New and Notable Product Design 25378

CAMERA IN CONTROL

Technodesign Digineck Web Camera Control Stand. What started as a product for robotics hobbyists has roused interest in the business world. By integrating components in a sturdy, easy-to-assemble stand and adding an intuitive interface, engineers extended use of the Digineck camera control system to video conferencing. This movable stand allows motion of a web camera to be controlled locally by LAN or over the Internet. Company President Rafael Moreno notes, "We use a standard PIC microcontroller developed by Scott Edwards Electronics (www.seetron.com). This circuit receives information from any computer and controls Digineck's two Hitec RCD USA (www.hitecrcd.com) dc servomotors for pan and tilt. We developed our Neck Control software using Visual Basic because the language had the controls we needed for our applications. And the combined efforts of a graphic designer and ME resulted in a simple, yet practical clock-dial user interface that maps possible camera positions." President:Rafael Moreno, [email protected] (www.mecatec.net/digineck) Enter 576

ROBOT PAL

Mitsubishi Wakamaru Household Robot. With Internet connectivity, this little (3.3-ft tall) fellow can provide communication and companionship to seniors and serve as a house sitter. "The robot is run by multiple embedded RISC power-optimized processors running MontaVista Linux," notes Bill Weinberg, embedded systems engineer and director of marketing at the systems software supplier. Power usage efficiency (up to 3 hours continuous) was key to maximizing the energy available for dc servo motor driven movement. Linux was picked for its network connectivity and real-time control, which is easier for a rolling robot without articulated locomotion, saving energy. For greater interaction with a user, production robots later this year will be able to recognize speech as well as faces. Director of Strategic Marketing:Bill Weinberg, [email protected] (www.sdia.or.jp/mhikobe-e/products/etc/robot.html) Enter 577

SAFETY SEAT SPEAKS

New Lenox Baby Products TattleTale Smart Child Seat. This child car seat will "squeal" on its occupant if the 5-point harness is inadvertently released or if the child begins climbing out, releasing pressure on the seat's "butt plate." An audio warning also sounds if the belt the seat attaches to has insufficient tension. "Key components are low-impedance, hermetically sealed rare-earth magnetic proximity switches that seal off contacts from the environment," says Greg Shepherd R&D director. The company also developed the patent-pending sensor that monitors seat belt tension. A two-year lithium battery lifetime for the 3 AA cells powering the seat is possible thanks to a digital Class D amplifier, 85% efficient, adds Shepherd. Director of R&D Engineering:Greg Shepherd, [email protected] (www.smartchildseat.com) Enter 578

TALKING PDA

Freedom Scientific PAC Mate Pocket PC for the Blind. This PDA enables sightless people to now use many third-party applications for these devices. To do this, the developers needed a PDA with open-source software -providing a generic solution for blind users to run general PDA applications. Freedom Scientific selected the Applied Data Systems (www.applieddata.net) Bitsy embedded-systems processor-board platform to cut development time. Other technology making it possible was the Freedom's JAWS screen reader for Windows that speaks what is written on a screen. The engineers modified JAWS to work with both Pocket-PC and their own custom features. "The challenge was grafting a keyboard input and speaker output onto a Pocket PC, which normally has a stylus input and screen output. We did it by modifying JAWS, using its extensive scripting language," notes CTO Glen Gordon. "Bitsy gave us a stable hardware platform to build on," he adds. CTO:Glen Gordon, [email protected] (www.freedomscientific.com) Enter 579

ONE-TAP MESSAGING

Digit Wireless Fastap Keypad. Phones are not just voice devices anymore; they're mini, mobile network computers. The Fastap Keypad uses "passive chording" to enable users to create text and multimedia messages more rapidly with fewer keystrokes. The basic idea is that the layout of the keys facilitates the keystroke combinations without conscious action. Fastap, in lieu of the traditional 12-key dialing keypad, offers about 47 keys arranged in "hills and valleys." Keys include letters, numbers, and punctuation in slightly less space. "Our greatest challenge has been trying to meet a diversity of pre-existing expectations on how keypad buttons should look and feel, while completely changing the external and internal structure of the button," says David Levy, lead engineer. "Solving this problem took two forms: mechanical and graphical," he adds. Mechanically, the structure of the buttons was altered so that when the finger or thumb rests over many tactile elements, only a single one is activated. Graphically, a hierarchy of keys was created, primarily through the use of color. Lead Engineer:David Levy, [email protected] (www.digitwireless.com) Enter 580

3D PICTURE PERFECT

Crystalix of Massachusetts Crystal Portraits. To etch in glass, not stone, Crystalix technicians use a 3D camera and UV scanner to capture 3D images of people or objects. Then Vivid 3D enhancement photo imaging software by Minolta creates a high-quality (over 40,000 pixels) rendition of the "portrait." The image is etched in optical glass using a YAG laser that sends a single beam of light in 10-nanosecond pulses through a lens. The beam passes through the crystal and is focused on the proper coordinate, creating a tiny fracture in the glass. The software mathematically maps out between 40,000 and 60,000 Cartesian coordinates, resulting in a high-clarity, detailed image. A multi-level particle filtration system aids in maintaining a dust-free environment, preventing imperfections in the etched material. "We are currently working on an air-tight container to ensure that the laser is working in a clean environment," says Ralph Himber, director of operations. Lead Engineer:Rainer Eissing (www.crxma.com) Enter 581