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Intel inks licensing agreement with Plessey Semiconductors, gets into the sensor game
Intel signed a licensing agreement with Plessey Semiconductors today, giving it access to the UK chipmaker's array of sensors. Founded in 1957, Plessey produces cell phone radios, motion sensors and a host of other chips. The company also licensed its wireless LAN chipset to Apple back in 1994 and, in 1992, became the first licensee of ARM's architecture. Under the deal, Intel will receive the option to buy a financial security in Plessey at a later date, while Plessey, in turn, will be able to support a limited number of Intel's digital tuner products. It remains to be seen what Intel has in store with its new sensor licenses, but we're certainly looking forward to it.
New sensor can read your heart from afar, but knows not your feelings
Are you fed up with your current ECG sensor? Tired of all the mess of electroconductive gels, sticky electrodes and tangled wires? How about this: Britain's Plessey Semiconductors offers an ECG sensor that promises heart-monitoring without the hassle. We've seen similar technology before, but according to the company, the Electric Potential Integrated Circuit -- or EPIC, as it's humbly called -- can read heartbeats even through a sweater; future versions might be embedded in hospital gurneys for constant, unobtrusive monitoring. Like an extremely sensitive voltmeter, it detects tiny changes in electric fields, which means it could also be used for Kinect-style motion interfaces. The company even imagines a future system where firefighters can use the EPIC to find humans in a smoke-filled room. If you're thinking, "My, that sounds just like my Deus Ex dreams" -- hey, we're right there with you.
