A gated oscillator clock and data recovery circuit for nanowatt wake-up and data receivers

This article presents a data-startable baseband logic featuring a gated oscillator clock and data recovery (GO-CDR) circuit for nanowatt wake-up and data receivers (WuRxs). At each data transition, the phase misalignment between the data coming from the analog front-end (AFE) and the clock is cleared by the GO-CDR circuit, thus allowing the reception of long data streams. Any free-running frequency mismatch between the GO and the bitrate does not limit the number of receivable bits, but only the maximum number of equal consecutive bits (Nm). To overcome this limitation, the proposed system includes a frequency calibration circuit, which reduces the frequency mismatch to ±0.5%, thus enabling the WuRx to be used with different encoding techniques up to Nm = 100. A full WuRx prototype, including an always-on clockless AFE operating in subthreshold, was fabricated with STMicroelectronics 90 nm BCD technology. The WuRx is supplied with 0.6 V, and the power consumption, excluding the calibration circuit, is 12.8 nW during the rest state and 17 nW at a 1 kbps data rate. With a 1 kbps On-Off Keying (OOK) modulated input and −35 dBm of input RF power after the input matching network (IMN), a 10^(−3) missed detection rate with a 0 bit error tolerance is measured, transmitting 63 bit packets with the Nm ranging from 1 to 63. The total sensitivity, including the estimated IMN gain at 100 MHz and 433 MHz, is −59.8 dBm and −52.3 dBm, respectively. In comparison with an ideal CDR, the degradation of the sensitivity due to the GO-CDR is 1.25 dBm. False alarm rate measurements lasting 24 h revealed zero overall false wake-ups

Inquadramento teroico. Interior design e spazi del gioco

Giocano solo i bambini, o giocano anche gli adulti? Dove e come gio­care oggi? Come progettare uno spazio ludico per adulti? Il giocare dopo l'infanzia ha recentemente intrapreso un processo di emancipa­zione dal fin troppo diffuso luogo comune di perdita di tempo, e incon­tra una sempre maggior attenzione da porte di pubblico, stampa, mer­cato. Al contempo, l'adulto oggi non si contenta di giocare in casa e ri­cerca un luo ludico in grado di soddisfarne le esigenze. Occorre strutturare e formalizzare la versione adulta della ludoteca per bambini, definire caratteristiche e peculiarità dei luoghi in cui incontrarsi per pas­sare qualche ora in compagnia, giocando a giochi da tavolo, attingen­do a collezioni in grado di spaziare da classici come Scacchi e RisiKo!ai titoli più moderni, da Carcassonne o I Coloni di Catan a Pandemie Legacy o Twilight Strugg/e. Il pregiudizio che colpisce il giocatore adul­to ha impedito a questo genere di spazi di evolvere e svilupparsi per di­ventare nel corso degli anni realtà definite e chiare nel panorama delle attività pubbliche. Qggi si configurano come luoghi orfani non solo di uno studio legato all'lnterior Design - assenza che li porta spesso a es­sere realtà molto lontane dai più comuni standard qualitativi - ma an­che della considerazione sociale: il pubblico ne ignora l'esistenza o li considera luoghi da evitare. Il volume colma il vuoto teorico e progettuale attorno a questo tema e costituisce la base per una riflessione sulle realtà ludiche per adulti. Par­tendo dall'analisi del concetto di gioco, letto come una pratica impor­tante nella vita del singolo e della collettività, un rito di fondamentale im­portanza in grado di arricchire la realtà quotidiana, si descrivono la storia e la situazione attuale delle ludoteche e degli spazi per il gioco adulto, per arrivare attraverso itinerari di design e progetto, alla propo­sta di un nuovo modello di spazio ricreativo -definito tramite linee gui­da metaprogettuali -che possa migliorare l'esperienza degli attuali gio­catori e al tempo stesso attirare nuovi utenti, comunicando la propria es­senza di luogo unico e funzionale

The relevance of color in post COVID-19 interior design

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of thoughtful use of colors in post COVID-19 interior design and architecture, through the analysis of relevant case studies that challenge the definition of residential, work and hospitality spaces. Houses used to provide a private retreat from working and social activities, but in 2020 they abruptly took on new functions that once were prerogative of hotels and workspaces. This resulted in an extreme blurring of private and public spaces in the home, that can potentially have detrimental effects on the mental health and well-being of its occupants. Reconsidering essential elements of design practices, such as the chromatic definition and acoustics, could therefore help soothing the popular insecurities of the fruition of public places, well remark the role of private ones and further define new hybrid spaces, as shown by the research “Living, Working and Traveling”, curated by E. Elgani and F. Scullica

Interni per la produzione 4.0

Gli spazi della produzione industriale e manifatturiera, nei quali ogni giorno sono rea- lizzati tutti i prodotti che in piccola o larga scala vengono consumati da gran parte della popo- lazione mondiale, costituiscono lo scenario di una recente trasformazione radicale: la quarta Rivoluzione industriale. Questo cambiamento profondo dei sistemi industriali si fonda sull’af- fermarsi di un nuovo modello di produzione, responsivo e adattivo, denominato Industria 4.01 che, non solo è stato in grado di scardinare i modelli organizzativi e produttivi precedenti, ma ha generato nuovi spazi per la produzione dei beni: le smart factory, fabbriche intelligenti. In- terni altamente ingegnerizzati, connessi e proiettati al futuro, sempre più sostenibili, silenziosi e asettici, in cui le persone, sempre meno, che vi lavorano si relazionano con cobots, robots collaborativi, e intelligenza artificiale

Concealed interiors for production in the Age of Industry 4.0

The aim of the paper is to investigate the hidden dimension of smart factories from the perspective of the interior, with relevant case studies that test the definition of the new factory: transparent, hybrid spaces, that relocate the individual in the midst of production[1], and are focused on the integration of the site of production with the city. The paper presents the ongoing research “Spaces for Production in the Age of industry 4.0: the Man at the Centre of the Factory” developed by the authors at the Department of Design - Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with Senaf for Mecspe 2019

Nanowatt Wake-Up Radios: Discrete-Components and Integrated Architectures

This work focuses on nano-watt wake-up radio architectures designed to improve the energy efficiency of medium range wireless communication. An integrated solution is presented with the aim of pushing the sensitivity vs. power trade-off to the limit. The key blocks are an envelope detector based on a MOSFET operated in the subthreshold region and an amplifier partly sharing the same bias current. According to simulations, a design based on the STMicroelectronics 90-nm BCD technology achieves an estimated 1254-dBm sensitivity at 1.2-V supply with 11-nA total bias current for the envelope detector, the amplifier and the Schmitt trigger. We also present a comparison between integrated solutions and a solution based on discrete components in terms of power consumption, bitrate, addressing capabilities and sensitivity

The city of care. Strategies to design healthier places

The book explores care as a transition strategy to a healthier and more sustainable world. After the lesson learned from the pandemic, health as a fundamental human right is increasingly related to a care component: caring for sick people, persons with disabilities, elders, migrants and refugees, women and children, caring for bodies, minds, cities and nature. Endorsing the care system as a female knowledge based on complexity, flexibility, management of the unexpected, sense of responsibility, the project culture can extract this paradigm from the domestic perimeter, bring outside and make it accessible to all in work, politics, relationships, places and communities. The systemic connection between planet and people wellbeing will be grasped through a transdisciplinary perspective that allows to deal with the city of care at a mental, physical, social and global level. The first section addresses care and interior space, dealing with dwelling, working, proximity and cities on a human scale, with a particular attention to the post Covid conditions. The second section deals with healthcare design, the evolution and trend of healing spaces, the influence of technology and robotics on inclusive design processes. The third section considers a social care attitude and deals with the multiethnic urban dimension, the care system as a female knowledge, the right to health of immigrant people