROM COILS (V/ and BMW, for example, both use inductively pow- are pushing the limits of what can prac-

38 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.WirelessPower.NA.indd 38 4/16/10 11:57 AM HOW ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS aect health ered carts on their assembly lines, these tically be done without eciency plum- is a rich subject, both for what is known about it systems proving more robust than ones TODAY’S meting to ridiculously low levels. And and what isn’t. The latter category includes many that rely on brushed contacts. WIRELESS even if poor efficiencies could be toler- possibilities that may seem more or less reasonable, Another well-established application ated, the RF field levels required to send depending on your perspective. But at radio fre - is the charging of electric vehicles. More POWER truly useful amounts of power over even quencies, some of the eects are indisputable. than a decade ago, GM’s ill-fated EV1 Wireless-power systems modest distances would be above what “Exposure to very high RF energy will heat was charged using an inductive paddle, are still limited to short you could reasonably expose people to. you—there’s no question about that,” says Richard instead of actually plugging it into an out- ranges. But even so, “All the journalists had missed this,” says Strickland, who runs the consultancy RF Safety let. In the ancient port area of Genoa, Italy, they are becoming Waenschmidt, adding that “[charging] Solutions. He points out that RF exposure guide- you’ll find electric buses that charge them- increasingly popular pads don’t have this problem.” lines dier from place to place. In the United States, selves wirelessly at the whopping rate of Is there no way then to increase the dis- for example, many follow IEEE’s C95.1 standard, 60 kilowatts for 10 minutes each hour, by tance you can send power wirelessly? Of whereas Europeans generally adhere to the somewhat parking over flat charging coils built into course there is, but not inductively. If you stricter guidelines of the International Commission on the road surface. The system was built by have a clear path, you could use micro- Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Conductix-Wampfler of Weil am Rhein, waves or laser beams, as has been dem- Consideration of those limits should be sober- Germany, which has also licensed patents onstrated many times. Or just keep it sim- ing to anyone hoping to send significant amounts of from the University of Auckland. ple. “Sunlight is excellent for long-distance power using electromagnetic fields. Take the ICNIRP These systems have long ago proved power transfer,” quips Treers. guidelines for RF fields at 10 megahertz, the fre - themselves able to move power wire - quency of the system Soljacˇic´ and his MIT colleagues lessly, often a lot of it, and with good EVEN IF R ESONANT INDUCTION built. For this frequency, those guidelines indicate eciency. That’s possible because they WIRELESS CHARGING: ends up being limited to short distances, that the general public should not be exposed to mag- transfer the power for only a short Electric buses in the ancient it may yet have a great influence, partic- netic fields in excess of 0.073 ampere per meter, or to stretch through the air—a few tens of port area of Genoa, Italy, ularly for the future of transportation. electric fields greater than 28 volts per meter. Were centimeters at most—nothing like the are recharged inductively. “We now [have the means to] charge a PHOTO: CONDUCTIX-WAMPFLER this RF ener radiated from a distant antenna, you distances WiTricity and Intel are shoot- car safely and efficiently over gaps of could apply either the magnetic or the electric-field ing for. The key question is whether engi- 20 to 40 centimeters, and we believe we limit alone, because the ratio of the fields would be a neering improvements will make greater can build that into a roadway system,” fixed quantity. But inductive power transfer of this separations practical. says Covic. “That’s probably a decade kind takes place in what is known as the near field of “I’m skeptical about sending [power] away, but you’ve got to have a vision, and the antenna (the coil), so the relationship between the over distances that are larger than the ours is roadway-powered systems.” electric and magnetic fields is not so simple. coil diameter,” says Menno Treffers, A small step in that direction is tak- According to their 2007 Science p a p e r , S o l j a cˇ i c´ a n d who works for Royal Philips Electronics ing place at Berlin-based Bombardier his colleagues measured a magnetic field of 1 A/m at and serves as the head of the two-year- Transportation, which is gearing up to the halfway point between transmitting and receiv- old Wireless Power Consortium, which oer an electric streetcar that is induc- ing coils—almost 14 times the ICNIRP limit. The elec- is aimed at establishing industry stan- tively powered through the roadway. CHIP TRIP: Materials- tric field was 210 V/m, which tops the ICNIRP limit by dards for the wireless charging of con- handling equipment used in Although there are other ways to avoid a factor of 7.5. Things get even worse if you consider sumer electronics. Right now you can get semiconductor manufacturing a streetcar’s hard-to-maintain cables the fields closer to the coils. Twenty centimeters away, wireless charging pads if you buy a Dell is often powered inductively. [see “Fuel Cells Could Power a Streetcar the magnetic field was more than 100 times—and the Latitude Z laptop or a Palm Pre smart- PHOTO: DAIFUKU Revival,” IEEE Spectrum, September electric field 50 times—the ICNIRP limit. phone. BlackBerry and iPhone owners 2009], Bombardier’s system, called “They are not going to be able to fill a room with can get this feature too, if they purchase Primove, avoids many of the problems fields and not come up with issues,” says Grant special aftermarket charging sleeves. that some of the competing solutions face. Covic, a professor in the department of electrical and The idea the Wireless Power Con - If this approach for powering street- computer engineering at the University of Auckland, sortium is pushing is that eventually you’ll cars catches on, perhaps wider-ranging in New Zealand. He should know: Covic and his be able to buy a single charging pad that electric buses will be next. It’s not unrea- Auckland faculty colleague John Boys have been will recharge whatever device you place on sonable to think that some decades from working for two decades on the engineering of such top, regardless of brand. Treers is keen now private electric cars may also be systems, which, despite having garnered little pub- to bring such interoperability to what he able to draw at least some of their power licity, are in fact used widely for a variety of applica- sees as a blossoming consumer technol- wirelessly from suitably equipped road- tions where power cords would be problematic. ogy, but he doesn’t expect it to get to the ways. Who knows? Maybe the early One such application is materials handling. point where you can recharge your mobile adopters of today’s electric cars will be Daifuku Co., based in Osaka, Japan, for exam - gizmo while using it. “It’s not like you can able to retrofit their rides to get such a ple, has licensed patents from the University of charge your BlackBerry while sitting on boost while cruising. Then even the peo- Auckland to build tracked conveyor systems with the couch,” he says. ple who bought their Tesla Roadsters in moving platforms that are powered wirelessly. Eberhard Waenschmidt, a Philips NO-CORD CHARGING: Wireless the 2010s could zoom along inductively charging pads are becoming These systems, which make up a significant fraction electrical engineer working with powered highways of the future. Such a widely available for consumer of Daifuku’s US $2.5 billion in yearly sales, don’t Treers, has examined the question of thing would surely please that roadster’s electronics, including the Dell IEEE Spectrum web icons master sheet 1/27/10 generate the fine particles that would contaminate what distances are possible for resonant Latitude Z laptop [top], the visionary namesake. J sensitive processes like chipmaking, as brushed inductive charging. His calculations Palm Pre smartphone [center], and various smartphones electrical contacts tend to do. Such conveyances suggest that the prototype systems that SLIDESHOW For more on Tesla’s equipped with Powermat are useful in other industrial settings, too. Audi Intel and WiTricity have demonstrated charging sleeves [bottom]. wireless-power tower, go to and BMW, for example, both use inductively pow- are pushing the limits of what can prac- PHOTOS, FROM TOP: DELL; PALM; POWERMAT http://spectrum.ieee.org/tesla-tower.

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • I EEE SPECTRUM • NA 39

05.WirelessPower.NA.indd 39 4/16/10 11:57 AM LITTLE GIZMO,

The latest video projectors can ﬁt inside tiny cameras or cellphones yet still produce big pictures

more than ever before, we are flocking to a gaggle of tiny devices for entertainment. We watch movies on iPods and use our mobile phones to show our family photos and to watch live TV. We bump shoulders as we crowd around the minuscule screens, fumble for reading glasses, and tilt the displays back and forth to find workable viewing angles. If we’re old enough, we pine for the good old days of drive-in movies, with their vast screens. We love multimedia content, and we also love the convenience of enjoying it wherever we are and whenever we want. But can we continue to put the two together without turning into perennial squinters? We sure can! Behold the ultraminiature, or “pico,” projector. From now on, the dimensions of the device in your hand will no longer dictate the size of the viewing screen. The first generation of pico projectors hit the market in 2008. They weren’t much—clunky little boxes that produced low-quality images and had to be cabled to a computer or PDA. Very few people bought them. Turns out that what people really want is a mobile phone, music player, laptop, or camera that projects big, bright, and sharp images— DAN SAELINGER or an extremely tiny plug-in projector compatible with all those devices.

PETITE PACKAGE: Inside this pico projector [top] from Microvision is a silicon mirror about the size of the head of a pin. PHOTO: MICROVISION

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.PicoProjectors.NA.indd 40 4/14/10 1:42 PM Proof #7 LAYOUT FINAL 04/14/10 @ 1:35 pm MS NA

LITTLE GIZMO, BIG PICTURE

The latest video projectors can ﬁ t inside tiny cameras or cellphones yet still produce big pictures

By JACQUES LINCOLN

more than ever before, we are fl ocking to a gaggle of tiny devices This year, they’re going to get what they for entertainment. We watch movies on iPods and use our mobile want. We’re just now starting to see the phones to show our family photos and to watch live TV. We bump next generation of pico projectors, and shoulders as we crowd around the minuscule screens, fumble for besides being in smaller stand-alone reading glasses, and tilt the displays back and forth to fi nd workable devices, they’re coming embedded in viewing angles. If we’re old enough, we pine for the good old days of cameras, media-storage devices, and a drive-in movies, with their vast screens. few smartphones—about 100 individual We love multimedia content, and we also love the convenience of products so far. Over the next few years enjoying it wherever we are and whenever we want. But can we continue they’ll be popping up in more products to put the two together without turning into perennial squinters? and are likely to be the hottest new We sure can! Behold the ultraminiature, or “pico,” projector. From feature in mobile devices since the now on, the dimensions of the device in your hand will no longer cellphone video camera. In fact, market dictate the size of the viewing screen. research fi rm Insight Media forecasts The fi rst generation of pico projectors hit the market in 2008. They shipments of embedded pico projectors— weren’t much—clunky little boxes that produced low-quality images and in consumer electronics, cars, industrial had to be cabled to a computer or PDA. Very few people bought them. applications, and medical equipment, Turns out that what people really want is a mobile phone, music as well as in cellphones—to reach player, laptop, or camera that projects big, bright, and sharp images— 30.8 million units in 2014, up from about DAN SAELINGER or an extremely tiny plug-in projector compatible with all those devices. 1 million units in 2009.

PETITE PACKAGE: Inside this pico projector [top] from Microvision is a silicon mirror about the size of the head of a pin. PHOTO: MICROVISION

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • NA 41

05.PicoProjectors.NA.indd 41 4/14/10 1:42 PM MORE THAN ONE WAY TO PRODUCE A PICO

What a pico projector does is simple: It takes a digital image PROJECTION and sends it out as a beam of light, creating an image that’s much LENS bigger than the originating device. Aim that beam at, say, the COLOR- SEQUENTIAL tray table nestled into the airline seat in front of you and you’ve MIRROR COLOR-SELECTIVE MIRRORS LCOS got a miniature movie theater. Or aim it at a dark ceiling and you’ve got a display with a diagonal of some 60 inches or larger. To do this, every pico projector needs chips to process and ILLUMINATION OPTICS decode the image data for the hardware; a light source, typi- LEDs BEAM SPLITTER cally LEDs or laser diodes; and mirrors and optics, to direct and focus the image. Pico-projector technologies differ in how they turn light FLASH FOCUS: In color-sequential liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) displays, red, green, and blue LEDs or laser diodes into the pixels that make up a video image. The battle between fl ash sequentially to illuminate an image created by an LCD. plasma and LCD for dominance in fl at-screen television was The image then refl ects out to the projection surface, where heated and confusing (LCD won, if you missed it). The battle it appears in full color. for the heart of the pico projector is shaping up to be much more complicated, because to date there are three vastly different

technologies—liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) microdisplays, PICO INSIDE: The Nikon Coolpix S1000pj, at US $430, digital light-processing (DLP) devices, and scanning-mirror LASER is the fi rst camera with a built-in projector. It uses PROJECTION systems (also called laser-beam steering systems, or LBS)— DIODES color-fi ltering liquid-crystal-on-silicon technology to and there are even signifi cantly di£ erent design approaches create the image and LEDs to project it. IMAGE: NIKON RGB COMBINER within these three categories. Some of the leading players in this game so far are Aurora Systems, Himax Technologies, SINGLE-SCANNING MIRROR Light Blue Optics, Micron Technolo (through its acquisition Vertical and horizontal movement On the plus side, product designers can fi t color-fi ltering of Displaytech), Microvision, Syndiant, Texas Instruments, LCOS into a small space, because they have only one light and 3M. With an estimated market of US $1.1 billion at stake by MIRROR IMAGE: Scanning-mirror projectors send laser light source to deal with. On the minus side, the fi lters reduce the to one [as in illustration] or two silicon mirrors. The power of the year 2014, according to market research fi rm In-Stat, we’re the lasers adjusts to determine the color of each pixel. The amount of light that gets to the screen by up to two-thirds, and going to see a good old-fashioned consumer-electronics footrace. mirrors tilt to direct that light to an external surface. some of the colors bleed together, reducing color quality. Plus it’s di cult to get good manufacturing yields; the three sub- two of the first technologies to make it into commer- pixels mean that the chip design is three times as complex. cial pico projectors were LCOS and DLP. But their hold is any- components. Actually, they came up with two ways: color Aurora, Himax, and Micron are producing or will soon thing but secure: The scanning-mirror systems are about to sequential and color fi ltering. produce color-fi ltering pico projectors, and Nikon has built mount a serious challenge. Color-sequential LCOS is the more common method. Red, the technolo into its Coolpix S1000pj compact digital cam- LCOS was developed in the late 1990s by JVC, which used it green, and blue LEDs or laser diodes—one of each—flash era, already in stores. for large-screen projection televisions. In LCOS, liquid crystals sequentially at a single LCOS panel, which adjusts how much Like LCOS, DLP technolo came to the pico- projector world sit directly on a silicon chip that has been coated to act as a mir- of each color for each pixel is projected. When the device uses from projection television (perhaps just in time for DLP’s survival ror. The liquid crystals change their orientations in response to LEDs, a refl ective cone surrounds each light, directing it to in the mass market, as market research fi rm International Data an electric fi eld; as their orientations change, so does the polar- the LCOS panel in the same way a fl ashlight directs its beam Corp. predicts that rear-projection TV sales will plunge to nearly ization of light that travels through the liquid-crystal layer and of light forward. When the device uses lasers, direction isn’t zero by next year). DLP chips, invented by Texas Instruments in refl ects o£ the coating. A polarizing beam splitter at the front of an issue; instead, lenses in between the lasers and the panel 1987, each contain a rectangular array of up to 2 million hinge- the LCOS imager, acting like a goalie of sorts, either allows light spread the tightly focused beam of light to cover the entire mounted microscopic mirrors. You can fi t fi ve of these mirrors to pass straight through or redirects it. When the crystals align panel. In both LED and laser LCOS projectors, the light, after across the width of a human hair. These micromirrors create pix- with the polarizing beam splitter, the beam splitter lets the light bouncing off the panel, travels through a set of lenses that els by tilting toward the light source (on) or away from it (o£ ) as through to refl ect o£ the chip, where it bounces back to create enlarge and focus the fi nal image. red, green, and blue light alternately shines onto them. an “on” pixel. When the crystals are out of alignment, the beam Aurora, Micron, and Syndiant all use the color-sequential Because of the complexity of the chip, it tends to be a lit- splitter blocks the light to create an “o£ ” pixel. And in between approach in the pico-projector modules they sell to consumer tle more di cult to manufacture than its competitors. But the on and o£ states, the crystals can allow di£ erent intensities of electronics companies. Himax is now developing a module for technolo is relatively stable. And because DLP is used in dig- light to refl ect. Refreshing the individual pixels on the chip doz- a color-sequential projector intended for consumer products. ital projectors in movie theaters, it has already had its high- ens of times per second creates a moving image. Color-fi ltering LCOS uses a single white LED as the light resolution shakeout, a challenge that’s still in the future for In projection TVs and digital cinema, designers use three source, creating color by sending that light through red, green, most of the other pico-projection technologies. LCOS chips. A beam of red light is aimed at one chip, green at and blue filters. The light follows the same path as in color- another chip, and blue at a third. The three resulting images sequential LCOS—refl ecting from the panel and then passing unlike dlp and lcos, which were both adapted from televi- are sent through lenses to combine them into one full-color through enlarging and focusing lenses on the way out of the sion, scanning-mirror systems originated from contracts with image on the screen. device. The fi lters, however, make for a more complex LCOS the U.S. military for development of head-mounted displays At pico-projector sizes, however, there just isn’t enough panel, because each of the three subpixels requires an inde- that project an image directly onto the eye, a concept on which room for three LCOS chips, so designers had to come up with pendent electrode to control its status: on, o£ , or somewhere work still continues. Their imagery is extremely sharp, has another way to separate an image into its three primary color in between. the highest contrast of the three technologies, and potentially

42 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.PicoProjectors.NA.indd 42 4/14/10 1:42 PM MORE THAN ONE WAY POCKET THEATER: About the size of an iPhone, Microvision’s US $550 TO PRODUCE A PICO laser-based ShowWX projector plugs into portable devices. PHOTO: MICROVISION

COLOR- SEQUENTIAL LCOS

FLASH FOCUS: In color-sequential liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) displays, red, green, and blue LEDs or laser diodes ﬂash sequentially to illuminate an image created by an LCD. The image then reﬂects out to the projection surface, where it appears in full color.

PICO INSIDE: The Nikon Coolpix S1000pj, at US $430, is the ﬁrst camera with a built-in projector. It uses PROJECTION color-ﬁltering liquid-crystal-on-silicon technology to create the image and LEDs to project it. IMAGE: NIKON

On the plus side, product designers can fit color-filtering could be produced in the smallest package. The main draw- LCOS into a small space, because they have only one light back, however, is that, at least in the short term, they are more MIRROR IMAGE: Scanning-mirror projectors send laser light source to deal with. On the minus side, the filters reduce the expensive than the competition, for they rely on three separate to one [as in illustration] or two silicon mirrors. The power of the lasers adjusts to determine the color of each pixel. The amount of light that gets to the screen by up to two-thirds, and high-frequency lasers as the light source, and the light source mirrors tilt to direct that light to an external surface. some of the colors bleed together, reducing color quality. Plus makes up at least a third of the cost of the product. it’s dicult to get good manufacturing yields; the three sub- Let’s take a closer look at those laser components. In a full- pixels mean that the chip design is three times as complex. color laser system, you need red, green, and blue laser-light components. Actually, they came up with two ways: color Aurora, Himax, and Micron are producing or will soon sources. Red diodes are readily available—they’re in all con- sequential and color filtering. produce color-filtering pico projectors, and Nikon has built sumer CD players. Blue—actually, almost violet—laser diodes Color-sequential LCOS is the more common method. Red, the technolo into its Coolpix S1000pj compact digital cam - were first developed by Shuji Nakamura at Nichia Chemical green, and blue LEDs or laser diodes—one of each—flash era, already in stores. Industries in 1997. Today they’re used in Blu-ray DVD players, sequentially at a single LCOS panel, which adjusts how much Like LCOS, DLP technolo came to the pico- projector world so they’re also widely available and can be adapted for mobile of each color for each pixel is projected. When the device uses from projection television (perhaps just in time for DLP’s survival projectors. True green-laser diodes, however, are not yet LEDs, a reflective cone surrounds each light, directing it to in the mass market, as market research firm International Data commercially available. But companies like Corning, Osram the LCOS panel in the same way a flashlight directs its beam Corp. predicts that rear-projection TV sales will plunge to nearly (a Siemens subsidiary), and others have come up with a mech- of light forward. When the device uses lasers, direction isn’t zero by next year). DLP chips, invented by Texas Instruments in anism that bounces laser light in a cavity between two crystals an issue; instead, lenses in between the lasers and the panel 1987, each contain a rectangular array of up to 2 million hinge- and doubles its frequency. With this technolo, an infrared spread the tightly focused beam of light to cover the entire mounted microscopic mirrors. You can fit five of these mirrors laser can produce a suitable green to meet current demand. panel. In both LED and laser LCOS projectors, the light, after across the width of a human hair. These micromirrors create pix- Next-generation green lasers are likely to be simple green-laser bouncing off the panel, travels through a set of lenses that els by tilting toward the light source (on) or away from it (o£) as diodes, with size and price advantages. While this new crop of enlarge and focus the final image. red, green, and blue light alternately shines onto them. green-laser diodes should come to market within the next year Aurora, Micron, and Syndiant all use the color-sequential Because of the complexity of the chip, it tends to be a lit - or two, both technologies will coexist for the foreseeable future. approach in the pico-projector modules they sell to consumer tle more dicult to manufacture than its competitors. But the Why go through all this hassle to use three lasers? For one, electronics companies. Himax is now developing a module for technolo is relatively stable. And because DLP is used in dig- laser-based systems don’t have to struggle with filters that a color-sequential projector intended for consumer products. ital projectors in movie theaters , it has already had its high- dim the light or with other means of generating multiple col- Color-filtering LCOS uses a single white LED as the light resolution shakeout, a challenge that’s still in the future for ors from a single light source. Because laser light is inherently source, creating color by sending that light through red, green, most of the other pico-projection technologies. tightly focused, laser-based systems don’t need a movable lens and blue filters. The light follows the same path as in color- for focusing. And scanning laser systems also dispense with sequential LCOS—reflecting from the panel and then passing unlike dlp and lcos, which were both adapted from televi- the expansion lens needed for laser-lit physical arrays, whether through enlarging and focusing lenses on the way out of the sion, scanning-mirror systems originated from contracts with they’re LCOS or DLP. Lenses introduce losses, distortion, color device. The filters, however, make for a more complex LCOS the U.S. military for development of head-mounted displays changes, and other aberrations. But the real advantage is pack- panel, because each of the three subpixels requires an inde - that project an image directly onto the eye, a concept on which age size. Mobile-device makers value every cubic millimeter. pendent electrode to control its status: on, o£, or somewhere work still continues. Their imagery is extremely sharp, has A smaller size and reduced complexity are precisely the char- in between. the highest contrast of the three technologies, and potentially acteristics needed to crack that huge mobile phone market. The

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPE CTRUM • NA 43

05.PicoProjectors.NA.indd 43 4/14/10 1:42 PM pure light of lasers also allows these systems to produce a huge Light Blue Optics, in Cambridge, England, is the first com- range of colors—twice that of broadcast television—and very pany to announce a commercial product using this technol- A PROJECTOR OF A DIFFERENT COLOR high contrast ratios, as much as five times those of DLP and o. The company demonstrated a reference product, Light OLOGRAMS have always LCOS projectors. A downside of laser-based systems is a phe- Touch, at the January 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, in Las H been a fascinating oddity, nomenon called laser speckle, which occurs when the beams of Vegas, that turns a flat surface into a 10.1-inch touch screen. a crowd magnet at any science light scatter randomly o£ imperfections in the projection sur- The images produced are clean and crisp, and the technolo museum. Yet their path to face and interfere with one another to create patterns of light. avoids the speckle of other laser-based technologies, but so far commercial adoption has been It can look a bit like someone tossed a handful of glitter on the the device is bigger than those using competing technologies. slow. One company, however, screen. For the most part, the speckle is down to an acceptable A word about eye safety: All of the commercial projection is betting on holograms having a big impact in the soon-to- level, but developers are still trying to eradicate it. technologies are considered “eye safe” by international stan- be-booming pico-projector So all scanning-mirror systems start with three lasers. The dards bodies. But these organizations recognize varying lev- market. Whether or not the red, green, and blue beams change power, going from totally o£ els of eye safety. The LCOS approaches, which diffuse the bet pays o, again, the idea to barely on and all the way to fully on, depending on the color laser beams before they leave the projector, are rated Class 1— captures the imagination. of the pixel being displayed. Unlike the three colored lights in safe under all conditions of normal use. The scanning-mirror My company, Light Blue color-sequential LCOS, the lasers often shine simultaneously, technologies, to date, are rated Class 2—safe because the nor - Optics, in Cambridge, England, not sequentially. To display purple, for example, both the red mal blink response limits exposure. has developed what it calls and the blue lasers shine at once. Holographic Laser Projection Each laser sends its beam through lenses that direct it to the in the end, there will be room for more than one technol- (HLP) technology, a technique center of a mirror (or mirrors). These mirrors are microelectro- o. Some pico projectors will be plug-in, stand-alone devices, that uses the principles of holography to project 2-D mechanical devices manufactured on silicon, similar to com - intended for use with a laptop computer, an iPhone, an iPod, rather than 3-D images. puter chips. Now here’s where the scanning-mirror systems or even an iPad. For these, size and power consumption won’t In January, the company diverge into two types: single scanning and dual scanning. In matter as much as brightness and overall image quality. Others, introduced the first example a single-scanning mirror system, one mirror directs the laser intended for use in smartphones, will have to be tiny, extremely of a product using the beam, painting horizontal lines back and forth to create a frame power ecient, have decent image quality, and be a£ordable technology: Light Touch, a pico of the moving image. At the end of each line, the beam shifts enough to justify the incremental cost of adding the projector. projector that creates a virtual vertically, and then, when the screen image is complete, the Right now, the size of the projector package ranges in overall touch screen. The company beam zips back to the top and starts again for the next frame. volume from 5 to 18 cubic centimeters. With green-laser diodes isn’t planning to sell products In a dual-scanning mirror system, one mirror directs the laser coming to market, scanning projectors and some engines could to the consumer but is light back and forth along a horizontal path and then sends it shrink to 3 cm³. working with more established companies to bring this, or to another mirror that adjusts the vertical position of that hor- And there’s the size of the projected image. In general, the products like it, to market. izontal line, moving it down the virtual screen. shorter the distance needed for the projector to produce a large HLP takes the image All mirror systems send the image back out through lenses image, the better—up to a point. In the case of an embedded data that typically instruct that correct for distortion introduced by the curve of the mir - pico projector inside a multimedia player, a 1:1 distance-to- pixels to turn on and o and ror (or mirrors). Two-mirror systems create less distortion to image-size ratio (a projection angle of 53 degrees) is proba - recalculates them into a set correct, but the second mirror has to catch the spread-out beam bly sucient for most applications. The first products on the of diraction patterns, or of the first mirror. If the mirror is out of alignment, the e£ect market have projection angles in the range of 30 to 45 degrees; holograms. It then displays on the final image can be dramatic. holographic technolo claims a theoretical projection angle a series of these holograms Late last year, Microvision began shipping a product called of 90 degrees and greater. on a ferroelectric liquid- ShowWX, based on a single-scanning mirror. (Full disclosure: Brightness counts too, of course. The brighter the better, crystal-on-silicon display The author is a product manager at Microvision.) Maradin right? Not exactly. A very bright source means high power Technologies, in Israel, is also developing a single-scanning consumption and therefore short battery life. And that’s bad Spoiled by high-quality LCD screens, we’ve come to take mirror system and aims to have a commercial product in a for mobile devices. Depending on the way they are designed rich, vivid colors for granted. And most pico projectors, using few months. The Nippon Signal Co. and the Israeli company into products, the current pico-projector technologies deliver either lasers or LEDs for light sources, can project them. But bTendo have publicly demonstrated two-mirror systems. between 2 and 20 lumens of brightness, which can mean a pro- contrast also a£ects picture quality. Contrast is the dynamic Some pico-projector designers are trying to combine the low jected and readable image that measures diagonally anywhere range of a display, from the whitest white to the blackest black. cost and durability of LCOS technolo with the rich colors from 2.5 to over 250 cm. Good contrast is the di£erence between crisp, dramatic-looking and tight focus of laser light in a technolo known as holo - The pico projectors available now have resolutions as high images and washed-out ones. Technologies that use three LEDs graphic laser projection. The underlying concept is pretty com- as 800 by 600 pixels, equivalent to the SVGA (Super Graphics or lasers rather than a single light source are tops here, because plicated (see sidebar, ”A Projector of a Di£erent Color”) but Video Array) standard. Some projector designers are now they simply turn the light source o£ when it isn’t needed. remarkably e£ective. In brief, instead of producing the image working on high-definition resolutions—either 720 by 1280 or Pico projectors will make their first impact in portable con- in the time-honored way—as a grid of pixels—the technolo 1080 by 1920 pixels, in the wide-screen format of Hollywood sumer electronics. But they won’t stop there. By 2012 we could recalculates the image into a set of di£raction patterns, or holo- movies. None of the contenders has an obvious edge at the start seeing them in cars, both in rear-projection video sys - grams. The holograms appear sequentially on an LCOS display moment, but with consumers getting used to high resolution tems and driver head-up displays. Microvision and Light Blue and, when a laser light shines on the display, the holograms content in other venues, new developments are likely to be Optics are trying to push laser-based pico projectors into these create an image projected on a surface. announced here soon. niches. Lasers are bright enough to overcome daylight. They

44 NA • I EEE SPECTRUM • M AY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.PicoProjectors.NA.indd 44 4/14/10 1:42 PM Light Blue Optics, in Cambridge, England, is the fi rst company to announce a commercial product using this technol- A PROJECTOR OF A DIFFERENT COLOR o . The company demonstrated a reference product, Light OLOGRAMS have always Touch, at the January 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, in Las H been a fascinating oddity, MICRO- Vegas, that turns a fl at surface into a 10.1-inch touch screen. a crowd magnet at any science DISPLAY The images produced are clean and crisp, and the technolo museum. Yet their path to avoids the speckle of other laser-based technologies, but so far commercial adoption has been the device is bigger than those using competing technologies. slow. One company, however, A word about eye safety: All of the commercial projection is betting on holograms having a big impact in the soon-to- technologies are considered “eye safe” by international stan- be-booming pico-projector LASERS dards bodies. But these organizations recognize varying lev- market. Whether or not the els of eye safety. The LCOS approaches, which diffuse the bet pays o , again, the idea laser beams before they leave the projector, are rated Class 1— captures the imagination. safe under all conditions of normal use. The scanning-mirror My company, Light Blue LIGHT TOUCH: This projection system creates a picture from technologies, to date, are rated Class 2—safe because the nor- Optics, in Cambridge, England, holograms, then uses lasers has developed what it calls mal blink response limits exposure. [above] to project an interactive Holographic Laser Projection image onto a tabletop [left]. (HLP) technology, a technique in the end, there will be room for more than one technol- PHOTO: LIGHT BLUE OPTICS o . Some pico projectors will be plug-in, stand-alone devices, that uses the principles of holography to project 2-D while shining red, green, and pattern multiple times to image. Because each hologram intended for use with a laptop computer, an iPhone, an iPod, rather than 3-D images. blue lasers at it. (Ferroelectric get the best image possible. is phase-independent, the or even an iPad. For these, size and power consumption won’t In January, the company liquid crystals respond faster This works for simple static resulting image tends not to matter as much as brightness and overall image quality. Others, introduced the fi rst example than other liquid crystals.) patterns, but it’s too slow for show speckling. intended for use in smartphones, will have to be tiny, extremely of a product using the The holograms modulate video. By not trying to create The Light Touch is intended power e cient, have decent image quality, and be a£ ordable technology: Light Touch, a pico the light coming in from the the best possible hologram to sit on a tabletop and project enough to justify the incremental cost of adding the projector. projector that creates a virtual lasers, steering it instead for each individual frame down onto the surface. This Right now, the size of the projector package ranges in overall touch screen. The company of selectively blocking it— of video, Light Blue Optics makes the virtual screen size volume from 5 to 18 cubic centimeters. With green-laser diodes isn’t planning to sell products an e¥ cient use of energy. has developed holographic an unchanging 10.1 inches in coming to market, scanning projectors and some engines could to the consumer but is While researchers have algorithms that are fast enough diagonal. The device turns shrink to 3 cm³. working with more established understood how to create for standard video and can be that virtual screen into a companies to bring this, or images from holograms for built into a low-power chip. touch screen with a fan of And there’s the size of the projected image. In general, the products like it, to market. almost 50 years, none had Instead, the algorithms low-power infrared laser shorter the distance needed for the projector to produce a large HLP takes the image overcome the main challenge generate multiple holograms light superimposed over the image, the better—up to a point. In the case of an embedded data that typically instruct to commercialization— for each video frame, each of projected image and infrared pico projector inside a multimedia player, a 1:1 distance-to- pixels to turn on and o and the amount of computational which roughly approximates sensors that detect scattering. image-size ratio (a projection angle of 53 degrees) is proba- recalculates them into a set power necessary to calculate the image. Individually, each —Edward Buckley bly su cient for most applications. The fi rst products on the of di raction patterns, or the interference patterns in real would create a noisy image. market have projection angles in the range of 30 to 45 degrees; holograms. It then displays time. Traditionally, methods However, as these images EDWARD BUCKLEY is holographic technolo claims a theoretical projection angle a series of these holograms for calculating holograms work display in quick succession, the responsible for worldwide of 90 degrees and greater. on a ferroelectric liquid- by exhaustive optimization, eye averages out the noise and business development activities Brightness counts too, of course. The brighter the better, crystal-on-silicon display revising the interference perceives a single high-quality at Light Blue Optics. right? Not exactly. A very bright source means high power consumption and therefore short battery life. And that’s bad Spoiled by high-quality LCD screens, we’ve come to take also have the fl exibility to be very dim at night and very bright for mobile devices. Depending on the way they are designed rich, vivid colors for granted. And most pico projectors, using during the day. Plus, the lasers can be turned o£ when pixels into products, the current pico-projector technologies deliver either lasers or LEDs for light sources, can project them. But are not needed, for better nighttime driving visibility. LCDs, on between 2 and 20 lumens of brightness, which can mean a pro- contrast also a£ ects picture quality. Contrast is the dynamic the other hand, are problematic for nighttime driving because jected and readable image that measures diagonally anywhere range of a display, from the whitest white to the blackest black. the backlight leaches through the liquid crystals, creating a from 2.5 to over 250 cm. Good contrast is the di£ erence between crisp, dramatic-looking halo e£ ect and reducing contrast. The pico projectors available now have resolutions as high images and washed-out ones. Technologies that use three LEDs Further in the future, maybe 3 to 10 years from now, we’ll as 800 by 600 pixels, equivalent to the SVGA (Super Graphics or lasers rather than a single light source are tops here, because start seeing pico projectors in eyeglasses and visors, over laying Video Array) standard. Some projector designers are now they simply turn the light source o£ when it isn’t needed. graphical information on real-world images. For example, with working on high-defi nition resolutions—either 720 by 1280 or Pico projectors will make their fi rst impact in portable con- geotagging and location-based services, you might have infor- 1080 by 1920 pixels, in the wide-screen format of Hollywood sumer electronics. But they won’t stop there. By 2012 we could mation about buildings appear as you look at them. movies. None of the contenders has an obvious edge at the start seeing them in cars, both in rear-projection video sys- Pico projectors are going to become commonplace. Six or moment, but with consumers getting used to high resolution tems and driver head-up displays. Microvision and Light Blue seven years from now, we’ll look back and marvel that peo- content in other venues, new developments are likely to be Optics are trying to push laser-based pico projectors into these ple must have been crazy back when they huddled around announced here soon. niches. Lasers are bright enough to overcome daylight. They 3-inch screens. J

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • NA 45

05.PicoProjectors.NA.indd 45 4/14/10 1:42 PM 05.MOHProfile.NA.indd 46 2010 IEEE Medal of of 2010 IEEE Medal Honor “for seminal seminal “for Honor communica tions contributions to to contributions will receive the the receive will and theory.” technology technology J. VITERBI ANDREW 4/14/10 4:26PM

BRAD SWONETZ Medal of Honor

A NDREW VITERBI ’ S Fabulous Formula HIS DISCOVERY LED TO 3G CELLPHONES, WI-FI, AND A HOST OF OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

by tekla s. perry

THE RANKS OF FIRST-RATE INVENTORS are chock-full of characters who are brash, egotistical, and temperamental. And for quite a few, even those adjectives are stretched to their euphemistic limits. So meeting Andrew J. Viterbi can be something of a shock. He speaks softly, responds patiently. It’s not that he’s shy; it’s a soothing kind of quiet, the kind that makes a guest comfortable. He’s dressed nicely—in gray slacks and a dress shirt— but not formally; he rarely wears a tie. He’s mostly bald, with a round face and eyes that crinkle when he smiles, which is frequently. He looks like someone’s grandfather (which indeed he is; he has ﬁ ve grandchildren).

47 NA IEEE SPECTRUM MAY 2010 BRAD SWONETZ BRAD

05.MOHProfile.NA.indd 47 4/14/10 4:26 PM “Success comes to all kinds of per- In the fall of 1963, doctorate in hand, keeping track of about 1000 states at once; to do that, you’d need sonalities,” says Viterbi’s friend Carver Viterbi finally made it to academia, the processing power of a mainframe computer. Mead, the Caltech professor, integrated joining the University of California, Viterbi and his colleagues did some further tinkering with circuit pioneer, and oft-quoted tech Los Angeles. Teaching classes in com- the algorithm. They discovered that by keeping track of just visionary. “But it sure is nice when munications and information theory, 64 states, you could create a device that was four times as good as it comes to people like Andrew, who he couldn’t have been happier. an uncoded transmission, or twice as good as coding systems in aren’t just in it to beat their own chests.” Then came the algorithm. use at that time. That meant that the transmission power could It’s not easy to reconcile the mild- be one-fourth the strength, or the receiving dish one-fourth the mannered Viterbi with the tech titan IT WAS MARCH 1966. Viterbi was strug- size, or the range twice as far, as similar uncoded systems. Within who made fundamental contributions gling with yet another class of graduate a few years, the falling price of electronic components made pos- to Wi-Fi, 3G cellular and digital-satellite students, who just couldn’t grasp a key sible devices that tracked 256 states. communications, speech recognition, set of concepts in information theory. In 1968 Viterbi joined two engineers from his JPL days— and DNA analysis. Who cofounded The troublesome algorithms, known Irwin Jacobs, then at the University Qualcomm. And, oh yeah, came up as sequential decoding of convolutional of California, San Diego, and Leonard with one of the most important math- codes, extracted data from a signal cor- Kleinrock, then at UCLA—and started ematical concepts of the 20th century: rupted with noise. Essentially, the algo- consulting on applications of his algo- the Viterbi algorithm, a means of sep- rithms decided if a bit was a 0 or a 1 by rithm. They called their firm Linkabit. arating information from background looking down a decision tree. When it The company worked on vari - noise. It’s that last one, the algorithm, became clear that the data had been cor- ous defense and commercial satellite that was singled out in the citation for rupted, the software would go back one modems and terminals. It also built a sat- the IEEE Medal of Honor, Viterbi’s or more steps and try a di¡erent path. ellite signal scrambler called Videocipher most recent accolade. The students didn’t get it. Viterbi for the cable channel HBO; the technol- Viterbi’s tale isn’t one of an aggres- Andrew J. Viterbi decided that the reason the algorithms o© continued to be used to scramble pay- sively ambitious engineer trying were so hard to understand was that the TV signals until the end of 2008. In 1973, to shake up the world, make a for - date of birth computer proof of the theorems was too complex. Viterbi left UCLA and joined Linkabit 9 March 1935 Lenovo laptop, tune, or claw his way to the top of his several Dells So he set out to find a simpler proof. full time. Seven years later, M/A-Com profession. It’s the story of an unusu- birthplace After several months of obsessing acquired the company and eventually Bergamo, Italy favorite ally bright and hardworking profes- restaurant over the problem, it hit him: It wasn’t sold off its various pieces. Viterbi and sor who wanted to explain a dicult first job Il Tinello, the proof that needed to be simpli - Jacobs stuck around until 1985, when Soda jerk in a drugstore concept in clear and simple terms in New York City fied; it was the algorithms themselves. they decided to start all over with a new first job in favorite movie order to better teach his students. technology Instead of going down a tree over and business they named Qualcomm. They Casablanca Co-op student, Raytheon over again, Viterbi envisioned a trel- weren’t exactly sure what this company biggest worry THE SON OF JEWISH-ITALIAN immigrants, patents lis, in which the software considers would do, just that it would be something Nuclear proliferation Viterbi did well in both math and Six, but inspired the bits surrounding a particular bit in commercial communications. English at the venerable Boston Latin hundreds languages spoken in question to decide whether that bit Then, recalls Viterbi, “along came this English, Italian, French, School. His father, a doctor, encour- hero is a 0 or a 1. The software assigns a interesting fellow, Allen Salmasi.” With German aged him to be an engineer, remem- Claude Shannon probability of the accuracy of its deci- backing from a rich uncle in Paris, the organizational bering the impact electrical power had most recent memberships sion to each bit based on the voltage of Iranian émigré had founded a company book read made when it first came to Bergamo, the IEEE, National the received signal that conveys that called OmniNet. Salmasi envisioned a Skeletons at the Feast Academy of Sciences, Italian town where Andrew was born. by Christopher A. bit. Based on the probabilities, the mobile satellite network that would let National Academy of Viterbi won a scholar ship to MIT and Bohjalian algorithm then decides whether that trucking dispatchers track trucks in real graduated with bachelor’s and master’s Engineering, Jewish particular bit is a 0 or a 1. Unlike the time and send messages to the drivers. favorite music Community Foundation degrees in electrical engineering in 1957. Light classical, opera, of San Diego, earlier convolutional code algorithms, He hired Qualcomm to build it. His father’s medical practice was strug- music of the Mathematical Sciences the software needs to keep track of The time was right. A number of com- gling, and the family needed Viterbi’s ’40s and ’50s Research Institute only the paths leading up to a limited panies had launched satellite TV busi- financial support, although he wanted number of states, typically more than nesses, but the service wasn’t catching on, to go on to a Ph.D. and teach. four but not more than 1000, a far so they were eager to lease their transpon- He had enjoyed working at Raytheon as a co-op student, but more e¡ective method than following each path until it dead- ders. There was just one problem: Those deplored the way engineers were treated. “Engineers were not ends. Viterbi published his results in the IEEE Transactions on satellite downlinks were licensed for fixed people trusted to make any decisions,” he recalls. He’d heard that Information Theory in 1967, and his paper became a classic. reception, not mobile use. The only way things were di¡erent on the West Coast, where some engineers “After you see this approach, you wonder why nobody thought around the rule was if the mobile appli- even got private oces. So he applied for and got a job at the Jet of it before,” says Robert G. Gallager, an MIT professor emeritus cation did not interfere with fixed services. Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif. Signing on with a lab and an eminent scholar in communications theory. “But that’s Qualcomm’s solution was to use that was aliated with a university seemed like the next best what the best inventions are. After you see them, they are obvious.” spread-spectrum communications. thing to the academic career he really wanted. The algorithm did what Viterbi wanted—it simplified the The engineers figured that if they At JPL, he started off working on telemetry for guided mis- course material for his students. But he sensed it could do a lot combined their signal with a broader siles, helping develop a then-new device called the phase-lock loop, more—for example, enabling the extraction of weaker signals signal that looked like noise, the which tunes into a carrier signal in spite of surrounding noise. After from noisier environments. That in turn could mean lower-power fixed satellite networks would ignore the Soviet launch of Sputnik and the beginning of the space race, transmitters, smaller antennas on the receiving end, or both. But it. They then used the Viterbi algo - Viterbi’s e¡orts shifted to space communications systems, but the to be useful, it would require both computer memory and process- rithm to help extract the original underlying focus on signals and noise didn’t change. Simultaneously ing power to calculate and track all the probabilities. Extracting signal from the noise. The Federal

he worked on his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California. the weakest signal from the greatest amount of noise would mean SWONETZ BRAD Communications Commission gave

48 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.MOHProfile.NA.indd 48 4/14/10 4:26 PM In the fall of 1963, doctorate in hand, keeping track of about 1000 states at once; to do that, you’d need Qualcomm an experimental license to try out the idea. Viterbi finally made it to academia, the processing power of a mainframe computer. In 1988, Qualcomm was in the midst of testing the system joining the University of California, Viterbi and his colleagues did some further tinkering with with 600 trucks when Salmasi’s company started falling apart. Los Angeles. Teaching classes in com- the algorithm. They discovered that by keeping track of just Viterbi and his colleagues, rather than letting the e¡ort fold, munications and information theory, 64 states, you could create a device that was four times as good as decided to acquire OmniNet in 1988. Within three years, the he couldn’t have been happier. an uncoded transmission, or twice as good as coding systems in trucking system, called OmniTracs, was turning a profit. It’s Then came the algorithm. use at that time. That meant that the transmission power could still used around the world by long-haul truckers. be one-fourth the strength, or the receiving dish one-fourth the IT WAS MARCH 1966. Viterbi was strug- size, or the range twice as far, as similar uncoded systems. Within FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH OF OMNITRACS, the scrappy start-up gling with yet another class of graduate a few years, the falling price of electronic components made pos- took on the mobile phone industry. In an era when analog cell- students, who just couldn’t grasp a key sible devices that tracked 256 states. phones still ruled, the company introduced a digital spread- set of concepts in information theory. In 1968 Viterbi joined two engineers from his JPL days— spectrum network (also based on the Viterbi algorithm, of The troublesome algorithms, known Irwin Jacobs, then at the University as sequential decoding of convolutional of California, San Diego, and Leonard codes, extracted data from a signal cor- Kleinrock, then at UCLA—and started rupted with noise. Essentially, the algo- consulting on applications of his algorithms decided if a bit was a 0 or a 1 by rithm. They called their firm Linkabit. PennPenn State State | |Online Online looking down a decision tree. When it The company worked on vari - PennPenn State State | |Online Online became clear that the data had been cor- ous defense and commercial satellite rupted, the software would go back one modems and terminals. It also built a sat- or more steps and try a di¡erent path. ellite signal scrambler called Videocipher The students didn’t get it. Viterbi for the cable channel HBO; the technol- decided that the reason the algorithms o© continued to be used to scramble pay- were so hard to understand was that the TV signals until the end of 2008. In 1973, proof of the theorems was too complex. Viterbi left UCLA and joined Linkabit So he set out to find a simpler proof. full time. Seven years later, M/A-Com After several months of obsessing acquired the company and eventually over the problem, it hit him: It wasn’t sold off its various pieces. Viterbi and the proof that needed to be simpli - Jacobs stuck around until 1985, when fied; it was the algorithms themselves. they decided to start all over with a new Instead of going down a tree over and business they named Qualcomm. They over again, Viterbi envisioned a trel- weren’t exactly sure what this company lis, in which the software considers would do, just that it would be something the bits surrounding a particular bit in commercial communications. in question to decide whether that bit Then, recalls Viterbi, “along came this is a 0 or a 1. The software assigns a interesting fellow, Allen Salmasi.” With probability of the accuracy of its deci- backing from a rich uncle in Paris, the sion to each bit based on the voltage of Iranian émigré had founded a company the received signal that conveys that called OmniNet. Salmasi envisioned a bit. Based on the probabilities, the mobile satellite network that would let algorithm then decides whether that trucking dispatchers track trucks in real particular bit is a 0 or a 1. Unlike the time and send messages to the drivers. OnlineOnline Master’s Master’s Degree Degree earlier convolutional code algorithms, He hired Qualcomm to build it. OnlineOnline Master’s Master’s Degree Degree the software needs to keep track of The time was right. A number of com- only the paths leading up to a limited panies had launched satellite TV busi- inin Systems Systems engineering engineering number of states, typically more than nesses, but the service wasn’t catching on, inin Systems Systems engineering engineering four but not more than 1000, a far so they were eager to lease their transpon- AdvanceAdvance Your Your Career Career more e¡ective method than following each path until it dead- ders. There was just one problem: Those AdvanceAdvance Your Your Career Career ends. Viterbi published his results in the IEEE Transactions on satellite downlinks were licensed for fixed Gain Gain a aquality quality education education in in a aconvenient convenient online online format format Information Theory in 1967, and his paper became a classic. reception, not mobile use. The only way Gain Gain a aquality quality education education in in a aconvenient convenient online online format format “After you see this approach, you wonder why nobody thought around the rule was if the mobile appli- Apply Apply your your skills skills to to any any engineering engineering discipline discipline of it before,” says Robert G. Gallager, an MIT professor emeritus cation did not interfere with fixed services. Apply Apply your your skills skills to to any any engineering engineering discipline discipline and an eminent scholar in communications theory. “But that’s Qualcomm’s solution was to use Build Build a aprofessional professional network network with with classmates classmates what the best inventions are. After you see them, they are obvious.” spread-spectrum communications. Build Build a aprofessional professional network network with with classmates classmates The algorithm did what Viterbi wanted—it simplified the The engineers figured that if they Become Become a aleader leader in in your your organization organization course material for his students. But he sensed it could do a lot combined their signal with a broader Become Become a aleader leader in in your your organization organization more—for example, enabling the extraction of weaker signals signal that looked like noise, the Finish Finish in in as as little little as as two two years years from noisier environments. That in turn could mean lower-power fixed satellite networks would ignore Finish Finish in in as as little little as as two two years years transmitters, smaller antennas on the receiving end, or both. But it. They then used the Viterbi algo - to be useful, it would require both computer memory and process- rithm to help extract the original ApplyApply now now ing power to calculate and track all the probabilities. Extracting signal from the noise. The Federal ApplyApply now now the weakest signal from the greatest amount of noise would mean SWONETZ BRAD Communications Commission gave www.worldcampus.psu.edu/IEEEwww.worldcampus.psu.edu/IEEE SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG www.worldcampus.psu.edu/IEEEwww.worldcampus.psu.edu/IEEEMAY 2010 • I EEE SPECTRUM • NA 49 U.Ed.OUTU.Ed.OUT 10-0388/10-WC-151bkh/bjm 10-0388/10-WC-151bkh/bjm U.Ed.OUTU.Ed.OUT 10-0388/10-WC-151bkh/bjm 10-0388/10-WC-151bkh/bjm

05.MOHProfile.NA.indd 49 4/14/10 4:26 PM course) to e ciently extract the right digital bits from a host Group, which consists of Viterbi, his daughter Audrey, and of simultaneous transmissions in which everything looks like an assistant. Not surprisingly, he focuses on communications noise. (Today all 2G and 3G digital standards use the Viterbi start-ups, many of which are adapting the fundamental algo- algorithm.) Viterbi and his colleagues also fi gured out a way rithm he discovered to new purposes. He’s not trying to control to have each handset and tower analyze the quality of its own his technolo© , he explains; it’s just the area he knows best. To signals as well as the other conversations being transmitted date, the group has invested in 30 companies and currently has around it; the tower would then adjust power usage until the some US $10 million invested in 10 companies. handset was transmitting just enough signal to work. One of his earliest investments was in VoiceSignal Technologies, Qualcomm cofounder Jacobs says that it was a long uphill which used the Viterbi algorithm for voice recognition systems battle for the company to convince the world that its technolo© , in cellphones, including the iPhone. Nuance Communications code-division multiple access, or CDMA, was commercially via- acquired VoiceSignal in 2007. He was also an early investor in ble, and even the usually patient Viterbi sometimes got frustrated. Provigent, a company that produces systems for microwave point- “A couple of professors at Stanford were being quoted in the press to-point transmission; Flarion Technologies, a company with a 4G saying that CDMA violated the laws of physics,” Jacobs says. phone technolo© that was eventually acquired by Qualcomm; “[Viterbi] did get into a bit of an interchange with one of them.” and TransChip, a camera-on-a-chip manufacturer purchased by For his part Viterbi recalls those years as intense but “very excit- Samsung. While Viterbi may be a money man for these companies, ing. Things were happening. Hardware was being built. Maybe his technical advice and industry contacts are invaluable to the we were whistling in the dark, but the technolo© worked.” start-up teams. Rajiv Laroia, Flarion’s founder, says that when his His daughter, Audrey, theorizes that this battle was perhaps company was still just a struggling New Jersey start-up, Viterbi’s “the most exciting period of his career. My father is always up for stamp of approval conferred instant credibility. “He is a god in the a challenge; that’s what motivates him.” Eventually, Qualcomm’s fi eld of communications,” says Laroia. CDMA won out. In 1993, the Telecommunications Industry Viterbi has also made generous donations to engineering edu- Association, a trade group that represents about 600 telecom com- cation at USC (where the school of engineering now bears his panies, incorporated it into its wireless cellular standard. Today name); MIT; the Technion–Israel Institute of Technolo© , in Haifa; a form of it is used in 3G cellular systems throughout the world. Boston Latin School; and two private high schools. Viterbi retired from Qualcomm in 2000, with hundreds of mil- “The future of this nation is scientifi c literacy,” Viterbi says. lions of dollars in stock. He now had the time and the resources “What else do we have to sell? We have innovation and we have to do just about anything. And what he really wanted, he decided, a lot of bright kids.” was to do more to help up-and-coming engineers. Maybe one of those bright kids will grow up, challenge the These days, Viterbi’s helping to groom the next generation established way of doing things, and change the world of tech- of tech entrepreneurs through his investment fi rm, the Viterbi nolo© . Just like Andrew Viterbi. J

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50 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05.MOHProfile.NA.indd 50 4/14/10 4:26 PM EIGHT YEARS IN NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGINEERING HAS SEEN OPERAS PERFORMED ON THREE CONTINENTS

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05a.p51.NA.indd 51 4/9/10 1:49 PM Candidates in 2010 Election

HE IEEE BOARD OF DIRECTORS has IEEE PRESIDENT-ELECT, 2011 REGION 2 DELEGATE-ELECT/ IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION received the names of the following Gordon W. Day DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011–2012 BOARD OF GOVERNORS Joseph V. Lillie Parviz Famouri MEMBER-AT-LARGE, 2011–2012 T candidates to be placed on this year’s Murty S. Polavarapu Karen Bartleson ballot. The candidates have been drawn from DIVISION I DELEGATE-ELECT/ Victor Berman REGION 4 DELEGATE-ELECT/ recommendations made by divisional and DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011 Cor L. Claeys DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011–2012 IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION regional nominating committees. In addition, Alfred E. Dunlop Robert C. Parro BOARD OF GOVERNORS the names include candidates for positions in Irving Engelson Karen S. Pedersen MEMBER-AT-LARGE, 2011–2012 Hamid Vakilzadian Stanley L. Moyer the IEEE Standards Association, IEEE Technical DIVISION III DELEGATE-ELECT/ Glenn W. Parsons Activities, and IEEE-USA. REGION 6 DELEGATE-ELECT/ DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011 DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011–2012 IEEE TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES Individuals may petition to be placed on the Stanley L. Moyer Michael R. Andrews VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT, 2011 ballot. Please refer to IEEE Policy 13.7.3. found Douglas N. Zuckerman Roy E. (Gene) Stue John T. Barr IV within the IEEE Constitution, Policies and Bylaws William A. Gruver DIVISION V DELEGATE-ELECT/ REGION 8 DELEGATE-ELECT/ Frederick C. Mintzer link at http://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/ DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011 DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011–2012 governance/index.html. James W. Moore Jaafar M. Al-Ibrahim IEEE-USA PRESIDENT-ELECT, 2011 Jon G. Rokne Gerhard P. Hancke Marc T. Apter For more information on IEEE elections and James M. Howard REGION 10 DELEGATE-ELECT/ candidates, please visit http://www.ieee.org/ DIVISION VII DELEGATE-ELECT/ DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011–2012 IEEE-USA MEMBER-AT-LARGE, DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011 elections or e-mail [email protected]. Jose (Joe) B. Cruz Jr. 2011–2012 Ballot packages will be mailed to and elec- Saifur Rahman Cheryl (Cheri) A. Warren Toshio Fukuda Mauro G. Togneri tronic ballot access created for all IEEE mem - Ramakrishna Kappagantu John R. Twitchell bers eligible to vote on or before 1 August. DIVISION IX DELEGATE-ELECT/ To ensure ballot packages are delivered to DIRECTOR-ELECT, 2011 Anthony K. Milne the proper mailing address, please visit http:// José M.F. Moura www.ieee.org/go/my_account and update your Robert (Bob) C. Rassa member proﬁle if necessary.

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05a.elections.NA.indd 54 4/15/10 10:32 AM Instructor Computer Networking

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technology gurus converge. Instructor The brightest minds discussing the biggest topics. Computer & Electronics Engineering Technology ITT TECHNICAL INSTITUTE in Springfield, VA, one of the nation’s leading providers of technical post- AVAILABLE ON DEMAND WEBINARS: secondary education, has career opportunities available for enthusiastic educators in the field of Build a Better Prototype Computer Electronics & Engineering. This first webinar in a series of four will provide useful tips about how to create a prototype This position requires a Masters degree, a mini- for your next project and what tools you can use to save money and get a high-quality mum of 3 years applicable experience in Electronics product to market fast. www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1562472 and 15 semester hours in the subject matter area. To submit your resume and to learn more about this exciting career opportunity, please visit our Understanding 2D Bar Codes and Their Applications website at www.itt-tech.edu. This webinar will provide the latest uses of 2D barcodes, how they operate and how it’s possible for your organization to leverage this technology to its fullest advantage across ITT TECHNICAL INSTITUTE 7300 Boston Blvd, Springfield, VA 22153 a variety of industrial verticals. www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1539881 Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/H/V The New World of Digital Image Forensics This webinar is an overview of recent developments in the field, focusing on three problems — source, discriminating synthetic from real, forgery. www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1519891

Model-based Design & HIL Testing for

MechatronicSystems R4672.indd 1 Vienna University of Technology, 4/12/10 8:41 AM This webinar presents new ways to simplify the development of high fidelity multi-domain Faculty of Electrical Engineering models and quickly deploy the model in Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing. and Information Technology, Austria, www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1531578 invites applications for the faculty position of a full professor in Energy Systems Multiphysics Simulations for Low & High Engineering. Frequency Electromagnetics This webinar introduces the use of COMSOL Multiphysics for solving problems involving Candidates should have an excellent the couplings between electromagnetic field simulations and other physics. scientifi c background and strong expertise www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1531081 in at least one of the following research areas: power plant design and electrical Calibre DRC Automated Waiver Technology energy transmission, architecture and In this webinar, the Auto-Waiver approach for Calibre DRC is presented. numerical simulation of complex electrical www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/1504908 energy systems, congestion management and energy system protection. Applications are expected until June 18, 2010. More information concerning the requirements for SPONSORS: this position is available at http://eeg.tuwien.ac.at/announcement/. Please, send your application along with your scientifi c CV and list of publications to: TU Vienna, Faculty of Electrical Engineering Sign up today! and Information Technology, Dean’s Offi ce, www.spectrum.ieee.org/webinar Gusshausstrasse 27-29, 1040 Vienna, Austria.

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPE CTRUM • NA 55

05a.p55.NA.indd 55 4/15/10 9:15 AM Los Alamos National Laboratory Agnew National Security Postdoctoral Fellows  Required skills Education Deadline for application is June 4th, 2010. www.lanl.gov/jobs

© 2010 NAS (Media: delete copyright notice) IEEE Spectrum 7" x 4.75" B&W Portland State University invites applications for a tenure track Dean of the Whitacre College of Engineering position as Assistant or Associate Professor of Energy Systems Texas Tech University invites applications and nominations for the position of in Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, Dean of the Whitacre College of Engineering. commencing fall 2010. Texas Tech University, the flagship institution of Texas Tech University System, is a 1,839-acre award-winning campus located in Lubbock with an enrollment of An earned doctorate and a proven research record in electrical/computer en- more than 30,000 students. gineering is required, as demonstrated by archival publications, and evidence The dean of the Whitacre College of Engineering (www.coe.ttu.edu) has of successful research funding at the associate professor level. The success- responsibility for more than 130 tenured/tenure-track faculty positions, and an ful applicant will be expected to contribute to undergraduate and graduate annual operating budget of $14 million. The college is home to eight academic departments and offers over 30 degrees to more than 4,700 students, including programs, and to develop a sustainable externally funded research program more than 700 masters and doctoral students. Research funding has grown 40% in energy systems, (e.g. alternative/renewable energy, smart grid technolo- in the last three years, with research awards totaling $16.5 million in the last fiscal year. gies, or more traditional areas,) in collaboration with existing campus and de- The successful applicant will have an earned doctorate in engineering, partmental faculty, and local industry. PSU is situated in downtown Portland, computer sciences, or a closely related discipline and a record of scholarly in the heart of the Silicon Forest, where sustainability and alternative energy accomplishments that merits appointment as a tenured full professor in one of the college’s departments. have been identifi ed as civic and State priorities. The Portland region hosts a wide range of high-tech electronics and power com panies, e.g. Intel, Tek- A full position description and further details can be found at www.coe.ttu.edu/deansearch. The salary and other benefits are competitive and tronix, PGE, Pacifi Corp, SolarWorld, and Vestas, with Energy Systems R&D are based on experience. Apply for the position online at centers at Bonneville Power and the Pacifi c Northwest National Laboratory. http://jobs.texastech.edu. Search Postings for Requisition No. 81078. Salary is competitive and dependent on qualifi cations and experi ence. PSU Screening will begin upon the receipt of applications and will continue until the offers an excellent benefi ts package including fully paid healthcare, reduced position is filled. Candidates names will not be made public until the final stages of the search. To nominate a colleague for this position, visit tuition rates, and a gener ous retirement package. www.coe.ttu.edu/deansearch. Nominations can be made anonymously. Applications must be submitted on-line at Questions about the Dean of the Whitacre College of Engineering http://ece.pdx.edu/EnergySystemsPosition.php, should be directed to: Dean Search Committee| Texas Tech University | Whitacre College of Engineering where detailed information on the position, the Department, and the campus Box 43103 | Lubbock, Texas 79409-3013 [email protected] | 1.800.528.5583 can also be found. PS U is an AA/EO institution and welcomes applications from diverse candidates and candidates who support diversity. Application

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity/ reviews will begin immediately and continue until ﬁ nalists are identiﬁ ed. Americans with Disabilities Employer

56 NA • IEEE SPECTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

05a.p56.NA.indd 56 4/15/10 9:19 AM Faculty Position in Aerospace Engineering at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

The Institutes of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at EPFL invite class infrastructure. As a technical university covering computer & applications for the position of tenured full or associate professor in communication sciences, engineering, environment, basic and life sci- the area of Aerospace Engineering. As a faculty member of the School ences, management of technology and financial engineering, EPFL offers of Engineering, the successful candidate will be expected to teach and a fertile environment for research cooperation between different disci- conduct cutting-edge research in fields such as space systems, aviation, plines. The EPFL environment is multi-lingual and multi-cultural, with aerospace materials or aeronautics. This is a broad search in all areas of English often serving as a common interface. aerospace technologies. The Search Committee invites letters of nomination, applications The successful candidate will also be expected to assume the role of (complete CV with list of publications, research and teaching vision Director of the Space Center EPFL. This partnership of government statements, and the names of at least 5 referees), or expressions of and industry has the goal to foster, promote and federate space tech- interest. Applications must be uploaded in PDF format to the web site nology across science, education and industry both within Switzerland http://sc-search10.epfl.ch. and with international partners. Unique within Switzerland, the Space Center EPFL aggregates equipment and coordinates space-related Evaluation of candidates will begin in September 2010. research across several institutes, serving as a platform to facilitate cross-disciplinary research. In collaboration with its partners, the Space Enquiries may be addressed to: Center EPFL recently launched its first flagship project, the SwissCube Prof. Claude Nicollier satellite. Search Committee Chairman E-mail: [email protected] Candidates should have an outstanding academic record, as well as exceptional leadership, communication and management skills. The More information on EPFL, the School of Engineering and the Space EPFL will provide the means to attain the objective of establishing Center EPFL can be found at http://www.epfl.ch, http://sti.epfl.ch world-class leadership in education and research. The EPFL, located and http://space.epfl.ch in Lausanne, Switzerland, is a dynamically growing and well-funded institution fostering excellence and diversity. It has a highly inter- EPFL is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty, and strongly national campus at an exceptionally attractive location boasting first- encourages women to apply.

Professor in Antennas, Propagation & Radio Networking

Post-doctoral Fellows and Research Assistant Professors for the Area of Excellence Project (Ref.: 20100118) Applications are invited for a position at the level of Professor at the Faculties of Engineering, Science and Medicine, Department of Electronic Systems Applications are invited for appointments as Post-doctoral (position number 60031). The position is available from September 1st 2010. Fellows (PDF) and Research Assistant Professors (RAP) in Emerging Electronics for the AoE Project, from as soon as Research areas will be within: possible for one to three years, with the possibility of renewal. • Dynamic radio channel modelling and characterization Applicants should possess a doctoral degree in Physics, Chemistry or Electric Engineering, with strong experience • Modelling and characterization of antennas in Computational Science and Engineering. Successful • Physical layer workability of short range (UWB, RFID etc) as well as candidates will join a multi-institutional interdisciplinary project cellular (2G,3G,4G..) wireless communication systems on modeling and simulation of emerging electronics in Hong Kong to develop a suite of multi-scale electronic devices • Multi-element antenna system design in terms of communication performance and automation software tools. Details can be found at • Multi-element radio channel sounding principles http://www.physics.hku.hk/~fczhang/AoE/AoE.html. • Design of probing antenna systems Applicants who have responded to the previous advertisement (Ref.: RF-2009/2010-435) need not re-apply. • Dosimetry aspects of biological effects of wireless systems • EMC aspects A highly competitive salary commensurate with qualifi cations and experience will be offered. Annual leave and medical/ In order to apply for this position, all applicants must read the complete job dental benefi ts will be provided. The appointments of RAPs notice at: http://stillinger.aau.dk/ for two years or more will attract a contract-end gratuity and University contribution to a retirement benefi ts scheme, totalling Deadline for applications is: June 5th 2010. up to 15% of basic salary.

The mission of Aalborg University (AAU) is to ensure high quality in higher Interested candidates should send a cover letter, C.V. research and education within the ﬁelds of Engineering, Natural Sciences, and 3 recommendation letters to Ms. Anna Wong (e-mail: Medicine and Social and Human Sciences. With an annual budget around [email protected]). Review of applications will DKK 2 billion, more than 15,000 students, 600 Ph.D. students, more than continue until the posts are ﬁ lled. Candidates who are not 2,000 employees and strong ties to industry and business life, Aalborg contacted within 3 months from the date of their applications may consider their applications unsuccessful. University has established its position as a considerable force within higher research and education both nationally and internationally. The University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a No-Smoking Policy

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPE CTRUM • NA 57

05a.p57.NA.indd 57 4/12/10 12:20 PM R4680.indd 1 4/12/10 8:50 AM Algorithm Developer/Radar Systems • Algorithms for moving target detection and SAR, through-the-wall sensors, aerospace radar systems for ISR and/or ﬁ re-control, advanced Oregon State University Department of concepts, radar payloads and technology prototyping Nuclear Engineering & RF Systems Engineer • Embedded computing and real- Radiation Health Physics time software applications for radar system development, The Department of Nuclear Engineering and Solutions for the Real World radar signal processing, hardware-in-the-loop simulation, in- Radiation Health Physics invites applications for tegration and test • High power microwaves a Full-time, 12-month research faculty position. Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute interact Ground Tactical Radar Engineer • Weapons location The successful applicant will work in developing with colleagues across Georgia Tech and the national research radar, CRAM, next-generation systems, technology insertion, and characterizing radiation detectors, digital and development communities to advance technology support- test and evaluation pulse processing algorithm, and radiation ing National Security. Our researchers work in a team-oriented transport modeling to detect radioactive environment, developing innovative solutions and taking their Intelligence Analysis • Analyze threat systems, threat sys- noble gases through beta/gamma coincidence ideas from the white board through analysis, modeling and tem simulators, FME • Future threats, foreign systems analysis measurements. For complete position details simulation, prototype, integration, and test and evaluation. Electronic Warfare Research Engineer • Perform and qualiﬁcations and to apply, go to GTRI is also involved in training through extensive profes- modeling, simulation, analysis and concept development of sional education programs. http://oregonstate.edu/jobs/ RF electronic warfare systems • Develop analytical tools us- and submit your application packet. Successful candidates should have a BS/MS/PhD in a relevant ing MATLAB and similar programs to support analysis and engineering, mathematics, or physics discipline. development programs Missile Defense Radar Engineer/Systems Engineer Real-Time Embedded Software Developer • Develop ap- • System of systems engineering, radar systems engineering, plication software used for defensive avionics and related testing, phased array antenna systems analysis, digital beamforming, training, and instrumentation • Integrate aircraft and ground sys- electronic protection, track and sensor fusion algorithms, mod- tems using MIL-STD-1553, Ethernet, and Tactical Data Links eling and simulation, test and evaluation of complex systems Candidates interested in the GTRI postings listed above should Antenna Design Engineer/Electromagnetic Phe- send their resume and statement of interest to hiring coordi- nomenology • Antenna design and analysis, novel antenna nators, Ms. Melanie Scoville, [email protected] 1 Take advantage of 4/12/10 8:43 AM concepts, conformal and wideband antennas, antennas for edu, Voice 404-407-7915 and Mr. Joe Brooks, joe.brooks@gtri. radar and communications systems, antenna measurements, gatech.edu, Voice 404-407-7144. your member benefits. antenna calibration, advanced techniques • Electromagnetic Due to the unique nature of our work, US Citizenship is propagation, EMI/EMC, advanced sensing techniques and required for employment. Current collateral or elevated The IEEE Job Site can help phenomenology exploitation security clearances are especially desirable. Georgia Tech you find your next ideal job. Electronic Attack/Protection Research Engineer • is an equal opportunity employer. www.ieee.org/jobs RF EA/EP techniques development, algorithm development and evaluation, hardware development, test and evaluation, Georgia Tech data analysis, modeling and simulation www.GTRI.gatech.edu ®

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the largest government-funded tertiary institution in Hong Kong, with a total student headcount of about 28,655, of which 15,350 are full-time students, 8,485 are part-time students, and 4,820 are Proceedings mixed-mode students. It offers programmes at Doctorate, Master’s, Bachelor’s degrees and Higher Diploma levels. The University has 27 academic departments and units grouped under six faculties, as well as 2 independent schools and 2 independent research institutes. It has a full-time academic staff strength of around 1,400. The total consolidated of the IEEE: expenditure budget of the University is in excess of HK$4 billion per year. DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING SERVICES ENGINEERING Pioneering technology The Department of Building Services Engineering is one of the constituent departments of the Faculty of Construction and Land Use. It offers a full range of programmes leading to the awards of Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Philosophy, Master from the inside out. of Science and Bachelor of Engineering. It has an undergraduate student body of over 400 full-time students, over 200 part-time students and a postgraduate student body of over 350. There is a total full-time academic staff establishment of 29 engaging in a wide range of active research areas including but not limited to HVAC, Building Environment, Electrical and Lighting Systems, Facility Management, Fire and Safety. The University and the Department highly encourage a multiple culture environment concerning both staff and student mix. Please visit the website at http://www.bse.polyu.edu.hk for more information about the Department. Associate Professor / Assistant Professor in Electrical Services The appointee will be required to (a) undertake teaching activities at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Electrical Services and related subjects; (b) be an active researcher concerning quality publications, external research grants and applied research; (c) supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research/design projects; and (d) provide leadership in developing a programme, a subject discipline, or a research programme, etc. Applicants should have (a) a PhD degree in an appropriate discipline related to Electrical Engineering; (b) a proven track record in research publications and scholarly activities; (c) preferably a professional qualification in a recognised and relevant professional body; and (d) several years of research experience in an electrical discipline, preferably related to application in buildings. Applicants with a high level of achievement, and an outstanding level of knowledge of and extensive experience in a related discipline will be considered for the post of Associate Professor. A start-up package will be provided for initiation of a new research programme or research area. Proceedings of the IEEE. Remuneration and Conditions of Service Subscribe today. Salary offered will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Initial appointment will be made on a fixed-term gratuity-bearing contract. Re-engagement thereafter is subject to mutual agreement. Remuneration package will be highly www.ieee.org/proceedings competitive. Applicants should state their current and expected salary in the application. Application Please submit application form via email to [email protected]; by fax at (852) 2764 3374; or by mail to Human Resources Office, 13/F, Li Ka Shing Tower, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. If you would like to provide a separate curriculum vitae, please still complete the application form which will help speed up the recruitment process. Application forms can be obtained via the above channels or downloaded from http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/job.htm. Recruitment will continue until the position is filled. Details of the University’s Personal Information Collection Statement for recruitment can be found at http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hro/jobpics.htm.

58 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MAY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

0-PEE-0207d-Prceedins-it-Pe-d-in.indd10/21/0 1 2:3:3 PM

05a.p58.NA.indd 58 4/15/10 10:28 AM IRIS PASSCAL Program Manager

The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (www.iris. edu) seeks a dynamic and forward-looking scientist or engineer with managerial and instrumentation experience to serve as Program Manager for the Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL). The preferred candidate will have an advanced degree or equivalent experience in engineering or science and ten or more years experience leading research or facilities programs in academia, related government agencies or industry. 133 lpi The PASSCAL facility based at New Mexico Tech (www.passcal.nmt.edu) is managed by the IRIS Consortium and is funded primarily by the National Discover the satisfaction of Science Foundation. This facility provides access to a broad range of innovation and service to the nation portable seismic instruments, field training and support, and data services to assist seismological research on earthquakes and Earth structure. The PASSCAL Program Manager provides leadership and technical advice in MIT Lincoln Laboratory applies advanced technology to problems the development, operation and evolution of PASSCAL, including oversight critical to national security in the areas of communications, space surveillance, advanced electronics, air and missile defense, of the subaward for facility operation at New Mexico Tech. network security, integrated sensing and decision support, and homeland protection. The successful candidate must demonstrate vision and an ability for SCREEN sustained leadership, and be capable of managing in a challenging, Unless otherwise noted, the following positions require a PhD in dynamic and highly rewarding scientific and technical environment. Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics or Physics. In lieu Significant travel is required. The position will be located in Socorro, New of a PhD, a MSEE with 3-5 years of directly related experience will be considered. Mexico or Washington, D.C. IRIS offers competitive salaries, an excellent benefits package and a Senior Integrated Circuit Test Engineer (872) collegial work environment. IRIS is an equal opportunity employer and Lead a team of approximately four that serves all testing needs welcomes a diverse pool of candidates. Consideration of applications will of the Advanced Silicon Technology Group. Will be responsible 3.25” x 10” begin in early May, and the position will remain open until filled. Additional for a large VLSI digital tester capable of 1 GHz, an automated information on the position can be found at www. parametric tester, and many discrete instruments, and have iris.edu/hq/employment. access to an extensive microwave lab capable of 100 GHz. Our custom circuits often require custom analog and digital test Please e-mail vitae with a cover letter including equipment, developed by the person in this role. Develop test names of references and salary requirement, plans and procedures, write test programs for both commercial preferably by May 15, 2010, to: [email protected]. and custom test equipment, debug programs and the IC’s being tested. Requires MSEE and Familiarity with Agilent (now Verigy) 93000 VLSI tester programming and data extraction. NOTES SIZE Digital Systems Engineer (220) Develop digital signal processing hardware and firmware, including FPGA-based algorithms, for use in wireless communications systems. Plan architecture of wireless IEEE Members communications systems; design communications systems based on high-level specifications; and manage a team of developers. Must be able to develop implementation architectures from Save 10% on Online requirements documents. Learning Resources Algorithm Development/Surface Surveillance 583319 Radar Staff (218) Conduct algorithm development for surface surveillance radar programs for moving target detection, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), as well as moving target imaging or inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR). Digital signal processing expertise is required. Algorithm Development/Surface Surveillance

Radar Staff (230) IEEE Spectrum Magazine Research and development on advanced signal processing techniques for mitigation of complex interference sources. Expertise in adaptive and statistical signal processing, electronic protection and detection is essential. Candidate must be able to perform data-driven algorithm development using experimental data. 124940 Access more than 6,000 online courses from a All positions are located in Lexington, MA. growing list of universities and other learning Please visit our website at www.ll.mit.edu institutions, who have partnered with IEEE to help for more information on these and PUBLICATION IO # WO # you meet your professional development needs. our many other opportunities.

Learn more at www.ieee.org/partners

Technology in Support of National Security

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we are committed to realizing our vision of diversity and inclusion in every aspect of our enterprise. Due to the unique nature of our work, we require U.S. citizenship.

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG MAY 2010 • IEEE SPE CTRUM • NA 59

07-EA-0249c EPP filler ads_qtr071 1 9/18/07 9:27:51 AM

05a.p59.NA.indd 59 4/13/10 2:41 PM 1500 1500 the data 1500 1200 15001200 1200 900 1600 1500 1200900 US $1600 900 600 1400 1500 1400 900600 1200 CON300SUMER SPENDING ON MEDIA AND INTERNET ACCESS (2008) 1200 1500 600 1200 1200 INTERNET ACCESS, PER CAPITA 900 600300 TRADITIONAL MEDIA, PER CAPITA 1000 1200 300Countries are0 ordered by total media spending 1000 1500 as a percent of GDP. 900 0 800 1500 600 300 800 900 0 China 12001500 600 600 600 1200 300 0 ChinaTurkey 1200 600 400 900 China 400 300 TurkeyBrazil 900 0 China 200 900 300 Turkey 200 600 0 Brazil Czech 0 600 BrazilTurkey

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ORT China R HU G D PAK TH KOREA M RGENTINA INGAPORE T C NDONESIA ONG KONG TH AF P P I Turkey HILIPPINES AU S A VENEZ 300 H France

P S Korea EW Z WITZERLAND ETHERLANDS SOU S N SOU N ZECH ZECH UNITED S

300 C Czech UNITED KINGDOM 0 China France BrazilTurkey S Korea 0 US Turkey SFrance Korea Old and New Media0 1500 CzechBrazil RELATIVEChina CONSUMER SPENDINGUS Japan ON MEDIA, BY CATEGORY (2008)S Korea PER CAPITA OW MUCH are you willing to spend to be CzechBrazil US entertained and informed? If you live 1200in ChinaFrance JapanIreland Norway, quite a lot. In 2008, Norwegians CHINA ChinaTurkeyCZECH REPUBLIC UNITED STATES H TURKEY FRANCE JAPAN US spent US $1522 per capita on media and FranceCzech Japan BRAZIL TurkeySOUTH KOREAS KoreaIRELAND NORWAY Internet access, according to a recent study by Brazil IrelandNorway PricewaterhouseCoopers. On the other hand, 900the TurkeyFrance IrelandJapan average Chinese person spent about as much BrazilUSS Korea that year ($38) as a Norwegian did in nine days. Czech Norway (To be sure, China’s 2008 per capita GDP was just BrazilS Korea NorwayIreland about one-tenth Norway’s; the gap in disposable-600 CzechJapanUS income spending is presumably narrower.) CzechFrance Norway When it comes to traditional media—including JapanUS newspapers, magazines, books, movies, television,300 FranceIreland video games, and CDs—the top 15 countries in FranceS Korea per capita spending are all in North America and US $240 Japan Western Europe; the leading non-Western country S KoreaNorwayIreland is Japan, in 16th place. Elsewhere, consumers 0 TVNEWSPAPERS MOVIES SUSBOO KoreaKSMAGAZINES VIDEO GAMES CDs may be turning more to the Internet for their NorwayIreland entertainment. Japan ranks second in per capita US spending on Internet access, South Korea fourth, USJapan and Singapore tenth; the average Czech spends can cost far less in some countries than others.) Norway SOURCES: Japan PricewaterhouseCoopers, more on Internet access ($141) than does the Who spends the most per capita on recorded China “Global Entertainment average American ($133). music? That would be the Japanese. For JapanIreland and Media Outlook: 2009–2013”; U.S. Census Westerners spend at least three times as much magazines, the leader is Finland, followedIreland closely Turkey International Data Base on traditional media as on Internet access. In non- by Greece and Switzerland. The Irish spendNorway the Western countries, a ratio of less than 2:1 is not most on video games. In most other categoriesIreland uncommon. In Vietnam and Pakistan, consumer Norway leads. Partly, that’s due to its highNorway cost of Brazil spending for Internet access actually exceeds living. But they also seem to love media—especially purchases of traditional media. (It’s worth remem- books, at $240 per year per person. Must Norwaybe those bering that a DVD of the same movie, for example, long winter nights! —Dana Mackenzie Czech France 60 NA • IEEE SPE CTRUM • MA Y 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG S Korea US 05.DataInfographic.NA.indd 60 4/14/10 10:00 AM Japan Ireland Norway Lower rates now Group Term Life available You work Group 10-Year Level Term Life Group 20-Year Level Term Life Group Level Term Life to Age 65 to change Group Term Life with Living Beneﬁts

the future. The future is powered by the expertise and vision of professionals like you. We work to protect it. Let us help secure your place in that future with life insurance plans exclusively created for IEEE members. IEEE Group Life Insurance plans are underwritten by one of the most ﬁnancially stable insurance companies in America, while featuring affordable group rates and outstanding service.

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Over one million people around the world speak MATLAB. Engineers and scientists in every field from aerospace and semiconductors to biotech, financial services, and earth and ocean sciences use it to express their ideas. Do you speak MATLAB? PHOTO: European Space Agency ©2010 The MathWorks, Inc.

Saturn's northern latitudes and the moon Mimas. Image from the Cassini-Huygens mission.