Review of Two Emerging Technologies free essay sample

TABLE OF CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION 2. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY 1: BROADBAND DISTRIBUTION OVER POWER LINE 1. THE BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE TECHNOLOGY 2. IMPACT AND BENEFITS OF BPL ON THE SOCIETY 1. Ready Made Infrastructure 2. Evolution of Consumer Electronics Internet Communications: 3. Evolution of Consumer Electronics Internet Communications: 4. Other Societal impacts: 5. POWER UTILITY APPLICATION 3. Broadband over Power Line: The Challenges 1. Boundary Creation, Security and Overall Reliability of BPL Technology 2. Imminent Large and Unmanageable Network. 3. Radio Frequency Interferences 4. Organizational Challenges 5. Economic Challenges 6. Rural and Remote Location Challenges 3. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY 2: WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION 1. INTRODUCTION 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE WIRELESS TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY 3. IMPACT AND BENEFIT OF WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION ON THE SOCIETY 4. EFFECTS AND CONSIDERATIONS OF WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY 3. CONCLUSION 5. REFERENCES CHAPETER ONE INTRODUCTION The two major technologies that have affected the human existence more than any other are Electricity and Communication technologies. All activities including businesses in modern society have become almost completely dependent on the sustainable supply of electric power and communication. We will write a custom essay sample on Review of Two Emerging Technologies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is no longer a real mission critical systems, but also normal life functions that suffer heavily in case of interruption. Many of third world and developing countries’ stunted economic growth have been attributed to the lack or inconsistent nature of power supply and communication infrastructure. The UK Parliamentary Post note of March 2006, reported that access to consistent power supply and Information and communication technology (ICT) will play a major role in bringing out developing countries out of depressing state of extreme poverty and tackle a wide incidences of health, socioeconomic problems in the process of meeting the seven Millennium Development Goals such as attainment of the universal primary education and global partnership. The paper will therefore focus on these two technologies, exploring the emerging technologies in the field of Information and Communication technologies distribution and Electric power transmission. These are 1. Broadband distribution over power line 2. Wireless electricity transmission These technologies development are aimed at easing the day to day life of users of these technologies. Chapter Two, explores the possibilities of broadband distribution over power line focusing on the technology, the impact on the society and the challenges before nationwide implementation of the technology. Chapter three explores the emergency of transmission of electricity wirelessly to eliminate the use of wires. The technology is described including the benefits it could bring to the society. Concerns over possible hazards in commercial implementation were also discussed. Chapter four is the summary and conclusion of the work done while Chapter five have the references used in the work. CHAPTER 2 BROADBAND DISTRIBUTION OVER POWER LINE Broadband and the Internet are a viable tools in human day to day activity nd its fast becoming invisible and ubiquitous that no one is think or consider its social effects any more than electricity is at this current age or how national social and economic development hinged on it. Even though there is low or no access for rural dwellers, there is a geometric increase in numbers of internet users within the urban community; the demand for easy, fast and cost effective distribution is needed. Many services providers have been rolling out fibre optics ca bles to homes. Virgin Media and British telecom are in forefront of deployment of these cables in the UK. However, the primary focus of these service providers will be on high-density, urban areas which would translate to about only 60% of the United Kingdom population having access to the new broadband via fibre services. Report from 2010 statistics report reveals that â€Å"over thirty million UK adults have broadband/internet access on daily basis. This is a significant improvement over 2006 estimates which recorded over sixteen million UK adults accessing the internet on daily basis†. (http://www. statistics. gov. uk/cci/nugget. asp? id=8). Other varieties of technologies employed by Broadband/Internet Service Providers (BISPs) to extend services to the consumers are Direct Subscriber Line (DSL), Hybrid Fiber-cable (HFC), radio networked fixed wireless communications and satellites antennas. 2. 1 The Broadband over Power Line Technology The technology is based on the phenomenon and ideal transmission of electricity at a lower frequency than broadband signals; hence both electricity and broadband data can be channelled on the same power cable network without either interfering with each other. This offers an idea of economical and cheap way of distributing broadband over existing electric power infrastructure translating into competitive price with other forms of broadband distribution. There is also an attractive appeal of letting consumer plug low cost modems into any standard power outlet and connected to the internet real time. The current robust Power lines infrastructure makes it an attractive medium for broadband delivery because its extensive network reaches more homes than coaxial cables as well as DSL this will foster rapid growth to access to the internet especially rural areas. This method of distributing internet have been tested and deployed for home electronic networking and power modems are commercially manufactured by electronics vendors such as DLink modems, Linksys modems, Netgear routers, and Phone-flever modems. (http://www. powerlinenetworking. co. uk/content/view/13/28/). These devices can only support network data transfer which extends just a few hundred feet while current research is on-going on how to make it commercially available over a longer distance. Description of how this technology works is explained below: A Medium Voltage Node supplies data coming from the Broadband/Internet service providers into a medium voltage power line at a substation. The substation precedes a power plant. The injected data then travels over the electric grid to the final consumers’ power socket. Different frequency bands is employed in sending data via the Low Voltage lines where an installed repeater generates data signals on the Low Voltage lines within the home units. Finally, the consumer connects the electronic equipment which has been designed for self-installation, to any standard electric power socket to receive the broadband signals. [pic] FIGURE 1: Broadband over Power line technology 2. IMPACT AND BENEFITS OF BPL ON THE SOCIETY 1. Ready Made Infrastructure The most important feature of the Broadband over Power Line (BPL) is the already established infrastructure. Therefore, it will not require a build out investment identified with installations of fibre network or DSL upgrades. In the UK, every homes and businesses have access to the electricity utility grid, and most rural and unmanned remote areas are also reached. 2. Evolution of Consumer Electronics Internet Communications: This emerging technology will give rise to the evolution of internet compatibility appliances with most electrical and electronic equipment benefiting from connections to the internet. A typical example is consumer can switch on and switch off electrical appliances by mere logging on to it via the internet from anywhere in the world. Other public devices such as vending machines, industrial equipment, security systems and cameras will benefit from this emergence of electronics Internet communications. 3. Home Networking Home networking is enhanced. There is a seamless transfer of information between electronics and data sharing from every room. A typical example is a DVD get plugged into a power socket it detects and communicate automatically with Television, Home theatre system and other related devices while every TV in all the room can link and watch same movie been watched on the DVD. â€Å"HomePlug AV White Paper,† August 18, 2005 ) 4. Other Societal impacts: Video Conferencing: Electronics consumers will have a simplified way of interacting via a simultaneous the two way video and audio transmissions. Voice-Over-IP: This is another area of internet communication technologies that might be revolutionized, delivering voice communication to the general public over the internet protocol. Enhanced web-bas ed government services: Government services are closer to the citizens with ease of access to internet by more people. 5. POWER UTILITY APPLICATION Utility applications that will benefit from eventual take off of this technology are: †¢ Automated Power Meter Reading (APMR). †¢ Power Demand Forecasting. †¢ Analysis and modelling of distribution transformer overload. †¢ Power Line analysis and testing †¢ Microwave system replacement †¢ Power outage and fault localization †¢ Detecting Phase loss †¢ Enhanced monitoring of Power fluctuations and quality 3. Broadband over Power Line: The Challenges With all certainty BPL technology is a realistic and workable solution to broadband distribution. The technology have been tested and successfully proven in controlled environment, metropolitan trials and small pilot projects. (Lee, M. K. , 2003). However, the concern has been on whether Broadband over Power Line will effectively operate as a means to distribute economically and reliably internet/broadband services to users, with particular focus on remote and rural locations. The BPL as an emerging technology faces several critical but solvable challenges to ensure its survival as a competitive Internet Service Providing technology. . Boundary Creation, Security and Overall Reliability of BPL Technology In the UK as well as several other countries of the world, it is common to see apartments and other close knitted buildings sharing the same power lines, hence signals and data transfer in a home network can cross boundaries of properties. Typical example is a DVD player plugged into power socket need to be able to connect to the specific home network rather than neighboursâ€⠄¢ network. More and other boundaries might also exist at even a finer granularity. For instance, tenants occupying a shared flat may decide to individual network, or parents want a distinct and restricted access to the general network by the children. Hence, BPL technology needs to be able to support multiple virtual networks. (W. David Gardner, 2005) Using encryption and cryptography initiatives such as trusted computing could be used in securing the network (Authentication Framework, 1988). However, the target consumer electronic products such as DVDs, TVs, home theatre systems etc do not have encryption capabilities. For consumer products with encryption capabilities, the equipment are designed to have certificate which transmit the manufacturer’s authorisation, when the desired application is user authorisation. Hence, for this issue to be overcome, electronic products have to be designed to be compatible with this technology. 2. Imminent Large and Unmanageable Network. Power line network will no doubt be very large and may become unmanageably large exposing consumers, financial and government secured systems to hackers. This security threats possess a big setback to commercial and business deployment of the BPL technology. . Radio Frequency Interferences BPL is a shared bandwidth technology hence there are likely hood for radio frequency interferences between the BPL electronic equipment and other uses of the spectrum or vice versa. (Seema M. 2008) Acceptable speed might not be achievable in densely populated regions as there might be limited or very little bandwidth to carter for all br oadband subscribers. (Allen J. Wood, 2004) 4. Organizational Challenges The BPL technology faces organizational challenges for electric utilities who might consider partnering to in broadband distribution services: 1. None Interoperability of BPL equipment hence if a particular manufacturer goes out of business or for whatever reason is no longer available, problem of continuity and cross compatibility sets in. 2. Broadband over Power Line (BPL) as with all telecommunications systems requires structured planning, management, operation and maintenance as a network. These structures are totally different in competencies and capabilities of what is obtainable in the monopolistic nature of electric power systems. (Fink, D. 2008). A bottle neck of finding a balance between acceptable standard between the two giants possess a challenge. . Similarly, the merging vision, values and culture of a telecommunication service provider and electric power company in event of partnership are important factor to be considered to ensure the overall success of the business. 5. Economic Challenges Economic issues are perhaps the most challenging issue facing the BPL technology and some are highlighted below; 1. Uncert ainty with manufacturers been able to make BPL compatible equipment that ensures competitive pricing when compared with other forms of broadband distribution services. . Uncertainty in penetration into the market by the service providers to justify profitable manufacturing scale as well as support while considering financial sustainability from investment to returns on the investments. 3. Uncertainty in BPL competitiveness with other broadband transmission technologies. BPL will probably be profitable venture in populated areas where other existing broadband services such as Fiber and DSL are not available. These issues are interrelated with its success depending on wide deployment and vice versa. . Rural and Remote Location Challenges Rural and remote locations are supposed to be the greatest beneficiary to this technology however economic issues are more compounded. The human settlements are sparsely distributed hence electric cables line are longer and father apart. BPL distribut ion structure then becomes more complex as devices such repeaters, voltage regulator, shunt capacitor etc have to be installed. Prices of distribution will also considerable are higher as one user is served by individual transformer. BPL will not economically feasible for remote transmission when settlers have less than 20 users within a mile. (Fink, D. 2008). CHAPTER THREE WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION 1. Introduction The invention of electricity and subsequent usage to light up a bulb prompted long debates on suitable ways to have it distribute it for the benefit of the people as well as profit on the rising business venture. (Power Engineering Review, IEEE). Notable of the inventors was Nikola Tesla who had an idea and researched how electricity can be transmitted wirelessly. Tesla believes a time will come when wired infrastructure will get to complex in electricity distribution that hence he supports for wireless transmission of electricity. Tesla made plans and built a 57 meter tower, from where electricity will be beamed to long distances. However, his research was cut short due to lack of funds to complete the projects and investors are not willing to gamble into such inventions. (Carlson, W. B 2007) Until 2007, scientists in MIT had a breakthrough in the principle of wireless energy transmission, and carried out a middle distance wireless energy transmission where its efficiency was about 40%. Andre Kurs et al 2007). The current revisit to the Nikola Tesla works no wireless power transmission is set to revolutionize the power industry. Even though Tesla’s idea was to distribute electricity over wide distances, the technology been developed now focuses on local and short ranged distribution, thereby eliminating the use of wires as we have it p resently. A typical usage of the technology will be recharging of consumer electronics that uses battery without necessarily connecting to power sockets. Hence, laptop can be used anywhere in the home and have it battery recharged without plugging it to the main power source or a mobile phone automatically gets charged when user step into the house or the battery is low. 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE WIRELESS TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY The Wireless Transmission technology is based on a physics phenomenon called Resonance Coupling where tuned objects on the same frequency transfers strong energy but have less or no interaction with other objects on different frequency. (Wenzhen Fu et al, 2008). It is an ideal medium for energy exchange because there is free movement of magnetic fields in air while it has less effect on the surroundings and humans at regulated frequency. Two coils resonating at equal frequencies are able to create a powerful magnetic coupling frequency and inter- transfer energy in an efficient manner, while the magnetic coupling have a weak effect on other objects which has different resonance frequency. This physical phenomenon can be adapted to transmit power to electric equipment wirelessly over some certain distance. Chunbo Zhu, 2008). In demonstration of this phenomenon, the researchers constructed two resonant copper coils positioned about two meters apart. The next stage in the demonstration involved one of the coils getting charged by allowing an alternating current to flow through it, generating a magnetic field. The second coil positioned two meters away was tuned to equal frequency and a electric bulb was hooked to it. With a resonated magnetic f ield electricity is generated in the second coil which lit up the bulb. (Marin Soljacic, 2007). 3. IMPACT AND BENEFIT OF WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION ON THE SOCIETY Contactless energy transfer has become a major issue in modern automation scenarios, as it offers reduced installation efforts, more flexibility and movability together with an elimination of wear and tear of supply cables. Current research focuses on an inductive power supply of a single load over a possibly large distance [R. Mecke, 2004]. This technology provides ease of mobility to users as chargeable batteries, electrical and electronics equipment can be moved around easily within the magnetic wireless range. This comes with neat and wireless Installation. There is less cost for wiring infrastructure for devices and it will support unlimited users who have limited slot for charging purposes of mobile installations and vehicles [Esser A, 1999]. 3. 4 EFFECTS AND CONSIDERATIONS OF WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY This technology of wireless power transfer is still in developing state even though companies like Wild-Charge have started rolling out a gadget capable of charging mobile equipment wirelessly. (http://www. wildcharge. com/). However the following needs to be addressed and might discourage the future commercialization of the product. 1. It is not enough for consumer to achieve the ease of having less connection wires, installation etc but power consumption and efficiency need to be put into consideration. At current 40% to 50% of the technology, (Andre Kurs et al 2007), it translates that more than twice as much power is required. Consumer power consumption bills will rise considerably. Consumers will likely not pay more to recharge mobile device wirelessly. . Electronic gadget and equipment intended to be powered wirelessly have to re-design to incorporate this technology. It creates more complexity in the electronic equipment while eliminating the cords and wires. 3. Unlike wireless data transfer where security can be implemented to prevent unauthorised access, a bottle neck restriction problem is likely to happen. For instance, an outsider simply needs to get close enough within the perimeter of wirele ss power base station to make use of the electricity supply. 4. Current research suggests that the Electromagnetic radiation from the devices do not have significant effect on human bodies, however, a longer effect of continuous exposure to the radiation might be adverse. Scientist have known that this radiation might cause human biological damage through heating effects since human body is made up of approximately 65-70% water, electrolytes and ions. Radio frequency radiation emitted from mobile phone will interact with human body and interfere with human body’s natural healing resulted displacement of electrolytes and ions within the body. Mat, D. A. A, 2010) CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSION Broadband and Electricity transmission has discussed in work still have huddles to overcome before it can be commercially available. Broadband Internet access is important and highly sort after for enhanced standard of living and productive future of businesses. The emerging Broad band over Power Line technologies may be the key to a improved and sustainable broadband sector. There are organisational and economic challenges for the information and communication technology industry and electric power companies to overcome. For instance, none of the electronics equipment manufacturers have BPL enable electronics in full production and uncertainty still remain on how soon manufacturers will successfully design, and produce electronic of good quality, acceptable durability, cheap and affordable. The effect of nature such as extremely high or extremely low temperatures, thunderbolts, rain and humidity will also considerable effect on electronics. These natural challenges can be overcome with careful design and high standard production of BPL compatible electronics. With the drive for a greener environment and combat against global warming, long term continuous generation of electromagnetic waves by thousands households using a widespread wireless power transmission technology could have a catastrophic result with billions of tons of Carbon (IV) oxide (CO2) been emitted into the atmosphere annually. Hence, the global drive for a safe environment and saving our planet earth might be forfeited in process of creating ease of transferring power wirelessly. Advance technologies bring a lot of benefits to humans however we have to be careful of the adverse effects that might come with and this must be addressed from start of their emergence. CHAPTER FIVE REFERENCES 1. TELECOMMUNICATIONS CHALLENGES FOR NIGERIA IN THE 21st CENTURY Engr. Ernest C. A. Ndukwe Accessed at http://www. ncc. gov. ng/speeches_presentations/EVC%27s%20Presentation/nici_programmeEVCspeech. pdf 2. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, â€Å"ICT in developing Countries† PostNote March 2006 Number 261 3. [pic]Allen J.