Tech Trill

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new product announcements.

Justin Bieber--Grammy-nominated platinum pop megastar, Justin Bieber, will be appearing with TOSY Robotics at this year's CES. Justin Bieber is helping TOSY unveil their new innovative entertainment robot.

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi--Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is best known for her role on the most talked about reality TV show Jersey Shore. She is a 4 foot 9 firecracker from New York who proudly shows off the lifestyle of being a guidette. 

Source:http://www.cesweb.org

The set-up comprises a chip similar to that used in scaling down the images for security cameras , and another chip similar to the one used in controlling big LED signs used for advertisements. Forbes was able to put together his wearable display by adding a small set of circuits that convert video output of the iPod to the smaller resolution.



A full wrap-around display is priced at 39,995 dollars while a front-only will cost 24,995 dollars. Wait time is around four months. (ANI)

Technology is rapidly growing in the world.There might be some day in which things happen like self healing of electronics from damages due to temperature issues. The day is not so far..!!
University of Illinois engineers were able to create a method in which electronics with damaged circuits would be able to automatically repair themselves.The another shocking thing in this is that they are going to heal themselves with in 100 microseconds (100x10^-6 sec).

The fabricated TRRAM has a transmittance of 81% (including the substrate) in the visible region and an excellent switching behavior under3 V. The retention measurement suggests that the memory property of the TRRAM device could be maintained for more than 10 years. We believe that the TRRAM device presented in this work could be a milestone of future see-through electronic devices.

I think in future the iphone may be like the below image..!! :P

This is done by a NXP, a semiconductor company.NXP Semiconductors is one of the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders, and was originally founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Formerly known as Philips Semiconductors, the company was sold by Philips to a consortium of private equity investors in 2006. NXP Semiconductors provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions based on its RF, analog, power management, interface, security and digital processingexpertise. More informally, NXP has characterized its strategy as focusing on "products with no big chip in the middle." These semiconductors are used in a wide range of "smart" automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, mobile, consumer and computing applications.

NXP has unveiled technology that has to potential to provide every light bulb with its own IP address. In this
way, light bulbs could be controlled from any internet enabled device. The approach builds on its recent
acquisition of Jennic.
The technology, called GreenChip, is small enough to fit within the base of a regular energy efficient light
bulb. Two versions will be launched: GreenChip iCFL, for use with compact fluorescents (cfl); and GreenChip
iSSL, for use with leds. Both chipsets can act as dimmable drivers for smart lamps and are accompanied by:
a standby supply controller, with 10mW no load capability; a 2.4GHz IEEE802.15.4 compatible wireless
microcontroller; and wireless connectivity, enabled by the JenNet IP network layer software.
John Croteau, NXP’s general manager, power lighting solutions and high performance RF, said: “chipset has very low power consumption so it doesn’t negate the benefits of energy efficient lighting. And the cost structure is such that it can ship in consumer light bulbs.”
NXP is partnering with TCP, a leading manufacturer of cfl and led lamps. “TCP makes more than 1million
light bulbs a day,” said Croteau, “and will be launching consumer ready products. This is not a technology
demonstrator.” A further partnership with GreenWave Reality will see an intelligent lighting control and
management solution becoming available.
NXP will also making the technology available under an open source licence and will establish a
consortium to oversee its development. “There will not be an ‘internet of things’ if technology is proprietary or with royalties,” Croteau noted, adding “and if it only works with the iPhone, it won’t be deployable.”
NXP will be taking on ZigBee in the emerging wireless control sector, even though Croteau said this
wouldn’t be the case. “It’s not about competing with ZigBee,” Croteau claimed, “it’s about delivering
something people want to buy.”

Here is a video about this Smart lightning.

Easier Capture with New Schematic Net System


Enhanced Analog SPICE Simulation Features


New Programmable Logic Design from Schematic

If You want a high performance laptop that already optimized you should consider this laptop. The laptop is already optimized so will be maximal in performance. The specifications of the laptop are Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor, 4 GB of RAM, twin Nvidia Quadro FX Go 2500M graphics chipset, 1.3 Megapixel webcam, dual 250 GB hard diskk, 7 in 1 memory card reader, dual layer DVD RW drive and high resolution 17 inch 1920 x 1200 display. The special thing about this laptop is the casing that can be chosen from 14 tattoos options available. The price of this laptop is $ 8,500.

SONAR is useed in: 

· WARFARE
· SCIENTIFIC APPLICATION
Warfare 

Modern naval warfare makes extensive use of both passive and active sonar from water-borne vessels, aircraft and fixed installations. The relative usefulness of active versus passive sonar depends on the radiated noise characteristics of the target, generally a submarine. Although in World War II active sonar was used by surface craft—submarines avoided emitting pings which revealed their presence and position—with the advent of modern signal-processing passive sonar became preferred for initial detection. Submarines were then designed for quieter operation, and active sonar is now more used. In 1987 a division of Japanese company Toshiba reportedly sold machinery to the Soviet Union that allowed it to mill submarine propeller blades so that they became radically quieter, creating a huge security issue with their newer generation of submarines.

Active sonar gives the exact bearing to a target, and sometimes the range. Active sonar works the same way as radar: a signal is emitted. The sound wave then travels in many directions from the emitting object. When it hits an object, the sound wave is then reflected in many other directions. Some of the energy will travel back to the emitting source. The echo will enable the sonar system or technician to calculate, with many factors such as the frequency, the energy of the received signal, the depth, the water temperature, the position of the reflecting object, etc. Active sonar is used when the platform commander determines that it is more important to determine the position of a possible threat submarine than it is to conceal his own position. With surface ships it might be assumed that the threat is already tracking the ship with satellite data. Any vessel around the emitting sonar will detect the emission. Having heard the signal, it is easy to identify the sonar equipment used (usually with its frequency) and its position (with the sound wave's energy). Active sonar is similar to radar in that, while it allows detection of targets at a certain range, it also enables the emitter to be detected at a far greater range, which is undesirable.

Since active sonar reveals the presence and position of the operator, and does not allow exact classification of targets, it is used by fast (planes, helicopters) and by noisy platforms (most surface ships) but rarely by submarines. When active sonar is used by surface ships or submarines, it is typically activated very briefly at intermittent periods to minimise the risk of detection. Consequently active sonar is normally considered a backup to passive sonar. In aircraft, active sonar is used in the form of disposable sonobuoys that are dropped in the aircraft's patrol area or in the vicinity of possible enemy sonar contacts.

Passive sonar has several advantages. Most importantly, it is silent. If the target radiated noise level is high enough, it can have a greater range than active sonar, and allows the target to be identified. Since any motorized object makes some noise, it may in principle be detected, depending on the level of noise emitted and the ambient noise level in the area, as well as the technology used. To simplify, passive sonar "sees" around the ship using it. On a submarine, nose-mounted passive sonar detects in directions of about 270°, centered on the ship's alignment, the hull-mounted array of about 160° on each side, and the towed array of a full 360°. The invisible areas are due to the ship's own interference. Once a signal is detected in a certain direction (which means that something makes sound in that direction, this is called broadband detection) it is possible to zoom in and analyze the signal received (narrowband analysis). This is generally done using a Fourier transform to show the different frequencies making up the sound. Since every engine makes a specific sound, it is straightforward to identify the object. Databases of unique engine sounds are part of what is known as acoustic intelligence or ACINT.

Another use of passive sonar is to determine the target's trajectory. This process is called Target Motion Analysis (TMA), and the resultant "solution" is the target's range, course, and speed. TMA is done by marking from which direction the sound comes at different times, and comparing the motion with that of the operator's own ship. Changes in relative motion are analyzed using standard geometrical techniques along with some assumptions about limiting cases.

Passive sonar is stealthy and very useful. However, it requires high-tech electronic components and is costly. It is generally deployed on expensive ships in the form of arrays to enhance detection. Surface ships use it to good effect; it is even better used by submarines, and it is also used by airplanes and helicopters, mostly to a "surprise effect", since submarines can hide under thermal layers. If a submarine's commander believes he is alone, he may bring his boat closer to the surface and be easier to detect, or go deeper and faster, and thus make more sound. Examples of sonar applications in military use are given below. Many of the civil uses given in the following section may also be applicable to naval use.

Anti-submarine warfare

Until recently, ship sonars were usually with hull mounted arrays, either amidships or at the bow. It was soon found after their initial use that a means of reducing flow noise was required. The first were made of canvas on a framework, then steel ones were used. Now domes are usually made of reinforced plastic or pressurized rubber. Such sonars are primarily active in operation. An example of a conventional hull mounted sonar is the SQS-56.

conventional hull mounted sonar

Because of the problems of ship noise, towed sonars are also used. These also have the advantage of being able to be placed deeper in the water. However, there are limitations on their use in shallow water. These are called towed arrays (linear) or variable depth sonars (VDS) with 2/3D arrays. A problem is that the winches required to deploy/recover these are large and expensive. VDS sets are primarily active in operation while towed arrays are passive.

An example of a modern active/passive ship towed sonar is Sonar 2087 made by Thales Underwater Systems.

The below article is about underwater sound propagation:-



HISTORY:- 

During the 1930s American engineers developed their own underwater sound detection technology and important discoveries were made, such as thermoclines that would help for future development. After technical information was exchanged between the two countries during the Second World War, Americans began to use the term SONAR for their systems, coined as the equivalent of RADAR.

Performance factors

Sound propagation

Sonar operation is affected by variations in sound speed, particularly in the vertical plane. Sound travels very slowly in fresh water than in sea water, though the difference is small. The speed is determined by the water's bulk modulus and mass density. The bulk modulus is affected by temperature, dissolved impurities (usually salinity), and pressure. The density effect is small. The speed of sound (in feet per second) is approximately:
4388 + (11.25 × temperature (in °F)) + (0.0182 × depth (in feet)) + salinity (in parts-per-thousand).

This derived equation is reasonably accurate for normal temperatures, concentrations of salinity and the range of most ocean depths. Ocean temperature varies with depth, but in between 30 and 100 meters there is often a marked change, called the thermocline, dividing the warmer surface water from the cold, still waters that make up the rest of the ocean. This can frustrate sonar, because a sound originating on one side of the thermocline tends to be refracted, through the thermocline. The thermocline may be present in shallower coastal waters. However, wave action will often mix the water column and eliminate the thermocline. Water pressure also affects sound propagation: higher pressure increases the sound speed, which causes the sound waves to refract away from the area of higher sound speed. The mathematical model of refraction is called Snell's law.

If the sound source is deep and the conditions are right, propagation may occur in the 'deep sound channel'. This provides extremely low propagation loss to a receiver in the channel. This is because of sound trapping in the channel with no losses at the boundaries. Similar propagation can occur in the 'surface duct' under suitable conditions. However in this case there are reflection losses at the surface.

In shallow water propagation is generally by repeated reflection at the surface and bottom, where considerable losses can occur.

Sound propagation is affected by absorption in the water itself as well as at the surface and bottom. This absorption depends upon frequency, with several different mechanisms in sea water. Long-range sonar uses low frequencies to minimise absorption effects. The sea contains many sources of noise that interfere with the desired target echo or signature. The main noise sources are waves and shipping. The motion of the receiver through the water can also cause speed-dependent low frequency noise.
Scattering 
When active sonar is used, scattering occurs from small objects in the sea as well as from the bottom and surface. This can be a major source of interference. This acoustic scattering is analogous to the scattering of the light from a car's headlights in fog: a high-intensity pencil beam will penetrate the fog to some extent, but broader-beam headlights emit much light in unwanted directions, much of which is scattered back to the observer, overwhelming that reflected from the target ("white-out"). For analogous reasons active sonar needs to transmit in a narrow beam to minimise scattering.
Target characteristics 

The sound reflection characteristics of the target of an active sonar, such as a submarine, are known as its target strength. A complication is that echoes are also obtained from other objects in the sea such as whales, wakes, schools of fish and rocks.

Passive sonar detects the target's radiated noise characteristics. The radiated spectrum comprises acontinuous spectrum of noise with peaks at certain frequencies which can be used for classification.
Countermeasures
Active (powered) countermeasures may be launched by a submarine under attack to raise the noise level, provide a large false target, and obscure the signature of the submarine itself.
Passive (i.e., non-powered) countermeasures include:
§ Mounting noise-generating devices on isolating devices.
§ Sound-absorbent coatings on the hulls of submarines, for example anechoic tiles.

Anechoic tiles on the hull of HMS Triumph.

Active sonar


Active sonar uses a sound transmitter and a receiver. When the two are in the same place it is monostatic operation. When the transmitter and receiver are separated it is bistatic operation. When more transmitters (or more receivers) are used, again spatially separated, it is multistatic operation. Most sonars are used monostatically with the same array often being used for transmission and reception. Active sonobuoy fields may be operated multistatically.

Active sonar creates a pulse of sound, often called a "ping", and then listens for reflections (echo) of the pulse. This pulse of sound is generally created electronically using a sonar Projector consisting of a signal generator, power amplifier and electro-acoustic transducer/array. A beamformer is usually employed to concentrate the acoustic power into a beam, which may be swept to cover the required search angles. Generally, the electro-acoustic transducers are of the Tonpilz type and their design may be optimised to achieve maximum efficiency over the widest bandwidth, in order to optimise performance of the overall system. Occasionally, the acoustic pulse may be created by other means, e.g. (1) chemically using explosives, or (2) airguns or (3) plasma sound sources.

To measure the distance to an object, the time from transmission of a pulse to reception is measured and converted into a range by knowing the speed of sound. To measure the bearing, severalhydrophones are used, and the set measures the relative arrival time to each, or with an array of hydrophones, by measuring the relative amplitude in beams formed through a process calledbeamforming. Use of an array reduces the spatial response so that to provide wide cover multibeamsystems are used. The target signal (if present) together with noise is then passed through various forms of signal processing, which for simple sonars may be just energy measurement. It is then presented to some form of decision device that calls the output either the required signal or noise. This decision device may be an operator with headphones or a display, or in more sophisticated sonars this function may be carried out by software. Further processes may be carried out to classify the target and localise it, as well as measuring its velocity.

The pulse may be at constant frequency or a chirp of changing frequency (to allow pulse compression on reception). Simple sonars generally use the former with a filter wide enough to cover possible Doppler changes due to target movement, while more complex ones generally include the latter technique. Since digital processing became available pulse compression has usually been implemented using digital correlation techniques. Military sonars often have multiple beams to provide all-round cover while simple ones only cover a narrow arc, although the beam may be rotated, relatively slowly, by mechanical scanning.

Particularly when single frequency transmissions are used, the Doppler effect can be used to measure the radial speed of a target. The difference in frequency between the transmitted and received signal is measured and converted into a velocity. Since Doppler shifts can be introduced by either receiver or target motion, allowance has to be made for the radial speed of the searching platform.

One useful small sonar is similar in appearance to a waterproof flashlight. The head is pointed into the water, a button is pressed, and the device displays the distance to the target. Another variant is a "fishfinder" that shows a small display with shoals of fish. Some civilian sonars (which are not designed for stealth) approach active military sonars in capability, with quite exotic three-dimensional displays of the area near the boat.

When active sonar is used to measure the distance from the transducer to the bottom, it is known as echo sounding. Similar methods may be used looking upward for wave measurement.

Active sonar is also used to measure distance through water between two sonar transducers or a combination of a hydrophone (underwater acoustic microphone) and projector (underwater acoustic speaker). A transducer is a device that can transmit and receive acoustic signals ("pings"). When a hydrophone/transducer receives a specific interrogation signal it responds by transmitting a specific reply signal. To measure distance, one transducer/projector transmits an interrogation signal and measures the time between this transmission and the receipt of the other transducer/hydrophone reply. The time difference, scaled by the speed of sound through water and divided by two, is the distance between the two platforms. This technique, when used with multiple transducers/hydrophones/projectors, can calculate the relative positions of static and moving objects in water.

In combat situations, an active pulse can be detected by an opponent and will reveal a submarine's position.

A very directional, but low-efficiency, type of sonar (used by fisheries, military, and for port security) makes use of a complex nonlinear feature of water known as non-linear sonar, the virtual transducer being known as a parametric array
Passive sonar



Passive sonar listens without transmitting. It is often employed in military settings, although it is also used in science applications, e.g., detecting fish for presence/absence studies in various aquatic environments . In the very broadest usage, this term can encompass virtually any analytical technique involving remotely generated sound, though it is usually restricted to techniques applied in an aquatic environment.
Identifying sound sources

Passive sonar has a wide variety of techniques for identifying the source of a detected sound. For example, U.S. vessels usually operate 60 Hz alternating current power systems. If transformers orgenerators are mounted without proper vibration insulation from the hull or become flooded, the 60 Hz sound from the windings can be emitted from the submarine or ship. This can help to identify its nationality, as most European submarines have 50 Hz power systems. Intermittent sound sources (such as a wrench being dropped) may also be detectable to passive sonar. Until fairly recently, an experienced trained operator identified signals, but now computers may do this.

Passive sonar systems may have large sonic databases, but the sonar operator usually finally classifies the signals manually. A computer system frequently uses these databases to identify classes of ships, actions (i.e. the speed of a ship, or the type of weapon released), and even particular ships. Publications for classification of sounds are provided by and continually updated by the US Office of Naval Intelligence.
Noise limitations 

Passive sonar on vehicles is usually severely limited because of noise generated by the vehicle. For this reason, many submarines operate nuclear reactors that can be cooled without pumps, using silent convection, or fuel cells or batteries, which can also run silently. Vehicles' propellers are also designed and precisely machined to emit minimal noise. High-speed propellers often create tiny bubbles in the water, and this cavitation has a distinct sound.

The sonar hydrophones may be towed behind the ship or submarine in order to reduce the effect of noise generated by the watercraft itself. Towed units also combat the thermocline, as the unit may be towed above or below the thermocline. The display of most passive sonars used to be a two-dimensional waterfall display. The horizontal direction of the display is bearing. The vertical is frequency, or sometimes time. Another display technique is to color-code frequency-time information for bearing. More recent displays are generated by the computers, and mimic radar-type plan position indicator displays.
Performance prediction

Unlike active sonar, only one way propagation is involved. Because of the different signal processing used, the minimum detectable signal to noise ratio will be different. The equation for determining the performance of a passive sonar is:

SL − TL = NL − DI + DT where, SL=Source Level,
TL=Transmission Loss,
NL=Noise Level,
DI= Directivity index of the array.
DT=Detection Threshold
The figure of merit of a passive sonar is:
FOM = SL + DI − (NL + DT). 



Hey there is still more information to share about sonars so keep waiting..!!

A photodiode is a PN junction or PIN structure. When a photon of sufficient energy strikes the diode, it excites an electron, thereby creating a free electron and a (positively charged electron hole). This mechanism is also known as the photoelectric effect. If the absorption occurs in the junction's depletion region, or one diffusion length away from it, these carriers are swept from the junction by the built-in field of the depletion region. Thus holes move toward the anode, and electrons toward the cathode, and a photo current is produced. This photocurrent is the sum of both the dark current (without light) and the light current, so the dark current must be minimised to enhance the sensitivity of the device.
1)P-N photodiodes are used in similar applications to other photo detectors.

2)Photo diodes are used in consumer electronics devices such as compact disc players, smoke detectors, and                        

"Logic circuit is an electric circuit whose output depends upon the input in a way that can be expressed as a function in symbolic logic; it has one or more binary inputs (capable of assuming either of two states, e.x:- "on" or "off") and a single binary output".
Ex:-Flipflops,Registers,Counters,Shift Registers etc.,.

Hai friends we all know that solar energy and wind energy are renewable energies on the Earth ..
As the demand for eco-friendly energy grows, now-a-days more devices are available on the market...Here is one of the wireless technology with uses the natural available solar energy to charge a minimum of 5volts battery.This is a little portable recharger that charges your Electronic goods of less than 5volts by using solar energy and wind energy.And this device is portable one you can charge your mobile batteries, i-pods, mp3 players etc..
The Hymini and Kinesis Industries are putting out a universal charger/adapter device that uses the renewal power sources of sun.