[MLB-WIRELESS] Wireless cameras

[Clae]

Pinched from the Sydney site, for the person who was talking about a 
remote camera AP recently.

Does Atsana Hold the Wi-Fi Multimedia Silver Bullet?
    (Posted on Saturday, April 27 @ 16:30:50 EST )

    Topic: News & Events


Much of the talk surrounding multimedia over a WLAN or a 
Wi-Fi-enabled PDA has addressed just one side: the viewing of videos 
or photos. But as more and more people buy camera attachments to 
stream multimedia over 802.11 connections, Michael Krause sees demand 
for his product heating up.

Unlike the relatively straightforward task of decoding graphics for 
display on an iPAQ or laptop screen, the job of encoding video for 
transmission over an 802.11 connection can tax to the limit many 
wireless devices. So intense is the mobile encoding process that a 
camera-equipped PDA or camera with an 802.11 link can become 
high-tech hand-warmers, says Krause, chief operating officer of 
Atsana Semiconductor, headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario.

A silicon/software combination unveiled by Atsana could produce 
better quality images while requiring one-third the power of current 
hard-wired Digital Signal Processors. The processor will be available 
in September.

Atsana's wireless multimedia processor cools down Wi-Fi video 
encoding by decreasing the power needed to do all the needed 
number-crunching. Rather than have one very fast (and
heat-intensive) processor simultaneously manipulating data, Atsana 
employs thousands of one-bit single instruction multiple data (SIMD) 
processors. The SIMDs form a massively parallel array to tackle tasks 
such as color-correction. The result is 15 times the processing power 
while reducing the power drain on wireless devices.

Soon after its introduction, OmniVision said it was including the 
processor in a reference design of its CameraChip module. The camera 
is a mere slice of silicon that includes a lens. Such chips are 
embedded in wireless PDAs, allowing law enforcement surveillance, or 
as a
monitor in industrial settings which can be streamed to supervisors via Wi-Fi.

OmniVision chose Atsana's processor for its programmability, 
providing MPEG-4, JPEG and image preprocessing and image 
stabilization. A final reference design of the module will be 
available in late 2002.

Krause expects his company in two weeks will announce a wireless PC 
camera product that includes an 802.11 interface. The tiny camera 
that sits on your desktop monitor or clips to your laptop display is 
about to be overhauled, replacing the annoying cables with an elegant
wireless solution, along with trading in ghost-like images for clear 
VGA or NTSC pictures.

Also on the horizon for Atsana is networked wireless cameras with 
their own IP addresses. The cameras could be accessed from anywhere 
over the Internet. Krause sees corporations checking in at work sites 
via the company WLAN, factory managers solving production line
delays from their 802.11 PDA and police officers viewing crime scene 
photos from a squad car laptop.

While increased use of wireless cameras depends on the continued 
development of high-speed 3G networks, Krause says he "doesn't want 
to wait" before entering the market. Krause points to his software's 
programmability, allowing quick development times for applications, 
rather than waiting much longer for an all-silicon alternative.

Nokia and Motorola recently announced plans to use Texas Instruments' 
OMAP DSP for next-generation multimedia handheld wireless devices. 
Krause called TI's DSP "power-hungry."

Atsana, a fabless semiconductor company, has been developing methods 
of transmitting multimedia over wireless networks since the firm's 
1999 inception, when it was Lumica Electronics.

Krause says Atsana's processor is the silver bullet for Wi-Fi devices 
needing multimedia power without the usual battery-draining results. 
"Think of being able to hold a hand-held video conference for 45 
minutes without your batteries dying. This is the kind of application 
we enable," says Krause.

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