Energy challenges for ICT

The energy consumption from the expanding use of information and communications technology (ICT) is unsustainable with present drivers, and it will impact heavily on the future climate change. However, ICT devices have the potential to contribute signi - cantly to the reduction of CO2 emission and enhance resource e ciency in other sectors, e.g., transportation (through intelligent transportation and advanced driver assistance systems and self-driving vehicles), heating (through smart building control), and manu- facturing (through digital automation based on smart autonomous sensors). To address the energy sustainability of ICT and capture the full potential of ICT in resource e - ciency, a multidisciplinary ICT-energy community needs to be brought together cover- ing devices, microarchitectures, ultra large-scale integration (ULSI), high-performance computing (HPC), energy harvesting, energy storage, system design, embedded sys- tems, e cient electronics, static analysis, and computation. In this chapter, we introduce challenges and opportunities in this emerging eld and a common framework to strive towards energy-sustainable ICT

A survey of energy saving techniques for mobile computers

Portable products such as pagers, cordless and digital cellular telephones, personal audio equipment, and laptop computers are increasingly being used. Because these applications are battery powered, reducing power consumption is vital. In this report we first give a survey of techniques for accomplishing energy reduction on the hardware level such as: low voltage components, use of sleep or idle modes, dynamic control of the processor clock frequency, clocking regions, and disabling unused peripherals. System- design techniques include minimizing external accesses, minimizing logic state transitions, and system partitioning using application-specific coprocessors. Then we review energy reduction techniques in the design of operating systems, including communication protocols, caching, scheduling and QoS management. Finally, we give an overview of policies to optimize the code of the application for energy consumption and make it aware of power management functions. Applications play a critical role in the user's experience of a power-managed system. Therefore, the application and the operating system must allow a user to control the power management. Remarkably, it appears that some energy preserving techniques not only lead to a reduced energy consumption, but also to more performance

Review on the development of truly portable and in-situ capillary electrophoresis systems

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a technique which uses an electric field to separate a mixed sample into its constituents. Portable CE systems enable this powerful analysis technique to be used in the field. Many of the challenges for portable systems are similar to those of autonomous in-situ analysis and therefore portable systems may be considered a stepping stone towards autonomous in-situ analysis. CE is widely used for biological and chemical analysis and example applications include: water quality analysis; drug development and quality control; proteomics and DNA analysis; counter-terrorism (explosive material identification) and corrosion monitoring. The technique is often limited to laboratory use, since it requires large electric fields, sensitive detection systems and fluidic control systems. All of these place restrictions in terms of: size, weight, cost, choice of operating solutions, choice of fabrication materials, electrical power and lifetime. In this review we bring together and critique the work by researchers addressing these issues. We emphasize the importance of a holistic approach for portable and in-situ CE systems and discuss all the aspects of the design. We identify gaps in the literature which require attention for the realization of both truly portable and in-situ CE systems

Design techniques for low-power systems

Portable products are being used increasingly. Because these systems are battery powered, reducing power consumption is vital. In this report we give the properties of low-power design and techniques to exploit them on the architecture of the system. We focus on: minimizing capacitance, avoiding unnecessary and wasteful activity, and reducing voltage and frequency. We review energy reduction techniques in the architecture and design of a hand-held computer and the wireless communication system including error control, system decomposition, communication and MAC protocols, and low-power short range networks

The system architecture of the Pocket Companion

In the Moby Dick project we design the architecture of a so-called Pocket Companion. It is a small personal portable computer with wireless communication facilities for every day use. The typical use of the Pocket Companion induces a number of requirements concerning security, performance, energy consumption, communication and size. We have shown that these requirements are interrelated and can only be met optimal with one single architecture. The Pocket Companion architecture consists of a central switch with a security module surrounded by several modules. The Pocket Companion is a personal machine. Communication, and particularly wireless communication, is essential for the system to support electronic transactions. Such a system requires a good security infrastructure not only for safeguarding personal data, but also to allow safe (financial) transactions. The integration of a security module in the Pocket Companion architecture provides the basis for a secure environment.\ud Because battery life is limited and battery weight is an important factor for the size and the weight of the Pocket Companion, energy consumption plays a crucial role in the architecture. An important theme of the architecture is: enough performance for minimal energy consumption

Evolution and Competition in the Market for Handheld Computers

Since the early 1990s, electronic organisers or electronic agendas have been evolving towards fully fledged, but miniature, computers. This paper is a case study about this market. Uniquely, and reminiscent of the home computer market in the 1980s, this is a market for personal computers not dominated by Microsoft. Or at least, not yet. In tracking the evolution of this market, the paper points especially to the importance of networking and standardization. The market for handheld computers is a small market, compared to the units shipped in the market for PCs. Nevertheless a surprisingly large number of vendors has been and still is active in this market. During the short history of this market, there have been several periods where technological breakthroughs created expectations of huge growth, with entry by new suppliers as a result. As the dust settled, the losers either changed strategy, or left the market altogether. The paper will argue that standardization and networking are major factors in explaining competitive success and the recent growth of the industry.industrial organization ;

TechNews digests: Jan - Mar 2010

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

Communication system for a tooth-mounted RF sensor used for continuous monitoring of nutrient intake

In this Thesis, the communication system of a wearable device that monitors the user’s diet is studied. Based in a novel RF metamaterial-based mouth sensor, different decisions have to be made concerning the system’s technologies, such as the power source options for the device, the wireless technology used for communications and the method to obtain data from the sensor. These issues, along with other safety rules and regulations, are reviewed, as the first stage of development of the Food-Intake Monitoring projectOutgoin