Consumer Electronics Industry Research Articles

18.4: Invited Paper: Development of Eyewear Display Systems: A Long Journey

AbstractThis paper reviews the development of technology for eyewear‐based wearable displays, including the microdisplay, viewing optics, electronics and frame systems, that are necessary for the commercialization of consumer products, and ultimately for the complete integration of the system within eyewear. The eyewear display industry has its origins in projects funded by DARPA, starting in 1990. Today, several technologies have proved viable including LCOS, transmissive LCD, and oLED. In addition to the microdisplay itself, the development of viewing optics that can be incorporated in eyewear has been essential, and several teams have developed optics that will be reviewed here. Supporting electronics must also be incorporated in eyewear, and this is made possible today by the high degree of integration in systems on a chip. Today's technologies allow our industry to satisfy a number of “design rules” for eyewear displays that will be discussed. Additionally, wireless connectivity now provides access to almost unlimited information from the cloud. The final step in the commercialization of this technology is the creation of compelling consumer applications, and the companies that provide this final step will lead an expansion of the consumer electronics industry.

The Grid of the Future: Ten Trends That Will Shape the Grid Over the Next Decade

For over a century, the mission of the power industry has been to build and operate a reliable, affordable, and efficient grid. In the past few decades, developed regions have focused on increasing operational efficiency, while emerging economies have focused on attracting capital to grow their grids. Changing markets, new technologies, and an emerging societal focus on emissions have moved the industry in a new direction. The emergence of modern power electronics, widespread software development, and low-cost communications technologies creates opportunities. The cost-effective extraction of oil and gas in North America is expected to shift our generation mix away from coal and toward natural gas-fired generation. Wind and solar power have proliferated, creating new challenges and opportunities. Advancements in energy storage technologies have revolutionalized the consumer electronics industry and paved the way for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). In parallel, the resiliency of the aging electric power infrastructure has been questioned in light of the increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, making a stronger case for a major investment to build a stronger, more resilient, and sustainable U.S. grid.

A new era of semiconductor genetics using ion-sensitive field-effect transistors: the gene-sensitive integrated cell

Semiconductor genetics is now disrupting the field of healthcare owing to the rapid parallelization and scaling of DNA sensing using ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) fabricated using commercial complementary metal -oxide semiconductor technology. The enabling concept of DNA reaction monitoring introduced by Toumazou has made this a reality and we are now seeing relentless scaling with Moore's law ultimately achieving the $100 genome. In this paper, we present the next evolution of this technology through the creation of the gene-sensitive integrated cell (GSIC) for label-free real-time analysis based on ISFETs. This device is derived from the traditional metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and has electrical performance identical to that of a MOSFET in a standard semiconductor process, yet is capable of incorporating DNA reaction chemistries for applications in single nucleotide polymorphism microarrays and DNA sequencing. Just as application-specific integrated circuits, which are developed in much the same way, have shaped our consumer electronics industry and modern communications and memory technology, so, too, do GSICs based on a single underlying technology principle have the capacity to transform the life science and healthcare industries.

Cooperative advertising with a strong retailer and a weak manufacturer: a closer look at the consumer electronics industry

Models of cooperative advertising analysed until recently have mainly revolved around two cases: 1) strong manufacturer, weak retailer; 2) strong manufacturer, equally strong retailer. These are not generalisable to market dynamics in all countries and all industries. Despite being understudied, a case that is growing in significance is that of weak manufacturers and strong retailers. In this study, we focus on a manufacturer that is excessively weak in comparison to the retailer. Such manufacturers are dominating the consumer electronics industry in developing countries where there is a need for low-priced products with acceptable quality. They partner with strong retailers, and invest heavily in cooperative advertising in order to communicate product related information to potential customers and generate sales. We aim to analyse the weak manufacturer-strong retailer setting with a game theoretic approach, focusing on the strategic impacts of retail channel marketing and co-op advertising sharing policy. Sequential and simultaneous-move game models are examined to determine the optimal co-op advertising strategies that maximise both players’ profits. It is found that when the distribution of power between the retailer and the manufacturer is highly unbalanced, the only feasible non-cooperative game model is the leader-follower scheme in which the retailer decides both the channel marketing investment level and the co-op advertising sharing policy.

Dynamic and automated product derivation for consumer electronics software applications

Software Product Lines (SPL) is an efficient software engineering approach for dealing with reusable components in products that not only share common features, but also support specific functionalities that satisfy a particular market segment. This approach is interesting for the consumer electronics industry, particularly for mobile device applications. Despite having a significant common core, software applications developed for that domain have to be frequently adapted to different device features, such as operating systems and screen resolution. Thus, developers need to select proper software components to suitably compose the applications for each new device in a family of devices. In this paper, an approach that is able to customize consumer electronics software applications for different devices, in a dynamic and automated way, is presented. It results in a tool called AppSpotter that composes applications by selecting software components according to the features of each target device. To check the tool's performance, a set of experiments were realized in order to simulate different scenarios with up to 10,000 components.

Electronic treasures of the sarnoff collection

The history of the Radio Corporation of America is in many ways the history of 20th-century American innovation. From the company's founding in 1919 to its sale in 1986, the RCA name was synonymous with products that shaped how Americans lived and worked. Long before the rise of Silicon Valley, RCA Laboratories, in Princeton, N.J., was at the center of the nation's consumer electronics industry, harnessing the creative impulses of thousands of scientists, engineers, and technicians to systematize the invention of new technologies.

An Introduction of a Cost Estimation System for Model Changes

In order to be cost competitive in the consumer electronics industry, it is needed to estimate product costs earlier in the design phase. In this study, we reviewed quality and quantity cost estimation techniques to develop a cost estimation system. The qualitative cost estimation technique is used to store expert's knowledge in the form of rules or a decision tree, and quantitative cost estimation techniques is used to extract a similar cost basis based on historical cost data of products. Also, we developed a cost comparison system using these two methods.

Analysis of the bulging process of an AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet with a uniform pressure coil

As the lightest metal material, magnesium alloy is widely used in the aerospace, automobile, and consumer electronic industries. However, magnesium alloy sheet has poor formability at room temperature. Electromagnetic forming is a high velocity forming technique that can promote the formability of low ductility materials, improve the strain distribution of workpieces, and reduce their wrinkling and springback. In this work, a uniform pressure coil was used to bulge AZ31B magnesium alloy sheets. The finite element method was then used to analyze this bulging process. The bulging contours and displacements of AZ31B magnesium alloy sheets were consistent with the experiment results. The distribution of the magnetic field intensity and magnetic field forces were found to be better than using a flat spiral coil. The deformation rule of AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet using the uniform pressure coil differed from that using the flat spiral coil. The largest strain occurred at the center of the sheet.

Marketing strategy and its correlation with design strategy and design characteristics: an example of consumer electronic industry

Marketing should closely coordinate with product design. Not only does a close connection between marketing activity and design trigger product innovation in enterprises, it is also a key factor in the success of a product in the marketplace. The practical question is selecting a product design process that achieves marketing goals during innovation procedures. Although enterprises have taken concrete action to do so, empirical studies show that correlation between marketing strategy and design strategy or even between marketing strategy and design characteristics are rarely seen. In this study, the author first synthesised perspectives from the literature on marketing strategy, design strategy, and design characteristics. Managers in the marketing divisions and B2B design departments in the Taiwan consumer electronic industry were questionnaire survey. The data fit to the theoretical models was then verified by structural equation modelling (SEM). Data from 270 effective questionnaires confirmed strong correlations with marketing strategy, design strategy, and design characteristics. In enterprises, marketing strategy affects design characteristics directly and through design strategy. Among these three variables, design strategy is an independent intervening variable in design characteristics.

Impact of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles on wastewater treatment and anaerobic digestion

Metallic and metal oxide nanomaterials have been increasingly used in consumer products (e.g. sunscreen, socks), the medical and electronic industries, and environmental remediation. Many of them ultimately enter wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or landfills. This review paper discusses the fate and potential effects of four types of nanoparticles, namely, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), nano ZnO, nano TiO2, and nano zero valent iron (NZVI), on waste/wastewater treatment and anaerobic digestion. The stabilities and chemical properties of these nanoparticles (NPs) result in significant differences in antimicrobial activities. Analysis of published data of metallic and metal oxide NPs suggests that oxygen is often a prerequisite for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for AgNPs and NZVI, while illumination is necessary for ROS generation for nano TiO2 and nano ZnO. Furthermore, such nanoparticles are capable of being oxidized or dissolved in water and can release metal ions, leading to metal toxicity. Therefore, AgNPs and nano TiO2 are chemically stable NPs that have no adverse effects on microbes under anaerobic conditions. Although the toxicity of nanomaterials has been studied intensively under aerobic conditions, more research is needed to address their fate in anaerobic waste/wastewater treatment systems and their long-term effects on the environment.

The Research for Exploring Product Design Characteristics by SEM via Correlated Innovation and Design Strategy

Managers at NPD departments of Taiwan consumer electronic industry were interviewed to explore the effects innovation strategy (IS) has on design strategy (DS) and finally on product design characteristics (DC). The fitness of theoretical models and the observed data was examined. A questionnaire survey was conducted. 1300 enterprises in Taiwanconsumer electronic industry were randomly selected as the survey pool. At last, 370 effective questionnaires were collected. Their responses on the questionnaires were analyzed to test the fitness of the model with structural equation modeling analysis (SEM). A proper fitness was found for the correlation theoretical model of IS, DS, DC, and the observed data. In enterprises, IS will influence product DC, and at the same time, IS will influence product DC through DS. Among these three variables, DS serves as an independent variable and intervene variable to DC.

Impact of reliability on warranty: A study of application in a large size company of electronics industry

This paper presents product reliability on component basis and investigates the possible effects on warranty which constitutes a non-technical issue. Product reliability is a key factor, which is used in considering the warranty period. It plays a significant role that a mistake in warranty forecasting could cost a lot for companies. The objective is to empirically examine the nature of general reliability of manufactured goods and conduct a case study in an electronics company. In this regard, reliability will be stated from the actual manufacturing point of view. A case study was applied in manufacturing industry. LCD TVs were undertaken to follow. To test reliability, a parametric Weibull model was used and hazard rates of products were estimated with linear regression method. For this research work, the lifetime data obtained by service departments, censored both left and right. Data were used in MINITAB14 to produce the reliability results of the LCDs to reveal the relationship between product reliability and product warranty in the consumer electronics industry. In this manner, this paper would help the company to decide whether it is favorable to extend the warranty period based on the failure findings.

Decomposed multidimensional control grid interpolation for common consumer electronic image processing applications

Interpolation is an essential and broadly employed function of signal processing. Accordingly, considerable development has focused on advancing interpolation algorithms toward optimal accuracy. Such development has motivated a clear shift in the state-of-the art from classical interpolation to more intelligent and resourceful approaches, registration-based interpolation for example. As a natural result, many of the most accurate current algorithms are highly complex, specific, and computationally demanding. However, the diverse hardware destinations for interpolation algorithms present unique constraints that often preclude use of the most accurate available options. For example, while computationally demanding interpolators may be suitable for highly equipped image processing platforms (e.g., computer workstations and clusters), only more efficient interpolators may be practical for less well equipped platforms (e.g., smartphones and tablet computers). The latter examples of consumer electronics present a design tradeoff in this regard: high accuracy interpolation benefits the consumer experience but computing capabilities are limited. It follows that interpolators with favorable combinations of accuracy and efficiency are of great practical value to the consumer electronics industry. We address multidimensional interpolation-based image processing problems that are common to consumer electronic devices through a decomposition approach. The multidimensional problems are first broken down into multiple, independent, one-dimensional (1-D) interpolation steps that are then executed with a newly modified registration-based one-dimensional control grid interpolator. The proposed approach, decomposed multidimensional control grid interpolation (DMCGI), combines the accuracy of registration-based interpolation with the simplicity, flexibility, and computational efficiency of a 1-D interpolation framework. Results demonstrate that DMCGI provides improved interpolation accuracy (and other benefits) in image resizing, color sample demosaicing, and video deinterlacing applications, at a computational cost that is manageable or reduced in comparison to popular alternatives.

Change and the Consumer Electronics Industry [Notes from the Editor

The author argues that consumer electronics engineers are the sorcerers of change. Change is their raison d'etre; it is why they are here. Ultimately, that is why it is such a compelling field with which to be involved. He then describes the other offerings in this issue of the magazine.

Channel Surfing Redux: A Brief History of the TV Remote Control and a Tribute to Its Coinventors

As the consumer electronics industry mourns the passing of the last of the coinventors of the wireless remote control for television, IEEE hits the pause button to review the colorful history behind the remote control to reflect on the impact of this innovation that has transformed the lives of generations of TV viewers and to celebrate the lives and contributions of these consumer electronic industry pioneers.

R & D Networks Structure and Spatial Characteristics of Consumer Electronic Industry in Qingdao, China: The Case Study of Qingdao Haier Group in China

R & D Networks Structure and Spatial Characteristics of Consumer Electronic Industry in Qingdao, China: The Case Study of Qingdao Haier Group in China

IPP Special Issue on “Advanced Molding and Materials Processing Technology”

This special issue of “International Polymer Processing” (IPP) features seven high-quality papers selected from presentations given at the “7th International Conference on Advanced Molding and Materials Processing Technology” in Wuhan, China, September 10–12, 2010. This conference was organized by the Society of Advanced Molding Technology (SAMT). SAMT was founded in Hong Kong in June of 2005. Under the premise of protecting the environment, reducing waste, and achieving sustainability, the mission of SAMT is to facilitate the advancement and innovation of the material forming sciences, and to pursue higher precision and efficiency in manufacturing technologies to further the development of fabrication with energy and material savings. SAMT annual conferences have attracted worldwide experts and scholars as well as young researchers, leading to the development of future leaders in the lean molding technology field, particularly in the Greater China region. This conference featured academic and industrial speakers and experts from the Greater China region, U.S., Japan, and Europe, presenting papers that covered a wide array of topics related to polymer processing and advanced molding technologies. These topics included, but were not limited to, modern tooling technology; molding technologies for the aerospace, automotive, appliance, and consumer electronics industries; rapid prototyping and manufacturing; metal forming technology; computer simulation; processing equipment; process control and monitoring; etc. These advances in molding technologies help to propel various innovative material manufacturing processes and enable production of parts with special features, improve product quality, and further reduce the costs of product/part development and time to market. This special issue wouldn’t be possible without the encouragement of Dr. Andrew Hrymak, Editor-in-Chief of International Polymer Processing, and the contributing authors and dedicated reviewers. We owe them much gratitude. Finally, we hope the readers and the polymer processing community alike will find the state-of-the-art results and information in this special issue useful, informative, and inspiring.

Neural Network Approach for Software Defect Prediction Based on Quantitative and Qualitative Factors

These Quality of a software component can be expressed in terms of level of number of faults present in data. Quality estimations are made using fault data available from previously developed similar type of projects and the training data consisting of software measurements. In this paper, an attempt is made to use Batch Gradient Descent (BGD), Batch Gradient Descent with momentum (BGDWM), Variable Learning Rate (VLR), Variable Learning Rate training with momentum (VLRM) and Resilient Backpropagation (RB) based neural network approach to identify the relation between the various qualitative as well as quantitative factor of the modules with the number of faults present in the module that will be helpful for prediction of the level of number of faults present in the modules. The dataset used is elicited from 31 completed software projects in the consumer electronics industry. The data were gathered using a questionnaire distributed to managers of recent projects. The performance of the algorithms is recorded in terms of MAE, RMSE and Accuracy percentage values.

Selection of project procurement methods in the consumer electronics industry – a Hong Kong study

Under pressure from both the ever increasing level of market competition and the global financial crisis, clients in consumer electronics (CE) industry are keen to understand how to choose the most appropriate procurement method and hence to improve their competitiveness. Four rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted with 12 experts in order to identify the most appropriate procurement method in the Hong Kong CE industry. Five key selection criteria in the CE industry are highlighted, including product quality, capability, price competition, flexibility and speed. This study also revealed that product quality was found to be the most important criteria for the ‘First type used commercially’ and ‘Major functional improvements’ projects. As for ‘Minor functional improvements’ projects, price competition was the most crucial factor to be considered during the PP selection. These research findings provide owners with useful insights to select the procurement strategies.

Methods for Assessing Product Reliability: Looking for enhancements by adopting condition-based monitoring

The consumer electronics industry needs more sophisticated methods for assessing product reliability than those documented in traditional reliabilitv handbooks such as the widely adopted U.S. Military MIL-HDBK-217 hand book, as standard laboratory tests fail to consider the fact that each individual device sold to different consumers are subjected to different operating environments with different usage profiles. Standard tests cannot distinguish between two identical devices from the same production line that may have been used a little and were well taken care of, while the other may be used heavily under rough conditions. Condition-based monitoring not only assesses device on an individual basis but also provides manufacturers with information to optimally revise warranty support programs to enhance cost effectiveness. Further, anv product misuse and maltreatment can be readily detected to reduce the cost of providing warranty claims from consumers who violated the terms and conditions of warranty coverage.