August 2003

TRLabs President and CEO Roger Pederson

Plasma Screen Demo - Wireless 802.11 Link

New TRLabs EA IONA Home Systems IONA President Jason Mackenzie

With 11.6 million private dwellings in Canada (roughly extrapolated globally to 2 billion global homes), and network extension to the home still in its infancy, Home Technologies is a strategically important economic growth sector.

Looking ahead, new Home Tech research relationships are being formed. Dr. Saul Greenberg from the University of Calgary (Computer Science) has joined TRLabs as an Adjunct Professor with TRLabs. Saul’s work focuses on the Human Computer Interface – how the individual interacts with equipment and programs, making interfaces easy to use. An iCORE/TELUS Chair in Broadband Wireless Networks, Dr. Carey Williamson (U of C) has also joined TRLabs as an Adjunct Professor.

News Release
Coverage - Calgary Sun, Calgary Herald, Business Edge, Report on Wireless

The Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations recently awarded TRLabs’ Photonics Group $195,000 over two years to pursue innovation in Integrated All-Optical Devices Based on Chalcogenide Glasses. Use of Chalcogenide glasses as an optical device medium is a focus of current Photonics research, and contributes to network evolution to a speed-enhancing all-optical backbone. This work has been featured in TRLabs’ 2002 and 2003 Annual Reports.

Nine new EAs (total – 37) have signed on as TRLabs members in the last three months:

• Winnipeg
  • -e-Stage Technologies
  • -OMT Technologies
  • -Profit Master Canada
  • -RMA Technologies
  • -The Information Forge
• Edmonton
  • -Xanantec Technologies
• Calgary
  • -IONA Home Systems
• Vancouver
  • -CelPHinder Technologies
  • -Interactive Netcasting Systems (INSINC)

The new EAs are joined by new major partner Sun Microsystems (total – 12), who signed a one-year trial membership in June. Total member count in TRLabs has risen to 58.

An MOU signed with German research group Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK) is paying dividends to TRLabs in the form of provision of new MEMS (Micro Electromechanical Systems) chips to TRLabs graduate students. The chips are being used as building blocks for ongoing student research work. Three chips have been manufactured for TRLabs to date, including two for graduate students in Saskatoon and one for the Photonics group in Edmonton. Another four chips are currently being manufactured for TRLabs in Germany. FZK is performing this work on a good will basis in anticipation of a future collaborative relationship with the Canadian Synchrotron Nanostructures facility (under construction) in Saskatoon.

Saskatoon’s June Multimedia in Your Home Conference (6th – held every two years) attracted 125 attendees. Wireless 2003 (15th Annual, July) in Calgary attracted 189 attendees. TRLabs conferences serve an important function as a means to transfer knowledge, and its corresponding economic opportunities, to broader audiences. Feedback continues to be positive for these events.

TRLabs Winnipeg signed an MOU with the VR Centre in Winnipeg in early 2003. A first collaborative project is now underway – in 4D visualization (imagine 3D visualization plus the dynamic element of time). One Ph.D. student is working on the project.

TRLabs Calgary graduate student Bogdan Georgescu was presented with a “CMC componentware/CAD award” for his work in Q-Enhanced Inductors at the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation’s annual TEXPO conference in Montreal. The student poster session pits students from across Canada against each other to compete for three national awards for research in integrated circuits.

Andrew Kostiuk, Staff Researcher at TRLabs Saskatoon, recently became an Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan

Jose Rueda participated in Winnipeg’s Digitized 2003 (May) as a youth mentor. The annual event is designed to steer youth in positive directions, and encourage youth to consider technology careers.