Current and Near Future Technologies

Fundamentals of Mobile Computing

Justin Champion, C203, Beacon Building

FMC - Contents

3.5 Generation Technology Fourth Generation Technology Hard Technology

DisplaysBattery power

FMC – Fourth Generation

We are getting wide scale UMTS communicationsWe are not really at this time seeing the full

potential of UMTS for everyoneAlthough this does not stop the research and

development for technologies with higher throughput

FMC – 3.5G

Each of the technologies within GSM builds upon the older technology Giving something new to the network

• GSM• GPRS• UMTS

UMTS gave an improved data service to the network• Newer technologies will improve the throughput further• One which is being installed within the infrastructure of

companies now is HSPDA• This is a 3.5G technology

FMC – Next Generation There are two main 3.5G technologies CDMA 2000 based

EV-DO• Evolution Data Only (2.4 Mbps)• At the moment no UK operators are talking about using this technology• Other operators around the world are though

UMTS based High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA)

• This available in different global locations• UK operators are predicting to offer this service soon

• Theoretical downlink throughput of between 6 and 11.5 Mbps• This was operational as from October 2005 in the Isle of Man the first place in

Europe• (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4470700.stm, 2005)

• UK operators are rolling out HSPDA at the moment on the networks• Actual throughput varies from 1.8 Mbps to 3.6 Mbps• (

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/08/14/review_vodafone_hsdpa_datacard/, 2006)

FMC – Next Generation

HSPDA improves the throughput Major features which give the improvement

• Adaptive Modulation• The quality of the interface is continuously monitored and

returned to the Node-B (BS) from the handset• The modulation technique is then adjusted to the most likely

method of transferring the packet error free• Alternatives are adjusted from QPSK to 16QAM

modulation• Closer to the NODE-B 16QAM is used• As the device moves further away a lower but more reliable

method will be used

FMC – Next Generation HSPDA improves the throughput

Major features which give the improvement continued Fast Scheduling

• The scheduling now takes place at the Node-B• This allows for fast reaction to the state of the air interface• Frame sizes are small as well

Fast Retransmissions• Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)

• A (Cyclic Redundancy Check )CRC is used to confirm a frame is correct

• In the event of problem the frame is sent again and combined with the original• In the event of a error taking place again hopefully the

combined packets can recover the lost information

FMC – Next Generation HSPDA

Uses a dedicated channel• High Speed Physical Downlink Shared Channel (HS-PDSCH)

• 5Mhz channel• This is the channel which will move the data to the device• All users share this one channel in a time and code

multiplexed manner• Allowing multiple users in any time slot

• High Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channel (HS-DPCCH)• Uplink channel which carries the acknowledgment

• High Speed Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH)• Downlink control channel carrying item like when to listen for a

frame and codes• Video clip of a HSPDA demo by Nokia

• http://www.nokia.com/A4126518

FMC – Fourth Generation The Fourth Generation Technology This is given at the moment as one of two types of

technology Convergence

• Using the best technology at the best time• Allowing the phone when communicating via Internet to connect

to a 802.11a point• Handover is currently implemented in IEEE 802.11

• Not widely used though – but this will change• More interesting problem is handing over between technologies

• Phone to 802.11a to Bluetooth• How do each of these technologies communicate?

• Frequency is expected to be above 3Ghz• But this has not been agreed

FMC – Fourth Generation Fourth Generation new Technology

Even though we are looking at the roll out of HSPDA for the feasible future

Companies will look towards the next technology This is referred to as the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE)

• http://www.3gpp.org/Highlights/LTE/LTE.htm• Nokia in 2008 demonstrated HSPA+

• Giving a theoretical max throughput of 42 Mbps, but this needs two aerials• http://www.heise-online.co.uk/news/Nokia-Siemens-Networks-presents-HSPA-and-

LTE-in-Vienna--/110702 They specify what the next LTE phones will achieve

• The replacement technology for HSDPA is proposed to be High Speed OFDM Packet Access (HSOPA)

• Offering• 100 Mbps Downlink• 50 Mbps Uplink• 5ms latency for packet transfer• Maximum movement speed of 120 Kmph and still attached to highest throughput cell• 200 voice users per cell

FMC – Femtocells The latest discussion on cellular communications is to allow you to

install a base station in your house This would only cover a very small proximity of your

building• Referred to as a Femtocell• These Femtocells are intended to connect to your current

broadband connection• The advantage is that you will get increased coverage for your mobile

phone in your house and business• In addition Mobile technology is designed to be battery efficient –

certainly more so than the current wireless LAN standards• This offers the cellular the operators to compete against the 802.11

standards for connecting your laptop• O2 started trialling this technology in 2006

• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/22/o2_picocell_trial/

FMC – New Wireless Standards

802.11n which we have seen quickly This will improve the throughput of networks It should also allow more time sensitive traffic to move

across the interface due to the higher throughput• Games, voice

Improvements come from • Improved modulation technique giving 64 mbps• MIMO (multiple Input Multiple Output)• The MAC layer reducing the frame overhead

Due to the increased doubling of bandwidth needs • The number of non overlapping channels is reduced• Within 5Ghz range this will drop from 24 to 9

FMC – New Wireless Standards

MIMO allows us to have spatial division within the communications Allowing multiple signals to be sent concurrently

• Referred to as “space-division multiplexing” 4 spatial streams can be sent at this time in the

standard

Sender Receiver

FMC – New Wireless Standards

Mac improvements Instead of sending a single frame with a new header added by the Mac

Layer Multiple frames can be sent together with a single frame header

In addition the guard time between frames can be reduced from 800 nanoseconds to 400• The majority of these features though can only be used in a Greenfield site

– which will be very rare for a long time to come

• Greenfield indicates that there are only 802.11n transmitters in range

H F F F F F H F

802.11N 802.11B, A, G

H F

FMC – New Wireless Standards

As with all of the technologies new higher throughput standards are being considered One which was announced November 2006 is WiHD

• http://www.wirelesshd.org/• This technology has a lot of industry backers and the intention is to

develop a standard which can wirelessly transfer DVD quality data within a home

• This group has only just started on the work so there is nothing more than an intention and research at this time

• The data rate they want to achieve though is 25 Gbps from all connected devices• Using smart antenna to reduce interference and direct the

communications• 60Hz frequency used• Secure communications

• At this time they HAVE achieved 15 Gbps• http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?

articleID=201803821

FMC – Near Field Communications

NearField Communications (NFC) http://www.nfc-forum.org/home This technology is not intended to provide high speed communications

• It is intended to allow you to easily pay for goods in terms of secure communications

• The concept is that you put your phone next to a payment point• Due to the proximity of the device (less than 2cm) it makes payment

secure and easily done• Due to the low power requirements needed this same technology can be

rolled out into credit cards eventually• This will allow to buy a lot more than we can currently

• Consider seeing a poster for a play at a theatre• To buy a ticket you simply put your phone next to the poster!• Transport for London trialled this late last year to get travel information by

touching a point on a poster• http://www.cardtechnology.com/article.html?id=20070824OQNZ9GSO• In Sept 2008 they announced the results of the trial with 90% of people

liking the technology• http://www.contactlessnews.com/2008/09/03/london-nfc-trial-goes-well

FMC – Technology

Currently we can see an increase in the data rate for the devices As the data rate increases Developments have taken in

• Displays• Processing• Battery Developments• OS and development environments • Input to the device

FMC – Displays

Displays Devices can now have full colour displays Future usage is looking at

• Larger Displays• Brighter Colours• Flexible displays• Higher resolution

Current screen technology is active matrix• White backlight used and light is blocked to each pixel to give the

display• Digital driver, giving an improvement to the displays

• These were an improvement upon the passive matrix originally used

FMC – Displays

Improvements to these displays will come in the form of Lower power requirements Flexible displays which can be folded away after use

Current Technologies which may be suitable Electronic Ink Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) Thin CRT

• This will allow a CRT display with 3.5mm depth• Works by having large numbers of small electron guns behind each

pixel• 4500, per pixel – allowing for damage

• Not considered for mobile devices at the moment, can be for computer monitors though

FMC – Displays

Electronic Ink Allows an active version of ink to change what is displayed

• Can be printed in the same way that a normal inkjet prints does now• The most likely usable material at the moment is very thin plastic sheets

• Works by putting white coloured particles floating within the drop of ink• These particles are negatively charged• When a positive charge is sent the white particles move towards the charge• Lucent technology gives small printable plastic transparent transistors to

control power/display

• Currently these are not widely available• They are also not as good with colour as the active matrix technology• They are primarily being developed for electronic books

• Latest uses though are looking at PDA’s and phones• This is a reflective type technology similar to paper where an external light

source is required.

FMC – e-ink

+

-

Positive Charge

+

-Negative Charge

User sees blackUser Sees White

MMG – E-ink - Working

+

-

Positive Charge

Negative Charge

User Sees WhiteUser Sees Black

FMC – E-ink

(http://deviceforge.com/news/NS2766949986.html, 2004)

FMC – E-ink

http://img.hexus.net/v2/news/amazonkindle.jpg

Amazon Kindle

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7631596.stm

FMC – Displays

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) These operate by placing a organic material between two

electrodes• One of the electrodes is transparent

When charged these gives off a small amount of light• Similar to the way that a firefly operates

This will simply turn on and off a small part of the screen• This is shown on the next slide• To make colour a dye is added to give RGB

• As shown in the next few slides Advantages

• Low power requirements• No backlight required• No heat is given off by the device

FMC – OLED original research

(http://www.afrl.af.mil/accomprpt/apr03/images/apr_24.gif, 2004)

FMC – OLED Current Reality

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jOlS7l6KtyA

FMC – Larger Portable Displays

Companies are developing what is referred to as a Pico-Projector This is to deal with the problem of a small display on

mobile phones Projecting it onto a larger display http://www.microvision.com

FMC – Battery Battery

This is still a concern and a hold back on development of technologies• More battery power is required as devices are being asked to do more

• Most users according to a survey want longer battery life• (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4265220.stm)

• A more recent survey found exactly the same issues 80%+ people asked for this

• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/19/mobile_experience/

• Current li-on batteries will not be suitable as an increasing amount of functionality is expected• Fuel cell batteries are being considered as a replacement• These can be recharged within a few seconds

• Running on water and methanol• Battery life will increase to 5 days talk time

• As opposed to 5 hours at the moment!• www.fuelcellsworks.com – discussion website

FMC – Fuel Cell

http://www.akibalive.com/archives/000382.html

FMC – Fuel Cell On the 20th of October Panasonic announced the smallest fuel

cell Uses methanol and gives you 5 hours of use from the one refill

Toshiba MMP device working on a fuel cell

FMC – Fuel Cell

Nokia recently discussed the roll out of Fuel cells on a wide scale basis

“The issue that has still to be resolved is how to get the fuel to consumers, Reuters reports. Initially this is the one issue the company said would be reasonably easy to solve: it proposed refilling the cells in much the same way as a cigarette lighter can be refilled when it runs out of butane.” (http://www.enn.ie/news.html?code=9825063, 2006)

This is still a consideration today on how to distribute the menthol• “Teckentrup admitted that Toshiba was working through some

last minute hurdles, including government regulation and methods with which fuel would be distributed, describing the situation as “very complicated” and that “there are still problems to sort out”, 2008• http://www.slashgear.com/fuel-cell-powered-toshiba-device-could-

be-on-sale-by-christmas-1619422

FMC – Alternative Types of Power

A recent article from the BBC on the subject of powering mobile devices gave some alternatives Powering devices by vibration Magnetic Inductive Power Transfer

• Same technology which powers your toothbrush• (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6129460.stm, 2006)

Water !• Here is a video link to see this operating

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi?redirect=st.stm&news=1&bbram=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&nol_storyid=6145770

FMC – Alternative Types of Power

The use of mobile devices has become essential for a larger number of users

There are large parts of the world where cellular communications are the only options

One clever solution to the problem is the use of a foot powered phone charger• The user will charge the phone whilst walking in specially adapted

shoes• With this technology people who do not have regular access to electricity

can still benefit from the cellular network• (

http://ww.smashits.com/index.cfm?Page=Video&SubPage=STFSnoopView&BBID=5651, 2005)

• The United nations has stated in November 2005 that mobile phones may close the digital divide

• (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4446966.stm, 2005)

FMC – Military Usage As with a lot of mobile computing equipment

Military usage is a primary concern• Modern soldiers carry a lot of battery intensive devices which can not

be easily recharged• To look at this the US DOD has launched a competition for companies

to develop the technology• Announced in July 07• http://www.dod.mil/ddre/prize/topic.html

• First prize is $1 million dollars• They require that the eventual system will be useful within the obvious

extreme environments in which they operate• It must also provide available power of 480 Wh/kg

• Current mobile phone batteries provide roughly 150Wh/kg

• The winner was announced in Oct 2008• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/07/pentagon_portable_power_prize/• They achieved the requirements using a methanol fuel cell weight 3.7

kilos

FMC – Input to Devices Getting data into device is difficult

Handwriting recognition is used to allow natural input• Not particularly fast way of getting data• Not very accurate in interpretation of what is written, but can be improved

with the use of a dictionary tool Folding keyboard

• These have been around for a long time• This is a normal mechanical keyboard which is designed to fold away

before use• They are still very large, usually bigger than the device they are connected to

Virtual keyboard• This is a full size qwerty keyboard which is displayed on a table

• Projects the keyboard via laser onto a solid surface• Uses multiple method to calculate which key has been depressed

• Allows the user to enter data as though they are using a normal keyboard• More compact than a normal keyboard

FMC – Input to Devices

(http://www.vkb-tech.com/products/default.asp, 2004)

Virtual Keyboard

FMC – Input to Devices

FMC – Processors Chipsets and processor technology

To allow a minimal use of the processor it is essential to do as much as possible in hardware• Graphic cards manufacturers are now producing chipsets for mobile

phones, • Nvida - Tegra• ATI - 5900

• This will increase with the requirements of 3D games on the devices• Graphic cards will take responsibility for encoding/decoding

• JPG pictures• MPEG video• MP3 sound

• All taking away work and ultimately battery requirements from the processor

FMC – Processors

Demonstration Videohttp://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tsYFXGKUIpE

A series of games are being released for these new chipsets http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=_p69T3cWHBs&feature=PlayList&p=3094AF805137BBAE&index=3

A demonstration video from YouTube from earlier this year shows some of the developments for interfaces

ID Software have just setup a Mobile division to develop games for mobile devices www.idsoftware.com http://www.eamobile.com

FMC – Games Why the interest ?

Consider how many people have a mobile phone• In the UK 79% of the population according to the National Office

of Statistics

• If you could get these people to purchase a cheap games for there device there would be a massive potential for money making• Again this is beyond the voice services and would make money

from the value added content

• Research has shown that in Europe the mobile games market will be worth 2.6 Billion a year

• http://www.screendigest.com/press/releases/pr_31_07_2008/view.html

• All users benefit from this, the improvements in interfaces and video play back

FMC – Where are we Going The mobile technology is attempting to fix the problems to allow

improved usage When you look at what you have in your pocket It is more than suitable for a lot of computing work

• (Barton, et al, 2006) referred to this as the “super smart phone”• Allowing a user to use this as though it was desktop, with the use of digital

TV

FMC – Market Place

Conclusion Overall these devices and new technology allow for a

convergence Between lots of technologies

• Digital Cameras• PDA• Desktop PC• Mobile Phone• Games Console

The level of success needs to be judged in the future• There are a large number of good ideas but only a few will be

adopted into the industry and then provided to you

FMC – Reference

Barton, Shumin, Cousins, 2006, “Mobile Phones Will Become The Primary Personal Computing Devices”, Mobile Computing Systems and Applications, 2006. WMCSA '06. Proceedings. 7th IEEE Workshop Publication Date: 06-07 April 2006 On page(s): 3- 9