At the recent Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) four Xilinx-enabled innovations were featured in the 'Embedded In Action' showcase. End products featuring Xilinx embedded technology included the ELAN Personal Breath Analyzer, the Kangaroo.tv, Interativa's LED display, and the Barryvox emergency beacon.
* Personal Breath Alcohol Tester: The ELAN Personal Breath Alcohol Tester, retailing for just $49, is about the size of a cigarette lighter and allows users to test Blood Alcohol Content on a 3-digit LCD display within 10 seconds of providing a breath sample. ELAN uses state-of-the-art Xilinx CoolRunner-II CPLD technology to measure the level of alcohol ( www.acs-corp.com).
* Wireless audio-visual entertainment: Kangaroo.tv ( www.kangaroo.tv) is the world's first wireless audio-visual entertainment system designed to enhance spectator experience at a variety of sporting events worldwide. W.A.V.E.S. is the first to converge a proprietary video protocol (PVP) encoded platform with analog technology and a new interactive viewing terminal (IVT) to develop the innovative Kangaroo.tv. This user-friendly handheld device uses Xilinx's low cost Spartan Series chips and offers access to a broad range of event specific audio and video material. Kangaroo.tv made its debut at the April 2003 Champ Car World Series in California, providing fans with instant access to rich interactive content including favourite views of the race, access to on-board or pit cameras, realtime driver standings, replays and interviews.
* LED display system: The Interativa LED display, designed for large-scale public viewing, is capable of rendering more than 68 billion different shades of colour. While this colour depth far exceeds what the human eye can discriminate, it allows for very accurate reproduction of images in a variety of environments, such as bright sunlight, fluorescent lighting, or near darkness. The first large-scale prototype display is 96 by 128 pixels and approximately four by five metres. At the heart of the LED display system are several Xilinx Spartan Series and Virtex-II Platform FPGAs ( www.birger.com).
* Emergency transponder: More than 100 000 Barryvox beacons are used all over the world by rescue organisations, ski patrols, helicopter skiing companies, armies and by many individuals for their ventures into the snow. The Barryvox avalanche beacon is a small transportable unit, weighing 295 g, worn by outdoor enthusiasts to help in their relocation, should they become trapped in an avalanche. Designed using Xilinx CoolRunner-II CPLDs, the Barryvox beacon has a superior range of more than 120 m to provide an ultra fast initial search in an emergency situation. This device has a built-in battery with 500 transmit and 25 search hours, and can handle temperature ranges of -30 to 50°C ( www.girsberger-elektronik.ch).
For more information contact Avnet Kopp, 011 809 6100, or Memec SA, 011 897 8600.
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