Silicon SPDT Reflective Switches

Researchers at Rutgers University–New Brunswick have found that ordinary Wi-Fi can be used to easily detect weapons, bombs, and explosive chemicals in bags at public venues.

Their study – "Towards In-baggage Suspicious Object Detection Using Commodity WiFi" – demonstrates a low-cost Wi-Fi-based technology for security screening at public venues like stadiums, theme parks and schools. The suspicious object detection system, say the researchers, is easy to set up, reduces security screening costs, and avoids invading privacy such as occurs when screeners open and inspect bags, backpacks, and luggage.

"This could have a great impact in protecting the public from dangerous objects," says Yingying (Jennifer) Chen, co-author of the study and a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Rutgers–New Brunswick’s School of Engineering. "There's a growing need for that now."

Ubiquitous Wi-Fi wireless signals in most public places, say the researchers, can penetrate bags to get the dimensions of dangerous metal objects and identify them, including weapons, aluminum cans, laptops and batteries for bombs. Wi-Fi can also be used to estimate the volume of liquids such as water, acid, alcohol and other chemicals for explosives, according to the study.

The low-cost object detection system system requires a Wi-Fi device with two to three antennas and can be integrated into existing Wi-Fi networks. The system analyzes what happens when wireless signals penetrate and bounce off objects and materials.

The system uses the fine-grained channel state information (CSI) from off-the-shelf Wi-Fi. This information describes how a signal propagates from the transmitter to the receiver and represents the combined effect of such effects as scattering, fading, and power decay with distance.

The system first detects the existence of suspicious objects and identifies the dangerous material type based on the reconstructed CSI complex value (including both amplitude and phase information). It then determines the risk level of the object by examining the object's dimension - that is, a liquid volume or metal object's shape - based on the reconstructed CSI complex of the signals reflected by the object.

Experiments with 15 types of objects and six types of bags demonstrated detection accuracy rates of 99% for dangerous objects, 98% for metal and 95% for liquid, say the researchers. For typical backpacks, the accuracy rate exceeds 95% and drops to about 90% when objects inside bags are wrapped.

Looking ahead, say the researchers, next steps include trying to boost accuracy in identifying objects by imaging their shapes and estimating liquid volumes.

Analog Devices’ switches for radios, scanners, and test and measurement equipment

ADI’s ADRF5024/ADRF5025 are reflective single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches. The ADRF5024 operates from 100 MHz to 44 GHz with better than 1.7 dB of insertion loss and 35 dB of isolation whereas the ADRF5025 operates from 9 kHz to 44 GHz with better than 1.6 dB of insertion loss and 35 dB of isolation. Both switches have a radio frequency (RF) input power handling capability of 27 dBm for both the through path and hot switching.

The ADRF5024/ADRF5025 draws a low current of 14 μA on the positive supply of +3.3 V and 120 μA on a negative supply of -3.3 V. The device employs complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-/low voltage transistor to transistor logic (LVTTL)-compatible controls.

Both switches’ RF ports are designed to match a characteristic impedance of 50 Ω. For ultrawideband products, impedance matching on the RF transmission lines can further optimize high frequency insertion loss and return loss characteristics. These switches come in a 2.25 mm × 2.25 mm, 12-pin land grid array (LGA) package and can operate from -40°C to +105°C. The ADRF5024/ADRF5025 are ideal for radios, scanners, and test and measurement equipment.

Features
Frequency range: 9 kHz to 44 GHz Frequency range: 100 MHz to 44 GHz Reflective design Low insertion loss with impedance match Low insertion loss without impedance match 0.9 dB typical to 18 GHz 1.7 dB typical to 40 GHz 2.1 dB typical to 44 GHz		High input linearity P1dB: 27.5 dBm typical IP3: 50 dBm typical High RF input power handling Through path: 27 dBm Hot switching: 27 dBm No low frequency spurious RF settling time (50% VCTRL to 0.1 dB of final RF output): 17 ns
Applications
Cellular infrastructure: 5G mmWave Industrial scanners Test and instrumentation		Military radios, radars, electronic counter measures (ECMs) Microwave radios and very small aperture terminals (VSATs)

ADRF5024 and ADRF5025 Eval Boards

	Image	Manufacturer Part Number	Description	Available Quantity	View Details
		ADRF5024-EVALZ	EVAL BOARD	14 - Factory Stock
		ADRF5025-EVALZ	EVAL BOARD	3 - Immediate

ADRF5024 and ADRF5025 Switches

	Image	Manufacturer Part Number	Description	Available Quantity	View Details
		ADRF5025BCCZN	40 GHZ, LOW LOSS, REFLECTIVE, LO	485 - Immediate 76 - Factory Stock
		ADRF5025BCCZN-R7	40 GHZ, LOW LOSS, REFLECTIVE, LO	6500 - Factory Stock
		ADRF5024BCCZN	40GHZ, LOW LOSS, REFLECTIVE, FAS	464 - Immediate 230 - Factory Stock
		ADRF5024BCCZN-R7	40GHZ, LOW LOSS, REFLECTIVE, FAS	3500 - Factory Stock

English  |  Español

Published: 2018-08-08

Smart cities and ICT

Smart cities and ICT

From a technology standpoint, a smart city relies on embedded sensors and devices to gather data and then share that information via a combined wired and wireless communications system. Information from transportation systems, roadways, power and water systems, buildings, and other parts of the built environment is fed into software that analyses and organises it for use by local authorities, service providers, businesses and citizens to enhance services, address problems, and tap into information. For instance, smart power and water grids not only improve service delivery reliability and efficiency, they also help customers control their usage and lower their bills. Smart transportation systems optimise citywide travel by providing things like traffic mapping, public transport arrival and departure times, and taxi locations. This information is relayed via a variety of means, including tablet and smartphone applications.

Essential to the creation of a smart city is a good broadband network. Fibre optic is currently the fastest type of connection available; however, the most robust network combines fibre optic with cable and wireless networking to ensure broadband availability is as wide-reaching as possible, with the focus for fibre optic initially being in key areas like emergency response centres, learning centres, government centres, research and technical institutions, and key business areas.

Once a broadband network is established, the next step is to ensure that the city’s infrastructure and spaces are fitted with embedded systems that can provide real time data. Those systems then need to be interconnected to form an integrated ICT infrastructure. Finally, eservices and web-based applications need to be developed to ensure the right information gets to the right end users.

Also key to smart city ICT success is transparency. Government information, in particular, needs to be open and available to the public. The OECD provides five reasons open government data is essential to the future of our cities:

1. It improves transparency, facilitating accountability, responsiveness and democratic control.
2. Citizens feel empowered, and that supports engagement and participation on a social level.
3. Empowered citizens become empowered civil servants.
4. It encourages innovative thinking which, in turn, creates an increase in service value and efficiency.
5. As the result of all of the above, the city performs better economically. ²

Smart cities and sustainability

While the foundation of a smart city is its use of technology to enhance city performance and optimise service delivery, a major factor in what makes a city a smart city is its level of sustainability. A truly smart city uses technology to become selfaware, which enables informed decision making and facilitates positive change. This includes things like tracking weather conditions and measuring water supply and consumption to efficiently manage use and tracking waste patterns to create more efficient recycling programmes.

Key elements of a sustainable smart city include:

• Offering a sustainable agricultural ecosystem and plentiful access to raw materials
• Favouring efficient building design, sustainable energy systems, green
  transportation, and green living
• Providing zero footprint water consumption through low and high tech means
  (rainwater collection, recycling systems)
• Exhibiting an awareness of its own context and local impact
• Resiliency to long-term changes ³

Smart cities and quality of life

One of the most glaring problems facing future cities is how to make sure that the fundamental needs of its growing population are met. At its most basic level, a city needs to provide its people with uninterrupted access to power, water, food, transportation and healthcare in both normal (blue sky) conditions and during disruptive events. Through the use of smart city technology and innovation, gathered data can be used to predict system behaviour and foresee problems. This allows the city to better meet population needs consistently, as well as provide additional benefits to enhance quality of life. This includes things like:

• High quality, reliable, superfast broadband network
• Agile transportation systems and interactive bus shelters
• Citywide cloud access and near field communication (NFC)-enhanced digital services
• GPS for bikes and bike route calculators
• Improved public safety
• Cleaner air via cleaner energy sources and the integration of nature into the city’s footprint
• Smart grids to reduce energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and problem response times
• Energy efficient housing that takes advantage of natural lighting
• Higher quality food through urban agricultural programmes
• Disaster preparedness and proactive response to weather events

Energy innovations of the future

In an interview with Peter De Pauw, Eandis’ head of business development and strategy, Mr De Pauw outlined some of the key areas where innovation in energy technologies are imperative to the future of cities. This included:

• Smart asset management and the use of sustainable materials in service grids to facilitate long term, cost effective performance
• Smart grids and smart meters that provide vital information regarding network performance to facilitate better connection to local, renewable energy sources and allow consumers to monitor and adapt their energy use behaviours
• Better power quality management through energy storage (thermal and electrical)
• District wide heating and cooling in areas where residual energy is created by industry
• Network monitoring, control, and operation to support longer asset lifetimes and lower maintenance needs
• Energy efficient designs for housing and public lighting
• Greener energy systems via renewable, clean energy carriers ⁴

Challenges faced

Whatever definition a city’s authorities chooses to adopt and work towards, the one element that remains universal is that smart cities are not static cities; there will always be new challenges that require continual innovation and the ability to adapt to conceptualised data. This includes things like:

• Population growth and meeting the needs of an ageing populace
• Increased human mobility and the globalisation of economies, ecologies, risks, demographics
• Geo-political shifts and governance framework changes
• Inequality (social tensions) and insecurity (food, water, energy)
• Developing technologies and climate change ⁵

Vehicle Tracking System (Rasid

Is a GPS based technology that provides real time management and tracking system of the Zajecar Municipality fleet as well as private waste management companies registered in the Emirate. The system is also integrated with efficiency and security applications to enhance the productivity of the vehicle and manpower. RASID’s flexibility, strength, stability and continuous uninterrupted performance is a tool that has enhanced the Zajecar Municipality’s Waste Management to monitor, report and eliminate trespassers, thereby allowing better use of the landfill. Incorporated in the design are wide range of functionalities such as vehicle maintenance, vehicle tracking and diagnostics, driver management, speed management, fuel management and health and safety management.