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Swiss startup puts a new spin on 10-speed bikes by Valerie Thompson for the451.com Why spend USD 800 on a wireless gear shift mechanism? It's light-weight, precise and faster than using a wired gear shifting system. In the highly competitive sport of cycling every gram counts. The Mavic system includes ergonomic brake lever assemblies with integrated electronic shifting buttons in three locations, an LCD display for handlebars with time, speed functions plus "sprocket" mode, a battery diagnostic system, and an electronic derailleur all connected through a wireless digital network. There is no need to fear that garage door openers or electronic car locks will change your gears as you cycle past, say the device's inventors. The ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) from Swiss fabless semiconductor supplier, Xemics, has built-in filtering plus Mavic introduced a protocol that essentially filters all emissions using a different frequency to that of Mektronic. Batteries for the thing last about three years. "The power consumption is kept to a minimum using an ingenious technique that relies on a detector function in the chip," says Xemics' Wireless Product Manager, Gael Coron. It basically operates in sleep mode until it detects an RF signal and then it wakes up the receiver part to make the demodulation of the signal and then in turn, make it possible for the gear system to control a couple of magnets which enable the cyclist to change gears either up or down. Racers like it because they don't have to change hand position to shift gears. For example, a shifter button can be placed near brake levers or on the end of the aero bars. While they still have to pedal to change gears, it looks "way trick" says one product reviewer from the US. See a picture of the system here http://bikeworld.com/mektron.htm by Valerie Thompson for the451.com
in October 2000 A handful of RF integrated circuit vendors are in a race to create the lowest power, lowest cost, next generation Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receivers in hopes of gaining a share of a market pegged for explosive growth over the next five years. The GPS based chip market is forecast to grow to USD 2.2 billion by 2004, according to Allied Business Intelligence Inc (US), one third of which will be consumer devices. Two of the contenders come from Switzerland. Tchip Semiconductor, a fabless chip manufacturer, and u-blox AG, a micro-systems vendor are positioning their products for global markets. Most of the other in this sector are US-based (see table below). Until now GPS has been a niche application, targeted at high end markets for automobile navigation purposes. It is increasingly being used by consumers in outdoor recreational activities, for those who cannot stand not to know their precise location when hiking, running and golfing. According to Ray Jodoin, Analyst Cahners In-Stat, there will be 10-fold increase in these types of wireless location products by 2004. Products from Tchip and u-Blox could be used in mobile phones for location based service but also other consumer applications, such as PDAs, personal/child locators and watches (See table 2). Zurich-based u-blox is not even targeting the consumer market. Its first two volume sales are into the telematics and traffic management markets. "There are a lot of ideas floating around. In terms of quantity applications, we see insurers driving the companies to deploy asset tracking systems based on GPS. Gadgets such personal alarms, are also promising," says Alfredo Knecht, Tchip's Business Development Manager. What might add momentum to the demand for GPS chips is the scramble to come up with technical solutions to deliver location based services for mobile phone subscribers. There are a couple of methods to locate a mobile phone, such as overlay triangulation technologies, sold by the likes of Cambridge Positioning Systems (UK), Cellpoint Inc. (SE) or SnapTrack Inc. (US). The other method is based cell/sector information, called Cell ID, which requires no additional software or hardware. Most of the location based services running on cellular networks, such as those used by Swisscom and Diax in Switzerland, deliver services based on information about the cell's location. It is the least accurate. You could be standing on one shore of the lake of Zurich, but the phone is using a cell on the other side of the Lake. A drive around the Lake to find the hotel recommended by the operator would not be convenient, especially if you were on foot, even with efficient Swiss public transportation. Despite strange situations such as this, the analysts are optimistic. "For most of the services on offer so far the accuracy is adequate. In the US it's a different story where the regulator is forcing operators to support a very precise location service for emergency situation," says Jeremy Green. The most efficient and accurate is the GPS system. But it requires purchasing a new phone. "Some operators may choose to deploy methods based on GPS or A-GPS, while others will pick a network-based method such as TOA or a hybrid such as E-OTD," says Jeremy Green, Principal Consultant, Ovum. "I expect that the Cell ID solution services too, but it is expected that both will run simultaneously for some time. Look for a change in 2 to 3 years," says Ovum's Green. "There will be only a few winners on the hardware side of the market." Typical mobile phone applications or services include, roadside assistance, road conditions updates, driving directions and mobile Yellow Pages. These sound like compelling services, but so far none of the European operators have implemented them. "The services on offer lack a compelling reason to use them," says Ovum Principal Consultant, Jeremy Green who has been studying the market for the past six months. In other words, when it comes to cellular location based services in Europe, it is early days. Valerie Thompson
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1997-2007, APTE Association and Gary Martini. All rights reserved. |
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