int main() { printf("Hello, World!"); return 0; }

Hello, World!

This is my blog. All research into the 360º program with links which will be posted on here in due course as the unit progresses. My input into the research side is for the technology behind the business card idea. I have been looking at OLED technology and how it could be implemented into the business card. I have found a supplier on ebay of quite cheap and good sized AMOLED (Active-Matrix oled) screens which are also touchscreen.

Ideas for circuits have been floating around and I have thought about using electrically conductive paint for tracks instead of wires. The idea to use tracks is one that is used in the design of PCB's (printed circuit boards) but for a prototype it would be too expensive to have one made. This is where the paint could be applied carefully. This saves weight and gets rid of wires which would clutter up the design. I am currently researching into how this technique could be used instead of a coil of wire for RFID.

As for the wireless charging of the card, I havent really looked into it yet but using the same coil of wire idea for the RFID could save space and would revert to charging when the card is off via an induction idea.

Some bullet points for what I have found out about,

• The screen, which is a touchscreen OLED which measures smaller than a business card so that information can be put on the actual card itself. It is 1.3mm thick and very good with power consumption and the quality of video.
• The controller iC for the display itself, I have found one which could drive the video and is thin enough to go on the back of the card.
• Conductive paint to get rid of wires and improve on the overall look.

Bullets for what i will be finding out about soon,

• Battery (power needed)
• Micro SD slot (whether it is possible to have one of these included for ease of use) The slot could offer the chance of playing a small resolution video on the business card but when forwarding the showreel to a potential employer or client it could forward a higher resolution version which is on the microSD card so that the client can view it in better quality on a larger screen back at the office.
  
• Whether the RFID coil can also be used for wireless charging

Other companies that have had a similiar idea are the producers of rCard which is just a screen with a micro USB port on. It doesnt incorporate the use of a Micro SD slot, RFID, or wireless charging. Also the website is down and it appeared that they were merely a printing company like vistaprint.

The company my group and I are working on offers a service as the USP not just the card. All aspects of the service, Website with users own space, card which forwards a link to the users own space, cv and showreel will need to be proven to be able to work atleast in order for the USP to be strong.


EDIT

I have been in contact with farnell who have recommended a nice sized amoled and a means of using a MicroSD slot.

I have been researching texas instruments who offer free samples of their products. I have found system-on-a-chip as a means of having an integrated system rather than lots of chips. The main one I recommend for this project has USB as its control interface between other devices. It also has a ZIGBEE 802.1 wireless transceiver, built in flash for programming and flash for storage. It is however extremely small. This is good for temperature issues but bad for assembly issues as it is probably too small for me to work with. I know that you can submit final project assembly specs to them so they can build it with their robots.

I have decided it would be simpler to have two coils, one for charging and one for wifi. the charging one can be inside the top part of the card and the wifi can be sandwiched between the screen and a back panel

over heating issues have been resolved as the chip being used is incredibly small and a small heat sink could be applied ii necessary. also the operation of the device will not be for extended periods of time.

The presentation was a shambles. everyone was talking over each other, it wasnt clear what was being said and we went well over the allocated time. this could have perhaps been because we were such a large group and all had done a lot of work. still the presentation needed a structure and much info was lost out on as many questions were flying back which we had answered in the presentation but were lost along the way. also it was made apparent that the idea was too broad even though it was supposed to be a 360 idea which is broad in definition.