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Fujitsu unveils 10Gbps single-panel 5G antenna

Published

5 years ago

November 30, 2018

(Image: Fujitsu)

Fujitsu Laboratories has unveiled a single-panel antenna designed to enable multiple 5G connections on a small, energy-efficient base station, saying it could be used across train stations and stadiums.

The antenna provides speeds of more than 10Gbps across four simultaneous 2.5Gbps signals, using the millimetre-wave (mmWave) 28GHz 5G spectrum band, with 128 antenna elements, and 16 phased array chips that fit onto a single 13cm square printed circuit board.

“Conventional 5G system structures require use of an antenna panel for each terminal when simultaneously transmitting to multiple terminals. Now, by controlling with high accuracy the phase (angle) of signals separately emitted from 128 antenna elements, Fujitsu Laboratories has suppressed the interference between signals,” the company explained.

“Currently, to avoid radio wave interference during communications with multiple users at once, base stations have been configured to use a number of antenna panels corresponding to the number of concurrent users. To miniaturise the equipment so that it can be deployed anywhere, the best option is to provide multi-directional transmissions from a single antenna panel.”

To achieve this, Fujitsu developed a phased array chip that is able to regulate the phase of a signal propagated with an accuracy of one degree or less from an antenna element. It then built one phased array chip per eight antenna elements into the panel.

“The company also uses circuitry that detects the differences in phase between phased array chips, which enables highly accurate phase control for any size antenna panel that has between 64 and 256 antenna elements,” it said.

“As a result, by holding the difference in undesired emissions intruding between one radio wave communicating with a device and another radio wave with another device to 20dB or more, it makes it possible for a single antenna panel to carry out high-capacity communications of 10Gbps or more.”

Fujitsu is planning to commercialise the technology in 2021.

The announcement follows the company last month signing a 5G partnership with networking giant Ericsson, with plans to combine their radio access and core network portfolios to deliver 5G mobile network services and solutions across Japan.

“Ericsson and Fujitsu’s strength in research and development will ensure the best path for bringing global 5G solutions to Japan, as well as exploring a wider global market,” the companies said in November.

Fujitsu will provide open and standards-based “flexible 5G network systems” using its wireless technology expertise, Fujitsu EVP and head of Network Business Group Tango Matsumoto said.

Fujitsu’s previous work on 5G saw it kick off a field trial last year of its 5G ultra high-density distributed antenna technology and tests of simultaneous high-speed transmission of high-res video using the antenna system, in partnership with Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo.

Fujitsu and Fujitsu Laboratories, which have been working on 5G trials with NTT DoCoMo since 2014, have also collaborated with the Japanese carrier on evaluating communications speed for distributed antennas deployed at multiple outdoor locations.

“The testing system consists of two mobile stations equipped with displays that can be moved around the interior of Fujitsu Shin-Kawasaki Technology Square, as well as equipment including distributed antennas installed in 16 locations, centralised baseband processing equipment that controls the distributed antennas, and fibre-optic cables connecting the distributed antennas with the centralised baseband processing equipment,” Fujitsu explained in November 2017.

Fujitsu’s ultra-high density distributed antenna technology “actively controls the shape of cells, which are the range of a signal, in order to improve communication quality for mobile stations through centralised control of base station antennas distributed around a space at high density”, it said.

Fujitsu said the 32 distributed antennas can be controlled by the centralised baseband processing devices. This is done by using signal processing equipment that aggregates digital signals — transmitted and received — from several different distributed antennas while preventing signal interference.

Fujitsu also unveiled its millimetre-wave (mmWave) phase shifter for small cells a year ago, which it said delivers the 10Gbps connections required by 5G, while maintaining low power usage.

According to Fujitsu, its phase shifters reduced the number of amps needed by combining switching circuits with differential amps, and using a new mmWave circuit limited the electrical loss of circuits.

Its small cell technology — which Fujitsu said it was looking to offer by 2020 — also makes use of beam-forming, with the company saying it controls 128 antenna elements.

Earlier this month, Fujitsu also said it is working on developing palm vein and facial data authentication technology, with the integrated biometric identification capabilities pointing to a cashless society.

According to Fujitsu, its Laboratories have developed a simulation algorithm enabling instant facial recognition processing.

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Ericsson and Fujitsu partner on 5G

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Cars

The Feature That You Likely Didn’t Know Your iPhone Camera Had

Published

50 mins ago

September 23, 2023

Francisco Peguero

Martin-dm/Getty Images

If you’ve ever wanted to take photos while recording video without having to resort to screen captures of video stills, Apple has something for that in almost all of the new phones it’s released since September 2019. QuickTake is a built-in and easy-to-use feature that lets you record video and snap pictures using the same device, with no need to switch between camera modes or download any additional camera apps.

There’s a small catch, however. While the process is very simple when you know how to turn it on, it may affect the overall quality of your photos. In essence, if your photo settings are adjusted for higher-quality images, those settings won’t carry over to video. And since QuickTake uses video camera sensors rather than the regular ones, there’s not much you can do to change that. Newer iPhone models do support up to 4K video, which could yield better results.

Regardless, whatever your reasons for wanting to take photos while simultaneously recording video with your iPhone may be, it’s a very simple process.

How to use QuickTake

Making use of your iPhone’s QuickTake feature doesn’t require any special setup or settings changes — it’s already part of the default Camera app so long as you’re using iOS 13 or newer.

Open the Camera app and leave it on the default Photo mode. You should see “Photo” highlighted in yellow, just above the Shutter Button.
When you’re ready to record, press and hold the Shutter Button to begin recording video. Recording will stop if you release the Shutter Button.
Slide your finger from the Shutter Button over to the Lock icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen (where the button for swapping between front- and rear-facing cameras normally is).
The Lock icon will change to a small Shutter Button, and the video recording button will change to the regular recording icon. At this point, your iPhone will continue to record video if you remove your finger from the screen.
While your video is recording, tap the small Shutter Button in the bottom-right corner of the screen to take photos.
Tap the recording button (it will look like a Stop button while recording) to stop taking video.

The QuickTake video you’ve recorded and all of the photos you snapped will appear in your Photos app. Due to videos being added to the Photos app once recording stops (rather than when it starts), the new video will appear after your QuickTake photos.

Cars

The Science Behind The Deadly Lake

Published

2 hours ago

September 23, 2023

Francisco Peguero

A buildup of carbon dioxide gas is not uncommon for crater lakes, with many of them occasionally releasing bubbles of it over time. Volcanic activity taking place below the Earth’s surface (and below the lake itself) will cause gasses to seep up through the lakebed and into the water. Something that generally isn’t a concern as deeper, colder water is able to absorb substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, but if the concentration gets too dense it can create bubbles that float up to and burst on the surface of the water.

This in itself is common, and the volume of carbon dioxide usually released in this manner will dissipate into the air quickly. However, it’s theorized that Lake Nyos had been amassing an uncharacteristically large amount of gas due to a combination of factors like location, local climate, overall depth, and water pressure. Once that buildup had been disturbed, it all came rocketing out.

Whether it was due to a rock slide, strong winds, or an unexpected temperature change throwing off the delicate balance is still unknown. But whatever the catalyst was, it caused the lower layer of deep, carbon-infused water to start to rise. Which then began to warm up, reducing its ability to contain the gas. The resulting perpetual cycle of rising waters and gasses creates the type of explosion you might see after opening a carbonated beverage after it’s been shaken vigorously.

Cars

The Super Nintendo’s Secret Weapon

Published

3 hours ago

September 23, 2023

Francisco Peguero

The Super Nintendo featured seven different video rendering modes, each offering a different level of display detail, shown in one to four background layers. Most of the Super Nintendo’s games utilized Mode 1, which could display 16-color sprites and backgrounds on two layers plus a 4-color sprite on a third layer. This little trick was the key to the parallax scrolling effect you’d see in games like “Super Mario World,” where background elements would scroll at different rates from foreground elements.

Mode 7, however, was the only one of these display modes that permitted advanced visual effects. In a nutshell, Mode 7 allows the Super Nintendo to take a 2D image and apply 3D rendering effects to it, such as scrolling, curving, stretching, and more. By switching to Mode 7, games could transform one of their background layers into an independently moving image, which could be used for gameplay modifications and simple spectacle. Plus, with a bit of creative warping, a 2D image could be changed into a pseudo-3D view, having 2D sprites move around in a flat 3D space. It’s kind of like rolling a ball on a treadmill.