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History of Wireless Technologies

April 20, 2019   Technology   No comments

Introduction

It took decades for wireless technologies to grow from just a simple concept to a revolutionary, innovative technology integrated in devices from computers and handsets to microwave ovens. Michael Faraday may not have had a clue that his discovery of the principle of electromagnetic induction would also induce a domino effect which ultimately resulted in the development of wireless technologies that we use now.
Starting from radios, wireless technologies basically grew out of proportion presently reaching the discovery of 4G connectivity. Human being’ constant desire to develop a much more efficient technology seems to have triggered the advancement of wireless technologies. At present, WiFi Hotspots are found almost everywhere in urban buildings, offering internet access to devices connected over Wireless LAN. Indoor access points let users connect to wired networks and are widely used in coffee shops and other public places.

The interesting past of wireless technologies

Faraday’s electromagnetic induction principles and Marconi’s discovery of wireless signal transmission brought forth a new idea of wireless communication. Funded by the US military in the World war era, scientists eventually developed a short distance communication device for using in the battlefield, which later went on to be a household device named Radio. However, when electronic device manufacturers started funding creative and innovative ideas, the radio found its successor in the form of wireless phones. The gigahertz radio frequencies then enabled point to multipoint or PMTP communication. This started the rapid evolution of wireless technologies.
Presently wireless internet service provider or WISP equipments are abundant supporting operation over licensed band of frequencies in UHF band. Wisp equipments can operate over 900 MHz to up to 5 GHz frequencies. Now customers can use CPEs or Customer Premises equipments such as wireless telephones, WiFi routers, set-top boxes etc to distribute service providers’ services around the house via Wireless LAN.

Evolving from 1G to 4G

The technology implemented in cellular phones came to be known as the first generation wireless communication technology known as 1G. The wireless technology transmitted Analog signals at up to 2.4 Kbps and made it possible for users to make calls to other phones in the same country. It supported frequencies of upto 800 MHz. Data services were almost nonexistent in 1G.
Owing to the demand for better sound quality, the 2G technology was developed. Even though this form wireless technology provided the same data rates of 1G, the sound quality improved as it used Digital Circuit Switched technology. The D-AMPS technology in 2G covered USA; while the TDMA based Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) covered Europe when the technology was first introduced.
This paved the way for an interim evolution of 2G known as 2.5G with carrier frequencies of 200 kHz. The technology made its way to Asia in addition to Europe and USA. The services that came with the wireless technology included those offered by 2G such as Short messaging service, Call forwarding, caller ID and seamless roaming. The 2.5G technology made roaming calls possible, letting subscribers make calls from different national boundaries provided the service provider allowed it. Base stations installed at fixed locations made this communication possible. GPRS and EDGE were the result of 2.5G.
Reaching a targeted rate of 2 Mbps data transfer, the 3G technology arrived with global wireless frequencies enabling more phone calls per mobile and high speed data transfers for convenient video conferencing and streaming. 3G was first commercially launched in Japan by NTT DoCoMo in 2001featuring technologies like WCDMA, CDMA2000 and UMTS. The carrier frequency went up to 5 MHz depending on the frequencies supported by different countries.
Just like 2.5G, 3G also had an interim step up in the form of 3.5G more popularly known as Pre 4G. Although it didn’t get officially recognized as a standard by the ITU, 3.5G was considered a first step to the next cellular technology generation, then known as IMT-Advanced, which brought forth technologies like LTE and HSPA+.
The fastest cellular technology at present, named as 4G, uses Digital Broadband signals supporting data rates of up to 40 Mbps. The features included increased access and portability, worldwide roaming, and enhanced multimedia. Multichannel hi-fi TV broadcasts and super fast HD video streaming are added advantages. It’s currently under development to support a wider range of frequencies. Based on all IP packet switched networks, the 4G technology supports a scalable channel bandwidth ranging from 5-20 MHz.
The 4G system spectral efficiency has gone up to 3 bits/Hz/cell in the downlink and 2.25 bit/Hz/cell for using indoors. It provides the first opportunity for broadband access from remote locations. The growing divergence between telecom operators and vendors and the increased cost are supposedly the only weaknesses of this technology. The advent of 4G is presumed to squeeze the market competition in the mobile industry. FCC is currently seeking more unlicensed band of frequencies in the 5 GHz band to support gigabit range speeds for WiFi.

Other wireless technologies

The new 802.11 n is the latest wireless technology succeeding 802.11 b/g/a and can transmit multiple data streams through multiple antennas. Apart from cellular technologies from 1G to 4G, one renowned and widely used wireless technology is the Bluetooth, designed for sharing data at short distances. The Near Field Communication or NFC is another new technology that allows devices to establish radio communication with each other by just touching them together.
NFC is simple to set up and is basically used to boot more capable wireless connections at low speeds and to enable Bluetooth communication and file transfer faster. It can be used to share contacts, photos, videos and other files in a social networking platform and also gives easy access to multiplayer mobile games.

Conclusion

With the advent of innovative wireless technologies like LTE and NFC and many others, the applications and use of wireless technology constantly expand exceeding expectations. This justifies the need for technological improvements that follow international standards. Owing to the enormous increase in demands for better connectivity and high bandwidth data usage on mobile devices, further advancement of wireless technology is inevitable.

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What Is Pad Printing?

February 6, 2019   Technology   No comments

Pad printing is a modern printing process that can be used to quickly transfer 2-D images on to all sorts of 3-D objects. However, before getting into a description of what pad printing is, it’s important to first define a few specific elements that pad printing relies on.

First, it’s important to understand gravure printing. Gravure put simply, is a process that etches an image onto the surface of a metal plate. This places the images – in ink form – in the recesses of the metal plate, unlike relief printing (where the image is raised). By filling the recesses with ink, and leaving the raised portions of the plate dry, the image can be transferred from the plate to the substrate quickly and cleanly. Gravure can produce very fine and detailed images on short or long runs in multiple colors.

Beyond the gravure printing process, pad printing also relies on plates – or cliches. In traditional offset processes, printing relies on transferring an inked image from an offset (the plate) to a rubber blanket which then makes contact with the print surface. When compared to other modern printing methods, offset printing with plates is one of the best solutions when it comes to economically producing commercial quantities of high quality prints, without requiring much maintenance. Today, cliches are made from metal or polyester.

However, pad printing is unique when compared to other gravure and offset methods in that the ink is transferred from the plate with a silicone pad, which then transfers the ink to the substrate. This allows the process to be used for a number of products that would otherwise be impossible to print on, including medical products, electronics, appliances, toys, sports equipment, and more.

Crude forms of the basic premise behind pad printing have existed for hundreds of years. However, the popularity of the process enjoyed rapid expansion when the availability of modern manufacturing made widespread commercial use feasible. This expansion was felt first by the watch-making industry after the Second World War, which then gave way to pad printing being used for far more products. Since then, the method has experienced substantial growth due to the many applications that have found a use for it.

Partly to thank for the rapid growth of pad printing has been the increased availability of advanced silicone. The unique properties of the silicon pads used for the process gives it its highly sought after ability to pick the image up from a flat plate and then transfer it to a number of surfaces – including flat, spherical, textured, concave, and convex surfaces. This makes this specific printing technique invaluable for everyone from appliance manufacturers to electronics manufacturers who need a better solution for membrane switch printing.

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What Is Pad Printing?

January 26, 2019   Technology   No comments

Pad printing is a modern printing process that can be used to quickly transfer 2-D images on to all sorts of 3-D objects. However, before getting into a description of what pad printing is, it’s important to first define a few specific elements that pad printing relies on.

First, it’s important to understand gravure printing. Gravure put simply, is a process that etches an image onto the surface of a metal plate. This places the images – in ink form – in the recesses of the metal plate, unlike relief printing (where the image is raised). By filling the recesses with ink, and leaving the raised portions of the plate dry, the image can be transferred from the plate to the substrate quickly and cleanly. Gravure can produce very fine and detailed images on short or long runs in multiple colors.

Beyond the gravure printing process, pad printing also relies on plates – or cliches. In traditional offset processes, printing relies on transferring an inked image from an offset (the plate) to a rubber blanket which then makes contact with the print surface. When compared to other modern printing methods, offset printing with plates is one of the best solutions when it comes to economically producing commercial quantities of high quality prints, without requiring much maintenance. Today, cliches are made from metal or polyester.

However, pad printing is unique when compared to other gravure and offset methods in that the ink is transferred from the plate with a silicone pad, which then transfers the ink to the substrate. This allows the process to be used for a number of products that would otherwise be impossible to print on, including medical products, electronics, appliances, toys, sports equipment, and more.

Crude forms of the basic premise behind pad printing have existed for hundreds of years. However, the popularity of the process enjoyed rapid expansion when the availability of modern manufacturing made widespread commercial use feasible. This expansion was felt first by the watch-making industry after the Second World War, which then gave way to pad printing being used for far more products. Since then, the method has experienced substantial growth due to the many applications that have found a use for it.

Partly to thank for the rapid growth of pad printing has been the increased availability of advanced silicone. The unique properties of the silicon pads used for the process gives it its highly sought after ability to pick the image up from a flat plate and then transfer it to a number of surfaces – including flat, spherical, textured, concave, and convex surfaces. This makes this specific printing technique invaluable for everyone from appliance manufacturers to electronics manufacturers who need a better solution for membrane switch printing.

Read More
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