Security electronic devices in the current's market

IN THIS ISSUE:

[1] Integrity Global Security to market secure systems

[2] Fujitsu Components releases secure power relay

[3] Switches and sensors for lock and security systems

[4] Latching USB cables give higher mating retention

[5] Catalogue details full range of panelware

[6] Pushbuttons are precise and robust

[7] Detect switch features extended life cycles

[8] JTAG offers digital I/O scan module

[9] Embedded controller adds analogue I/O option

[10] Linear unveils precision silicon oscillator

[1] Integrity Global Security to market secure systems Green Hills Software has announced that it has formedIntegrity Global Security, a wholly owned subsidiary thatwill market Integrity secure separation systems. Thesesystems are based on Integrity, an operating system withcommon criteria EAL6 Plus high robustness certification fromthe National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP), ajoint US government initiative run by the National SecurityAgency (NSA). Only an EAL6 Plus high robustness operatingsystem is certified to protect high-value resources at riskof attack from hostile and well-funded attackers.

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[2] Fujitsu Components releases secure power relay Fujitsu Components Europe BV, has released the FTR-K2Gpower relay, the solution for appliances that need todisconnect power in a secure way. The FTR-K2G relay has beendesigned based on the need to comply with IEC 60335-1, whichhas been put in place for the protection of household andsimilar electrical appliances against hazards such aselectrical, mechanical, thermal, fire and radiation ofappliances when operated.

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[3] Switches and sensors for lock and security systems Cherry Electrical Products has introduced a range of switchand sensor products for the OEM lock and security systemsmarket. Cherry's range of switches and sensors enablessystem designers to increase the effectiveness of entry/locksystems by incorporating the latest in electromechanicalcomponents into its products. Many systems now use motorisedand solenoid locks, electric strikes and magnets for doorlocking. Cherry sensors are suitable for use in doorcontacts; they are installed on both the frame and the doorand indicate the position of the door at any given time

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[4] Latching USB cables give higher mating retention GTK has announced the availability of latching USB cableassemblies that provide higher mating retention forceswithout having to specify any different connector sockets.Featuring side-mounted squeeze latches that mate with anystandard USB A socket, the assemblies are available in USB1.1 and 2.0, with cable length and opposite end connector tomeet customer specifications

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[5] Catalogue details full range of panelware The latest edition of the Arcolectric catalogue is nowavailable. New 108-page volume includes full specifications,detailed drawings and photographs for all currentArcolectric products. New products include: 6100 IP67 sealedrocker switches; 3900 IP67 sealed toggle switches; 4151 keyoperated pushbutton; 0566 6mm miniature indicators; slimlineLED holders; IP67 sealed indicators; IP67 sealed low voltagelampholders; maintenance indicators; temperature monitors;status monitors; single-phase mains supply checkers;dual-phase mains monitors; three-phase mains monitors;temperature micro loggers and a compact cooker hoodcontroller. Packed with information for designers, engineersand specifiers, Catalogue 170 is available in both printedand CD versions

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[6] Pushbuttons are precise and robust Pushbutton switches from Otto Engineering are now availablefrom Live Electronics. Available in a massive choice ofstyles across 19 ranges with a wide choice of body, buttonand termination configurations to cover a huge range ofapplications, the switches are designed for use in the mostrugged of situations and sealed to IP68. A unique contactdesign ensures reliable operation at low (10mA) or maximum(20A) current ratings, with many products specified for amechanical life of one million operations

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[7] Detect switch features extended life cycles CandK Components has developed a surface-mount,micro-miniature, snap-acting detect switch with extendedlife cycles. Designed for ATCA applications, the MDS Seriesdevice joins CandK's range of detect switches including theSDS Series, SDT Series and HDT Series components. The MDSSeries micro-miniature snap-acting detect switch isavailable in vertical or right-angle PCB-mount styles

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[8] JTAG offers digital I/O scan module JTAG Technologies has introduced the compact JT 2149/MPVDigital I/O Scan (DIOS) module, which debuts the company'sScan-Configurable Interface Logic (SCIL) technology. SCILallows custom functions, such as pattern generators,counters and bus simulators to be factory-formatted foradvanced functional and pattern-oriented testing; for PCBsrequiring external I/O stimulus and response monitoring

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[9] Embedded controller adds analogue I/O option A new analogue I/O port from Micro-Robotics allows thecompany's credit-card-sized VM-1 embedded control computerto read eight analogue inputs and generate two analogueoutputs at 12-bit resolution. It also allows one analogueinput to be read at an 18-bit resolution with differentialinputs. The boards can be daisychained to increase thenumber of I/O ports

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[10] Linear unveils precision silicon oscillator Linear Technology has announced the LTC6930, a low-powerprecision silicon oscillator with fixed frequencies from32.768kHz to 8.192MHz. Five versions are available, eachwith a unique master frequency and digitally controlledfrequency dividers that give eight different frequencies perdevice

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Lost Dog

Dave Wilson, Editor, writes:

Anyone with a dog knows the problem: the dog goes missing and then youspend hours trekking across fields and rummaging in the bushes lookingfor him. But now, thanks to a rather nifty little invention from a companycalled Retrieva, those hours you have spent tracking down yourprecious Pongo might soon be a thing of the past.Like all good ideas, Retrieva's system is quite simple: the roamingcanine in question is first fitted with a collar packed full ofelectronics, which then communicates directly with your mobile phone.

Then, when he goes off for a quick sniff in the undergrowth, all youneed to do to locate him is to open a mapping application on the phoneand request the collar's location. This then appears live on the map. What's more, if your phone is GPS enabled you will also be able toplot your location relative to that of your dog, making your belovedpooch even easier to find.

The new collar works with what the company calls its ICyou smart basestation, an automated monitoring system that will also alert you ifthe dog leaves home unexpectedly, while also doubling up as therecharging unit for the collar. But what if some mischievous hoodie decides to cut off this newfangled collar and steal your pedigree pet, only to add to yourworries by throwing the collar into the carriage of a high-speedEurostar train heading for that lovely French town of Avignon? Well, I'm pleased to say that the collar's developers have thought ofthat scenario too.

If anyone does try to tamper with the lock on the collar, or cut thecollar itself, it sends you a text message to let you know. Thecollar is also waterproof so that even the best canine swimmers canenjoy themselves without damaging it.While dog owners will be the first to benefit from the new technology,it seems pretty obvious to me that the applications are far reaching.It could, for example, be used by farmers to ensure that their cattlearen't rustled in the night. Not to mention ensuring the safety ofchildren on holiday.

The new system will soon be launched in the UK and costs GBP9.99 amonth to operate, plus a one-off charge of GBP250 for the package ofone collar, the ICyou unit and the ViewRanger off-road phone mappingsystem.It's a great invention, and one that I'd really love to get as a giftthis Christmas.

Only trouble is, I don't have a dog. And my daughtermight not appreciate having one of the devices strapped around herneck just so I can get track how long she spends each night in theJohn Snow public house.

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mailto:news@electronicstalk.com

Best wishes

Dave Wilson,

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Adjustable Resistors Handle Higher Temperatures

[1] ADJUSTABLE RESISTORS HANDLE HIGHER TEMPERATURES (Microbridge, 12 May 2008) Microbridge Technologies has released three new Rejustor devices that extend the company's reach into the high-temperature, military/aerospace and energy exploration markets. Available in twobasic types, the Rejustors target the need for precision and accuracyin extreme temperature environments and offer a lifetime drift of wellless than 1%. The new Rejustors have no mechanical moving parts andare ideal for vibration-sensitive applications such as calibratingelectronics for jet engine monitoring instruments, voltage regulators, down-hole drilling, military, furnace and boiler, strain gauge andvibration sensors. These applications benefit from improvedreliability, dependability, dust and moisture resistance overmechanical parts as well as from the lowest noise and widest bandwidthof any adjustable resistor technology available.

The Human-machine Interface

ELECTRONICSTALK The Independent Weekly Product Information Guide for Electronics Design, Development and Manufacturing Engineers Laurence Marchini, Editor Electronicstalk, writes: The human-machine interface has come a long way since those lessenlightened times when we used to call it the man-machine interface.Along with many different innovations in display technology, the inputside of the equation continues its slow evolution. But many of the basic concepts remain the same: the QWERTY keyboard layout remains,and the mouse (or equivalent) has the same basic function as thatpopularised on the original Apple computers in the 1980s. There have been several attempts to redesign the basic keyboard, but we are still left with a design that owes its layout to the need toavoid key clashes on mechanical typewriters. Nonetheless, the QWERTYlayout - once familiarised - appears to mesh pretty well with thehuman brain, as anyone who can remember the typing pools of the lastcentury will recall. However, regardless of whether the QWERTYkeyboard is traditional electromechanical, membrane or made up oftouch sensors, the fundamental problem remains one of size: each keyhas to be large enough to accommodate human fingers - including thesomewhat un-co-ordinated digits of ham-fisted scribes such as myself. So what of alternative input methods? Well, the past two decades haveseen some laudable attempts to break away from the size limitations ofthe keyboard.In the early 1990s, speech recognition was touted widely as thesolution to all our woes. The arrival of low-cost DSP devices wouldenable a new class of algorithms that could (with suitable training)do away with the keyboard altogether. I vividly remember visiting oneof Europe's foremost language laboratories where speakers of everylanguage and dialect were busy recording every possible syllable andphoneme in an attempt to build the ultimate voice-recognitionalgorithm.And while embedded applications such as voice control of hands-freephones are commonplace, the lack of an all-encompassing speech to textfunction only serves to prove what a diverse thing the human voice canbe, even when we are supposedly talking the same language. After all,who could expect a machine made in California to understand the voiceof a Cornishman.Handwriting recognition was also mooted as an alternative during the1990s. Yet one by one I saw my colleagues discard their styli and goback to their keyboards. It's ironic that one of the applicationscited for the technology in those days was in keeping medical records.And if anyone could crack the code of the average medicalpractitioner's handwriting, they would have found the proverbial HolyGrail!The keyboard may remain king for text input, but today's contendersfor replacement HMIs focus more on navigating around the screen.Vision sensors can be trained to recognise gestures and eye movements. There are even further advances in physical switching devices - as youwill see below, C+K Components has devised a single navigation devicecapable of no fewer than 14 different functions.However, I didn't get where I am today without reading an awful lot ofscience fiction and fantasy in my youth, and so I am particularlyintrigued by the impending commercial release of the world's firstbrain-interface headset by Australian/US crossover company Emotiv. TheEPOC headset incorporates 16 sensors that measure electrical impulsesfrom the brain - fortunately without recourse to the invasive needleprobes favoured by my favourite authors! Not surprisingly, the initial market for EPOC will be in the gamesmarket. But there are innumerable other tasks that could benefit froma 'direct' interface between the human and the machine. Best wishes Laurence Marchini,