by Abdallah Khreishah, associate professor of electrical engineering and director of NJIT’s Optimized Networking Lab

The proliferation of mobile devices, ever-denser computer networks and the rise of the Internet of Things are changing core aspects of daily life, from commerce to communication, in profound ways. Biosensors that relay health information from patient to physician, energy management systems that monitor and regulate consumption and banking by cell phone are just a few examples.

But this steady stream of new applications, coupled with accelerating device speeds and capacity, is driving a seemingly insatiable demand for wireless bandwidth. Mobile devices have reached performance levels at which they are effectively “data starved,” since their ability to produce or consume data far exceeds the capabilities of the networks that feed them.

Electrical engineering professor Abdallah Khreishah with his graduate student, Sihua Shao, in NJIT's Optimized Networking Lab.

Visible light communications (VLC) or Li-Fi, which utilizes available indoor lights as information carriers, is emerging as an alternative, complementary technology to relieve pressure on the crowded radio frequency (RF) spectrum. The possibilities are exciting: VLC is unlicensed, has wide bandwidth, supports new levels of security due to the opacity of walls and can provide both lighting and data communications for little net increase in energy cost.

Here’s how it works: Data are delivered from overhead luminaires to receivers in the lighting field by turning the light signals generated by LEDs on and off fast enough that the photodetectors designed for information signal reception can decode the transmitted information imperceptibly to human eyes. Recent studies show data rates of up to 200 megabits per second per user can be achieved by each luminaire in a coverage area of less than 1 square meter.

Abdallah Kreishah, associate professor of electrical engineering, and his graduate student, Sihua Shao, demonstrate their Visible-Light-enhanced WiFi (Li+WiFi) technology.

But we must first resolve a few limitations, including the absence of uplinks. I developed a first practical hybrid RF-VLC system, which we’re adapting to user behavior. Our mission is to jointly optimize throughput and energy consumption, while ensuring security and seamless connectivity. Wish us luck!

Editor's note: This is a sponsored blog post from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

This device is ideal for applications with limited or no power at all, and it incorporates an internal, high-capacity lithium battery that powers the passive inductive flow sensor and radio node for years.

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This subscription-free glucose meter and diabetes health management system offers automatic transmission of diabetes information to a cloud-based, personalized Web portal. It's received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CE Mark in Europe.

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Texas Instruments has introduced a single-chip reinforced isolator with integrated power that reportedly offers 80% higher efficiency than existing integrated devices. This new reinforced isolator supports reliable operation of industrial systems, including factory automation, grid infrastructure, motor control, isolated power supplies, and test and measurement equipment.

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Interested in simulation for space hardware, broadband macromodeling, interference modeling, synthesis tools, or real-time location tracking? CST has a series of webinars designed to help you "get ahead" in these topics. Check out the list of current offerings to see what might interest you!

Getting Ahead with RF Breakdown Simulation for Space Hardware

In this webinar we will review the RF Breakdown effects which can occur in space hardware namely multipactor discharge. The webinar will focus on the advantages of using full numerical approaches instead of analytical ones to determine the breakdown power level. Situations in which analytical approaches are not valid will be pointed out, as well as practical cases in which the analytical calculation significantly underestimates the breakdown power level. Simulations with SPARK3D and CST PARTICLE STUDIO® coupled with CST MICROWAVE STUDIO® will show the benefits of using a full numerical approach to tackle these problems in space applications.

Getting Ahead with Broadband Macromodeling

he complexity of modern high-end electronic systems as well as strict time-to-market constraints require fast and reliable Signal/Power Integrity and Electromagnetic Compatibility performance assessments from very preliminary stages of the design onwards. Such assessments are usually performed via numerical simulations aimed at the prediction of the signals propagating on the system interconnects. This type of analysis is enabled by the availability of accurate and efficient models for all relevant passive system components including, e.g., interconnects, vias, connectors, packages, discontinuities, up to backplane links and complete power delivery networks. This webinar will show how the state-of-the-art macromodeling software IdEM provides the ideal tool to verify the physical self-consistency of S-parameter data, and to generate stable, passive and causal broadband computational models and/or equivalent circuits that can be safely used in any SPICE-based simulation environment for reliable Signal and Power Integrity assessment.

Getting Ahead with the Interference Task

The new CST® interference task is a new system-level tool, for the simulation of RF interference and receiver desense. It can be used to analyze inter-systems and intra-system coupling and delivers information about the possible occurrence of RF interference at a glance. The interference task is fully integrated into the CST STUDIO SUITE®, making it easy to run different scenarios and test mitigation strategies. In this webinar we will present all steps necessary to perform the simulation of RF interference and explain the concepts behind the tool:

• Introduction to the analysis method.
• Definition of a coupling matrix for interference analysis.
• Definition of RF systems from building blocks like receiver and transmitter.
• Analysis of simulation results.
• Advanced source definition using schematic simulation.

Getting Ahead with Filter Designer 3D

The CST® Filter Designer 3D is a complete synthesis tool for narrow bandpass filters and diplexers. It offers a range of solutions throughout the design process of a coupled-resonator filter – regardless of whether it is implemented in planar, waveguide or dielectric media. The synthesis is based on the coupling matrix and also provides a unique feature that assists in the tuning phase of a 3D filter.

In this webinar Filter Designer 3D will be presented in an online demo, where we will highlight the different features and functionalities. The use of this tool during the design process of a microwave filter will also be illustrated.

In this webinar a complete design workflow for multimode cavity filters will be presented. This will include the filter synthesis, 3D implementation and tuning, as well a thermal and mechanical analysis to understand how the filter performance might be affected by high power operation.

Getting Ahead with Antenna Design – A Real-Time Location Tracking System

Engineers are often faced with the task of studying an existing system with a view to improving or modifying that system for a new purpose. When it comes to complex communication systems, such as a real-time RFID location-tracking system deployed for live tracking of players on a sports field, the first step to improvement or modification is being able to model the existing system accurately and reliably. In this talk we will explore how software tools such as Antenna Magus and CST STUDIO SUITE® can help develop realistic models for such systems and help engineers in identifying and assessing problems and potential solutions quickly.