From: Rohit Khare (rohit@uci.edu)
Date: Sat May 06 2000 - 02:46:22 PDT
At 3:07 PM -0700 5/4/00, Eugene Leitl wrote:
>Nihil nova. Been there. This exact technology (plus some very
>interesting extras) called localizers is also described en detail in
>Vernor Vinge's A Deepness In The Sky, a work of science
>fiction. Essentially, these gadgets create a 3d meshwork of mutual TOF
>triangulation, using digital pulse radio.
>
>If you could make EM-pulse pumpable fully integrated (spherical Si?)
>gadgets like http://xent.ics.uci.edu/FoRK-archive/nov99/0555.html
>and fabricate them for few bucks a piece, or less, you're in business.
>Otherwise, the problem will be, as so often, juice.
Ęther Wire & Location, Inc.
Technology so precise and so versatile, you'll never lose anything again.
* Find your lost child (or pet, or keys, or eyeglasses, or
purse, or luggage) with no delay, to centimeter accuracy.
* Program your car, house, or office to automatically unlock
when you approach (and stay locked for anyone else).
* Pinpoint the location of inventory in your store, library, or
warehouse, even if the items are small and have been misplaced.
* Benefit from new accident-prevention devices for Police and
Fire personnel, hospitals, hikers, skiers, hunters, fishermen.
* Combine with existing vehicles and equipment to automate
construction, inspection, and survey applications.
* Use the relative location of people and objects to enhance
sports, the arts, recreation, and your safety.
* Become part of a surging growth industry bringing new ease,
comfort, and security to people all over the world.
ĘTHER WIRE & LOCATION, INC.
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Low-Power, Miniature, Distributed Position Location and Communication
Devices Using Ultra-Wideband, Nonsinusoidal Communication Technology
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT WE DO
Ęther Wire's long term goal is the development of coin-sized devices
that are capable of localization to centimeter accuracy over
kilometer distances. These "Localizers" will be able to operate
within a network of millions of other units in a local area, and
users will be able to enter and leave the network seamlessly and
transparently. Ultimately, these Localizers will be able to operate
for up to a year on a watch- sized battery, or longer if augmented by
solar power. The overall goal of this DARPA (Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency) sponsored project is the development of
pager-sized units powered by AAA-sized cells that are capable of
localization to submeter accuracy over kilometer distances in
networks of up to a few hundred Localizers.
ADVANCING BEYOND THE LIMITS OF TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES
We are developing small, low power transceivers that can be used for
position location and low data-rate communication. Position location
will be determined by sharing range information within a network of
transceivers. Pairs of transceivers resolve their separation by
cooperatively exchanging an electromagnetic signal. The accuracy of
this range determination is a function of the bandwidth of the
exchanged signal. With conventional sinewave technology, the
bandwidth of the signal relative to the carrier frequency is very
small, at most a few percent using spread spectrum. However, it is
possible to transmit and receive electromagnetic impulses which have
a relative bandwidth approaching 100%. This "nonsinusoidal" radiation
is currently being used for anti-stealth and ground-probing radar,
under the more common heading of ultra-wideband or impulse radar.
POTENTIALS OF THIS TECHNOLOGY
Nonsinusoidal radiation has unique advantages when used, at many
orders of magnitude less power than conventional sinewave technology,
for communication and cooperative ranging:
* Transceivers can be made very small (i.e. coin size), low
power, and low cost because the electronics can be completely
integrated in CMOS without any reactive components.
* The antennas can be equally small, and can be driven directly
by CMOS, because they are non-resonant and current-mode.
* Ultra-wideband / nonsinusoidal signals form a shadow spectrum
which can coexist and does not interfere with the sinewave spectrum.
The transmitted power is spread over such a large bandwidth that the
amount of power in any narrow frequency band is very small.
* The good features of spread spectrum are shared, including
multipath immunity, tolerance of interference from other radio
sources, and inherent privacy from eavesdropping (low probability of
intercept).
* Ultra-wideband / nonsinusoidal signals have very good
penetrating capabilities, probably due to their exceptionally large
bandwidth. Localizers can operate within buildings, urban areas, or
forests.
* Centimeter-level accuracy in determining range is possible
without using expensive microwave (GaAs MMIC) technology because
nonsinusoidal signals have very large relative bandwidth, and the
circuits can be clocked at much lower frequencies.
* The cooperative nature of this technology allows for accurate
ranging without the need for extremely accurate and stable (and
expensive) master clocks to synchronize the system.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FURTHER INFORMATION
Those wishing more details can contact us directly (see below),
and/or click on the following links. Our 1995 Principal Investigators
Technical Report provides an overview of our research motives,
techniques, and goals (as of Summer, 1995). You can access this
document in either HTML or PDF formats. Also, in the interests of
furthering development of ultra-wideband technology and in order to
acknowledge the efforts of those whose research inspired us, we have
collected over a hundred of the core patents in the field, as well as
many papers and chapters, and collected them into a CDROM or CDROM
image in PDF format. This is available on the web at Stanford
University. (Note: Ęther Wire is not funded by, nor formally
associated with, Stanford. We are simply taking advantage of their
willingness to provide space on their server.)
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Ęther Wire & Location, Inc. Executive Summary
Ęther Wire & Location, Inc. Executive Summary (392 Kbytes)
Low-Power, Miniature, Distributed Position Location and Communication
Devices Using Ultra-Wideband, Nonsinusoidal Communication Technology
[Frames] [No-Frames]
Semi-Annual Technical Report, ARPA Contract J-FBI-94-058, July 1995
Low-Power, Miniature, Distributed Position Location and Communication
Devices Using Ultra-Wideband, Nonsinusoidal Communication Technology
(620 Kbytes)
Semi-Annual Technical Report, ARPA Contract J-FBI-94-058, July 1995
Ęther Wire Slides, "Integrated Ultra-Wideband Localizers", 1999 UWB
Conference, 28 Sept 1999 (3253 Kbytes)
Ęther Wire Slides, "UWB Research Directions", 1999 UWB Conference,
30 Sept 1999 (364 Kbytes)
The Origins of Ultra-Wideband Technology CDROM Image / by Ęther Wire
& Location, Inc., May 1998
The Origins of Ultra-Wideband Technology CDROM Image / by Ęther Wire
& Location, Inc., May 1998
Spread Spectrum Localizers, US Patent #5748891 / by Ęther Wire &
Location, Inc., May 1998 (5,314 Kbytes)
Spread Spectrum Localizers, US Patent #6002708 / by Ęther Wire &
Location, Inc., Dec 1999 (5,310 Kbytes)
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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Ęther Wire currently has openings for the following positions:
* Embedded Systems Engineer
* Embedded Systems Programmer
* RF/Analog CMOS Engineer
If you're motivated to "try and change the world" and would like to
work at the leading edge with a small team of exceptional people,
review these job descriptions...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Points of Contact:
Robert Fleming or Cherie Kushner
Ęther Wire & Location, Inc.
5950 Lucas Valley Road
Nicasio, CA 94946
Tel: 415-662-2055
Fax: 415-662-2056
E-mail: uwb@aetherwire.com
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