A Discussion of Infrared - Its Adoption and Applications Considerations for Adaptec® AIRport(tm) Adapter Designs: AIRport 2000 and AIRport 1000 Desktop and Portable PC Infrared Adapters Introduction Portable PC manufacturers are under intense market pressure to build smaller, lighter units that use less power for greater mobility. Yet these units must also provide the power of a desktop PC when used in the home or office. Infrared technology allows manufacturers of portable PCs to achieve the goals of mobility, yet preserve the power of a desktop computer. By the end of 1995, the majority of major portable PC manufacturers will offer infrared I/O built into their products. This paper discusses the adoption of the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) standard, applications for infrared, and the design goals and considerations used in the development of Adaptec's AIRport infrared adapters. The Adoption of Infrared To meet the divergent requirements of mobility and desktop power, portable system designers must optimize designs around the most important subsystems: processor, display, keyboard, power/battery life. From a design perspective, one sub-optimal component of a typical portable PC is the floppy drive. Floppies are large, costly, consume power, and are used infrequently when compared with the elements of the system mentioned above. Floppies have 3 uses, only 1 of which has any real value while traveling: 1. New software installation: typically done only in the office 2. Backups: best done at the office before trips in case of system damage, loss or theft 3. File transfer: often needed on the road However, floppies can be removed from standard system configurations if there is an alternative for file transfer infrared is the alternative. In June 1994, only one year after its formation, the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) released the first specification for an infrared standard for file transfer between computing devices. Proposed by HP, IBM and Sharp, the standard was based on the implementation developed by HP for the HP Omnibook series of portable computers. The standard allows for point-to-point wireless connections at 115Kbit/s up to 1 meter, within a 30 degree cone (15 degrees off the center line in all directions). [Image] Companies from many industries quickly joined the organization. They saw the potential applications for a low power, lightweight, standard data transfer method that allows for easy interoperability between a variety of device types at a low cost. In November 1994, IBM announced the first ThinkPads implementing the IrDA standard. Several other companies introduced notebooks with infrared in the months that followed. HP introduced the LaserJet 5 with infrared in March 1995. In April, the IrDA approved extensions to the specification that increased the maximum speed to 1.2Mbit/s and 4.0Mbit/s. With most major portable PC manufacturers planning to include built-in infrared capability by the end of this year, infrared has quickly become "standard equipment." Applications for Infrared Connectivity Unlike their desk-bound brethren, mobile PC users make connections that are temporary and variable. This includes sometimes being connected directly to a LAN, sometimes to a LAN through a modem, sometimes through a serial or parallel cable to another PC, and sometimes to a printer. These ad hoc connections represent the Personal Area Network (PAN) of a mobile user. Infrared provides the perfect link for these temporary and variable connections. The following is an example of how infrared can be used for general office applications: A traveling professional takes her portable PC along on a business trip to several field offices. Before she leaves, she uses infrared I/O to transfer key files from her office desktop PC to her portable PC. At the Denver office she prints a report on a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 5 using its built-in infrared port. At the Phoenix office she uses infrared to copy a large product database file to a colleague's desktop PC. At the Dallas office she connects to the corporate network via an infrared connection and downloads files from the server to her portable PC. At the Atlanta airport she connects to a pay phone enabled with infrared and faxes a document back to the home office. Upon returning to the office, she synchronizes the files on her notebook PC with those files on the desktop PC. Though first proposed for portable to desktop PC connectivity, the IrDAspecification quickly p roved itself useful for a wide range of medical, commercial, industrial, and consumer applications. Medical Equipment The medical staff at a large hospital needs to access large amounts of data collected and stored on patient monitors. Today, the staff members manually program the settings and record the data readings. Inevitably these devices have different control panels thus increasing the chance of programming or transcription errors. With infrared devices, a nurse can place a portable PC near the device, align the infrared transmitters, and run the application on the PC to automatically reset the device or download patient data. This data can be linked to the patient ID and uploaded to the central patient record database. Commercial and Industry The diversity of applications for infrared is astounding. These examples illustrate some of the creative commercial and industry applications manufacturers and VARs have identified for infrared: * Material handling systems: automated carts, each with a 486 computer sealed to protect it from the harsh environment. Infrared allows a service technician to run diagnostics, and reprogram the system without removing protective covers. * Traffic control systems: traffic light control panels at intersections can be reprogrammed by the technician sitting in the truck. * City transit systems: buses collect mileage, route, and fare information while on the road and the data is "beamed" to the central computer at the garage when the bus returns from the day's run. * Police reporting systems: squad cars equipped with portable PCs can exchange daily reports with superior officers in the field. Alternatively, an infrared "dock" to the digital radio system allows remote wireless uploads to the central system. Failures due to damaged pin connections are eliminated. * Point of Sale (POS): credit card readers and PIN key pads with infrared cost less, and are easier and cheaper to install or retrofit in checkout counters. Consumer * Bank ATMs: Equipped with an electronic organizer with a financial package such as Quicken installed, the user can walk up to a bank ATM and execute a variety of transactions and have the "checkbook" automatically updated. * TV set-tops: While enjoying one or more of the 500 channels piped into the home or hotel room, the user can use a notebook PC for scrolling through e-mail messages using one of the data channels. * Watches: infrared watches can be programmed with appointment alarms downloaded from a PC-based scheduling program. Considerations for AIRport Adapter Design Infrared is certainly versatile, and devices should be as easy to use as common infrared TV remote controls. However, there are several factors that need special consideration when designing an adapter for data applications: * Ease of set up * Power supply * Typical operating range * User workspace, environment, and other infrared devices Adaptec's AIRport adapter designs accommodate these issues to ensure a reliable, predictable and easy to use product for desktop and portable PCs. AIRport's design goal was, and is, simple: plug it in, and it works. Advanced design features include: Ease of set up * AIRport connects conveniently to the PC's serial port and is fully compliant with IrDA data transmission standards. Set up requires only one connection. * It includes TranXit 1.0 software, a simple, full-featured data transfer software designed around a file manager paradigm. File copy, move, synchronization, and security, are among the supported features. Since TranXit software is preloaded on the majority of infrared equipped notebook PCs, AIRport adapters will work with them. [Image] Power Supply * AIRport has very low power requirements. The power available from serial ports varies greatly across systems. The highly efficient AIRport adapter power supply ensures that it will operate even with very low serial port power. * Three power options may be used for maximum flexibility: o Serial (COM) port power allows operation at up to 1 meter on most PCs o Four AA batteries increase transmit range up to 2 meters (also allows for portability, or greater convenience where power strips are filled to capacity or have plugs blocked by other "bricks"). o AC adapter enables reliable operation up to 2 meters In cases where the serial port does not provide power, or is insufficient to support an acceptable range, batteries or AC power can be used. When sufficient power is sensed by the adapter, a second LED is turned on to increase the transmit range. * Automatic switching to alternative power source for continuous operation should one power source fails (even if it happens in the middle of a data transfer) * Powersaving mode shuts AIRport down automatically when not in use to increase battery life Typical operating range * Specially colored Fresnel lens filters out non-infrared light and concentrates the infrared beam for more reliable data transmission and doubles the operating range of the transmitting device! Just as the second transmit LED mentioned above doubles the "send" range, the fresnel lens doubles the receive range. [Note: There is a 10X difference in the minimum and maximum power output allowed by the IrDA specification. As a result two "high powered" devices will operate further apart than two "low powered" devices. AIRport adapters, in effect, turn "low power" devices into "high power" devices.] * Transmit and receive diodes are mechanically separated to prevent the receiver from picking up the devices own transmissions. User workspace and environment * Dual position design easily adapts to typical desktop surfaces where free space is not readily available. As the diagram below shows, when the AIRport device is placed in a stand-up position the infrared lens is elevated high enough to transmit over the top of a typical PC keyboard. * Metal shielding around the infrared receive diode protects against interference from monitor radiation. [Image] Summary Infrared is a powerful technology that has innovative application potential in a variety of industries. Many leading manufacturers in various markets have aggressively incorporated infrared into their product strategies and designs. Adaptec's AIRport devices ensure infrared I/O is easy and flexible. AIRport's solid design and performance features make it an excellent choice for the unique ad hoc connection needs of mobile PC users. Copyright© 1995 Adaptec, Inc. All rights reserved. Adaptec, the Adaptec logo, IOware, the IOware logo and AIRport are trademarks of Adaptec, Inc. which may be registered in some jurisdictions.TranXit is a trademark of Puma Technology. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners. Information supplied by Adaptec, Inc. is believed to be accurate and reliable at the time of printing, but Adaptec Inc. reserves the right, without notice, to make changes in product design or specifications.