An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems.

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CHI '01 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems

A clear trend in wireless applications during the last decade has been the push towards higher integration, and multi-mode and multi-band operation, in order to enable low-cost high-functionality consumer devices. As the deployment of silicon-based MMW technology becomes widespread, similar trends may be expected in the MMW space

A Single-Chip Dual-Band 22–29-GHz/77–81-GHz BiCMOS Transceiver

The pervasiveness of computing has extended into domestic realms, including the dining room. Beyond simply a place to consume food, the dining room is a social hub where family members meet and share experiences. Yet busy lifestyles can make it difficult to spend social time with your family. To provide a new solution for family bonding, this paper presents the CoDine system, a dining table embedded with interactive subsystems that augment and transport the experience of communal family dining to create a sense of coexistence among remote family members. CoDine connects people in different locations through shared dining activities: gesture-based screen interaction, mutual food serving, ambient pictures on an animated tablecloth, and the transportation of edible messages. Rather than focusing on functionality or efficiency, CoDine aims to provide people with an engaging interactive dining experience through enriched multi-sensory communication.

CoDine: an interactive multi-sensory system for remote dining

This paper presents the design and implementation of a voice control system for ZigBee-based home automation networks. In this system, one or more voice-recognition modules have been added to the ZigBee-based networks. The recognized control messages are sent by these modules then be routed to the target device, and finally be carried out by controlling circuit. In our work, SI-ASR (Speaker-Independent Automatic Speech Recognition) has been used; making it requires no training of recording. This speech recognition control system uses human-computer interaction to realize multiple menu choose function. Also, a function of speech recognition for ordering songs is realized which is based on the SD memory card and its file system on the module. To improve the accuracy of the speech recognition control, button trigger mode, voice password trigger mode and circle recognition mode are provided to be selected, so users can choose different modes under different conditions. A prototype of speech recognition module following the proposed architecture and a simple home automation network has been implemented. Some experimental results validate the basic functions of the proposed system. It turns out to be easy and flexible to control the multiple household appliances for people, especially the elders and people with disabilities, such as quadriplegia patients.

Developing a voice control system for ZigBee-based home automation networks

This letter presents a 5 to 45 GHz broadband distributed mixer implemented by using a standard 0.18 μm CMOS process. The proposed mixer uses a cascoded complementary switching pair to improve port-to-port isolation. The proposed mixer also forms a four-stage distributed topology to achieve a broad bandwidth and reduce conversion loss (CL). The distributed mixer achieves a wide operation bandwidth from 5 to 45 GHz; a low CL of 11 to 13.2 dB; good LO-to-RF, LO-to-IF, and RF-to-IF isolations from 33 to 47 dB, 28 to 53 dB, and 32 to 48 dB, respectively, at an LO power level of 8 dBm with a low 1.4 mW dc power consumption.

A 5 to 45 GHz Distributed Mixer With Cascoded Complementary Switching Pairs

This letter presents a current-mode-logic (CML) ring oscillator integrated with two frequency triplers for quadrature local-oscillator generation. Quadrature signals and frequency-doubled signals of the CML ring oscillator are propagated to drive two single-balanced mixers for up-converting the frequency by triple and achieving quadrature output and low power consumption. Fabricated by a TSMC 90 nm CMOS technology, the proposed circuit consumed 8.7 mW dc power at a 1.2 V supply voltage and achieved an output frequency of 16.56 to 19.8 GHz (17.8%) at a Vtune of 0 to 1.2 V. The phase noise of - 104.6 dBc/Hz was measured from the output signal at a 1 MHz offset frequency. A remarkable figure of merit with a tuning range evaluated at - 188.4 was also obtained.

A Low-Power Quadrature Local Oscillator Using Current-Mode-Logic Ring Oscillator and Frequency Triplers

With the rapid development of broadband networks and multimedia technologies, P2P video-on-demand service is increasingly gaining popularity over the past few years. However, little work has been done on an important design issue for P2P video-on-demand systems, i.e., determining the maximal service capacity of a system. In this paper, we first propose an optimal rate allocation scheme to maximize the service capacity of a P2P video-on-demand system. The proposed rate allocation scheme determines the parent/child relationship among peers and the link rates between peers. Then we develop an admission control policy based on the proposed rate allocation scheme. Our simulation results showed that the proposed scheme demonstrates high efficiency compared to other rate allocation schemes.

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Interactive Voice-Controller Applied to Home Automation

Many domotic applications are quickly growing up in the digital home technologies domain. Installation of these systems allows improved security and comfort of a house through the integration of new digital technologies. Although these technologies can improve individual family member’s social relationship and family relationships, child-parent relationship still remains the main question in such domotic environments for the application of artificial intelligence. The purpose of this paper is to describe our e-Care dining table, which is designed as an interactive and educational tool for family leisure and educational activity. Additionally, this table is developed mainly to improve child-parent relationship and to bring new features into the kitchen environment.

Design of Interactive e-Care Dining Table for Smart Kitchen

A divide-by-four transformer-coupled regenerative frequency divider implemented by a TSMC 90 nm CMOS process is presented. A transformer-coupling technique and a source-injected current-mode-logic divider were proposed to increase the injection signal level and widen the operation range of the loop divider. A subharmonic mixer with bottom-switching pairs was used to reduce dc power consumption and optimize the conversion gain. The divider core consumes 6.8 mW at 1.2 V supply voltage. Without using the tuning techniques, the measured locking range is 4.7 GHz (20.9%) from 20.1 to 24.8 GHz. The phase deviation of the quadrature output is less than 0.72 °.

Chun-Lin Lu

Papers

A 5 to 45 GHz Distributed Mixer With Cascoded Complementary Switching Pairs

A Low-Power Quadrature Local Oscillator Using Current-Mode-Logic Ring Oscillator and Frequency Triplers

Interactive Voice-Controller Applied to Home Automation

Design of Interactive e-Care Dining Table for Smart Kitchen

A Divide-by-Four Transformer-Coupled Regenerative Frequency Divider With Quadrature Outputs