Showing posts with label Bluetooth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bluetooth. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Teradyne holds majority share in wireless test market

NORTH READING, USA: According to Gartner, Teradyne Inc. holds a 66.5 percent share of the worldwide ATE RF testing market based on revenue in 2008, up from 60 percent in 2007.

Teradyne’s wireless device test solutions, the Gen4 Microwave and UltraWave 12G, cover the broadest range of today’s complex wireless test requirements with the performance headroom for tomorrow.

“From our perspective, Teradyne continues to maintain clear market leadership in RF ATE,” said Ed Paulsen, wireless segment manager at Teradyne. “The Gen4 Microwave instrument for the FLEX test system continues to see wide acceptance having recently shipped its 500th unit to Sigurd Microelectronics.”

Spanning the broadest range of complex RFIC and RFSOC wireless device applications, the UltraWave 12G and Gen4 test devices including, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, set-top box (STB), 3G and 4G cellular, WiMAX and emerging standards like LTE.

Paulsen continued: "The UltraWave 12G has also quickly ramped and sets the bar in terms of RF performance, throughput, parallel test efficiency and ease of use. We can attribute our 6.5 percent growth in wireless market share this year to the broad range of wireless markets our RF test solutions serve as well as the technical and economic requirements our customers realize by working with Teradyne."

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Cellular extends boundaries of E-healthcare

LONDON, UK: Wireless technologies has been of immense value to medical practitioners, enabling them to increase productivity and improve the availability of quality healthcare globally.

However, while mobile technology undoubtedly adds value to healthcare, the question is whether advances in technology pose a security threat, as information transmitted across a network should be accessible only to authorized users worldwide.

Healthcare systems today rely on various applications that improve patient recovery and render clinical services more effective. The main applications in this category include Electronic Health Records (EHR), Computerised Physician Order Entry (CPOE), Decision Support System (DSS) and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS).

"All these four applications have allowed the healthcare system to effectively adapt to the requirements of a volatile healthcare environment," note Frost & Sullivan (http://www.wireless.frost.com) Research Analysts Jayashree Rajagopal and Luke Thomas in new analysis titled 'Is E-healthcare Secure in the Hands of Cellular Technology?' "However, their success depends on the network through which information is transmitted."

The various technologies used for the transmission of information in healthcare include the Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), cellular, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth. Most organisations choose technologies for different applications based on throughput, quality, cost and security.

Among these, security is perceived and understood to be a major concern for all stakeholders involved in the healthcare sector. With the evolution of GSM to 3G, various security features have been enhanced and implemented to protect the integrity of the user.

"Such security features will enable cellular technology to gain a competitive advantage over various wireless alternatives as cellular technologies operate in the licensed band providing guaranteed quality of service," remarks Thomas. "This is not the case with unlicensed technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) and RFID."

Currently, Wi-Fi is one of the most widely deployed wireless technologies in hospitals. However, this technology has several challenges with regard to range, security and quality of service (QoS) which can be effectively addressed by next generation cellular technologies such as HSPA and 3G LTE.

Applications such as EHR, CPOE, DSS and PACS utilise sensitive and personal information. Hence, the transfer of such information requires a highly robust, secure and reliable environment to be maintained not only within a country but world-wide as well.

"With the convergence of IT and cellular, high throughput and low bandwidth cryptographic algorithms need to be developed to exchange information across various devices, applications and networks," explains Rajagopal. "In order to tap this opportunistic market, the cellular ecosystem would need to implement an efficient network protocol that will ensure the security of applications used and information transmitted within the healthcare sector."

In the current economic climate, hospitals strive to reduce their operating expenditure (OPEX) and consider various wireless alternatives that can accommodate all of their applications and services across various networks.

"Hence, if mobile operators succeed in addressing OPEX savings with cellular technologies (currently embedded in several client devices of different form factors), that alone could entice hospitals to conduct effective trials with operators," concludes Thomas. "However, to be successful, not only do mobile operators need to demonstrate the value-added benefits of enhanced security and QoS over traditional WiFi networks but also create new business models to demonstrate ROI," adds Rajagopal.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

MindTree, Bluetooth SIG to develop MCAP test suite for PTS

BANGALORE, INDIA: MindTree Ltd announced the release of a new protocol test suite developed for the Bluetooth Profile Tuning Suite (PTS).

The PTS is a test tool created by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) that automates protocol and profile testing by SIG members —- producing more accurate, higher quality test results and improved interoperability for Bluetooth-enabled products.

The PTS, which is mandatory for Bluetooth product qualification, will be enhanced by the addition of the Multi-Channel Adaptation Protocol (MCAP), developed by MindTree. MCAP is one of the 20 different Bluetooth profile and protocol test suites included in PTS, and contains 62 test cases which test the underlying protocol for the new Medical Device Profile. Manufactures of Bluetooth-enabled medical devices will now be able to test against a reference device, ensuring interoperability with complementary devices.

“The strength of Bluetooth technology is largely due to the interoperability of Bluetooth devices,” said Bluetooth SIG Executive Director, Michael Foley. “The new protocol test suite from MindTree will enhance the PTS, which, in turn helps our members reduce the time and financial investments associated with qualifying products, while decreasing time-to-market.”

“Being chosen as an outsourcing partner of the Bluetooth SIG is an acknowledgement of MindTree’s deep Bluetooth expertise and understanding of the Testing and Test Control Notation (TTCN) scripting language,” said MindTree CEO – R&D Services, Vinod Deshmukh. “MindTree has worked with many of the top providers in the world to develop Bluetooth-enabled products. Our new engagement with the SIG further expands our market reach and influence.”

The Bluetooth SIG, a privately held, not-for-profit trade association comprised of leaders in the telecommunications, computing, consumer electronics, automotive and network industries, is driving development of Bluetooth wireless technology and bringing it to market.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

MindTree lists Bluetooth Health Device Profile (HDP)

BANGALORE, INDIA, MindTree Ltd., a global IT Solutions Company and a leading provider of Bluetooth® intellectual property (IP) solutions, announced that its Bluetooth Health Device Profile (HDP) along with its EtherMind 2.1+EDR stack have been successfully listed as a qualified design component by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).

MindTree’s implementation of HDP supports all mandatory and optional features, including those of underlying layers such as Multi Channel Adaptation Protocol (MCAP) and Enhanced L2CAP (eL2CAP).

Today’s medical devices use Bluetooth as a cable replacement, but use proprietary methods based on Serial Port Profile (SPP). This can prove to be a bottleneck due to lack of interoperability. MindTree’s Bluetooth HDP surmounts this bottleneck by allowing for an interoperable way for the health and fitness devices to connect to cell phones, laptops and other communication devices.

“Medical devices require efficient implementation of Bluetooth technology as they are typically battery-powered. MindTree’s implementation of HDP is perfectly suited for such applications, thanks to its ultra compact footprint and low MIPS,” said MindTree CTO – R&D Services, Dr. Raghunath Govindachari. “A multitude of devices like pulse oximeters, blood glucose monitors and digital thermometers are expected to incorporate Bluetooth, which makes this segment very promising,” he added.

“Being the first independent Bluetooth stack provider to figure in the Qualified Design Listing (QDL) for HDP is a testimony to our involvement in the leading edge of Bluetooth technology,” said MindTree CEO – R&D Services, Vinod Deshmukh. “In particular, we see the medical segment as the next big market opening up for the adoption of Bluetooth, with the advent of HDP,” he added.

MindTree is a leading provider of Bluetooth IP solutions with a comprehensive set of offerings including the BlueWiz baseband controller and EtherMind stack and profile solutions.

MindTree has been a Bluetooth SIG member since 2000. It has also been actively participating in the Bluetooth standardization process. It is also a part of several working groups and regularly participates in the Bluetooth unplug fests.

MindTree IP has been product proven and has been licensed to several marquee customers and has shipped in several products in volumes. MindTree also offers product realization services across various industry verticals including specialized services for the medical industry.