TV, the last frontier?

How come nearly all of us own a PC nowadays? It has evolved from an expensive device into an essential part of every household and every office. What happened is that the PC turned into a platform capable of running multiple applications.

History repeated itself with the mobile phone which evolved from a basic device for calls to the smartphones we all know today. Apple®. in particular, changed the face of mobiles (quite literally) and transformed them into a platform for applications.

So what's happened to the TV in this time? It has been around for much longer and yet not much has changed. Or has it?

In fact, the changes in TVs are probably just as advanced, from LCD to LED, from HD to 3D; consumers have been quick to adopt these new technologies. But what will turn the TV also into an application platform? What is it that will transform our relationship with the TV from the 'lean back' experience to a more interactive, engaging approach?

More TVs than ever are now broadband enabled, and set top boxes becoming increasingly sophisticated. Whether it is through legislation or through industry consolidation, the inevitable next step is a standardised approach to delivering applications.

Plextek recently developed a range of Android based application platforms, such as tablet PCs and in-car entertainment systems. Plextek sees the TV as the 'last frontier' in application development and this frontier is about to be conquered!

The possibilities are endless, from home shopping to gaming, from communications services to healthcare services. However, the user interface design will play a key role - as was the case in the mobile and computer industry - including the seamless interaction between mobile and TV. 

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Solving the wireless surveillance problem - the technology exists to improve rates of criminal prosecution?

Current video surveillance techniques work well over wired networks, but wireless links add noise and latency that standard techniques such as H.264 and JPEG2000 fail to cope with.

To solve this problem, Plextek has worked with customers to develop a simplified codec based on JPEG2000 that has lower computational complexity and lower power consumption than current systems, and which works well with the transmission imperfections inherent in wireless links. Over very low bandwidth links, analogue video still provides superior performance and Plextek has developed methods that take advantage of the power savings from analogue processing and modulation whilst providing the flexibility of digital networking.

To improve performance still further, Plextek has developed a range of intelligent analysis techniques that can be embedded in an HD camera. These techniques extract the important visual information from the high quality source video and forward it to the system controller at a much lower bit rate than full HD. Consequently, the benefits of HD video is obtained even when network bandwidth is limited.

According to the annual crime figures for 2010/11 we have witnessed an increase of 14% in domestic burglaries and a 6% rise in violent crime in the past year. Security and surveillance is climbing high on the agenda for many although much of the footage produced by current surveillance systems is of poor visual quality making identifications of criminals problematic. The technology and techniques are now available which would give clearer visual information from HD cameras, resulting in higher rates of prosecution.

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Testing times for Python

One of the more important phases in the development of a product is the testing. Even if the product has little software in it, software is invariably involved in the testing process. It may be controlling test equipment, providing simulated input or analysing internal data structures.

There are many programming languages that can be used, and they all have strengths and weaknesses. One that is well worth considering is Python.

The main Python website describes Python as a "powerful dynamic programming language" that "is often compared to Tcl, Perl, Ruby, Scheme or Java". It is an object-oriented language that is supported by an extensive set of libraries. The scope of these libraries is perhaps the most attractive feature of Python.

In recent projects Plextek has made extensive use of the SciPy and NumPy mathematical packages for generating test data and for verifying the data produced by the signal processing embedded in a number of products. The wyPython library was useful in generating a simple GUI that allowed regression tests to be controlled and their output to be inspected and logged. The PyVISA package enables you to control all kinds of measurement equipment through  various busses (GPIB, RS232, USB).

Learning the basics of Python is relatively straightforward. There are many tutorials available online and, once the structure of a Python script (or module) is understood, a programmer familiar with structured languages should make good progress.

The fact that indentation is significant rather than aesthetic can lead to some early confusion,  but most programmers soon develop a layout discipline that prevents problems. The Python Enhancement Proposal (PEP) number 8 provides a style good for Python coding that is well worth reading.

Python is available on most operating systems. There are plug-ins for Eclipse and Visual Studio as well as a number of dedicated IDEs that support GUI application development. It can be easily extended either with modules written in C or C++ application so that Python modules can be used to customise the functionality at run-time.

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GaAs Panel Session at 2011 European Microwave Week

Europe's premier microwave event returned to the UK in October. The European Microwave Week (EuMW) comprises three major conferences and a commercial exhibition which rotates venue between The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and the UK.

Plextek took an active part in the recent UK meeting, which was held in Manchester. The European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC) is one of the three conferences and focusses on recent developments in the area of RF and Microwave ICs.

When held in the UK the closing session of the EuMIC conference is traditionally a GaAs panel session with panel members being senior representatives of the world's leading commercial foundries. Plextek's Director of RF Integration, Liam Devlin, pictured at the session, was invited to chair the panel at this year's conference. Panel members were present from GCS, OMMIC, TriQuint Semiconductor, UMS and WIN Semiconductor.

The session was attended by over a hundred delegates and featured short introductory presentations from all panel members followed by a lively interactive question and answer session.

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Plextek at RF and Microwave Society Conference

The ARMMS RF and Microwave Society has developed a reputation as the UK's leading event for RF and Microwave Engineering.

Meetings are held every six months and feature a conference and supporting exhibition. The most recent event took place at the Rockingham Forest Hotel in Northants on November 21st and 22nd and was a complete sell-out with attendees attempting to book overnight accommodation at the venue weeks after it had sold out.

Stuart Glynn, Consultant in Plextek's RF Integration Group, was one of the presenters at this meeting and gave a well-received presentation entitled "A Low Cost, Plastic Packaged, 0.5W, 6-18GHz Amplifier MMIC"

A copy of this paper is available for download. Please click here

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