Ambarella S2 IP Camera for 4K or 1080p120 H.264 Video

Ambarella recently announced  S2, a security IP camera System-On-Chip (SoC) with support for the new 4K Ultra HD video standard. S2 is based on a Dual Core ARM® Cortex™-A9 CPU and a high-performance video engine that delivers multi-stream H.264 encoding up to 4K (3840x2160p30) resolution for outstanding image clarity and detail.  Hardware analytics acceleration combined with the dual-core CPU provide the processing power necessary to enable cameras to analyze video content and make intelligent decisions based upon it.  Leveraging low-power 32nm process technology and Ambarella’s proprietary system architecture, the S2 delivers 1080p60 encoding in less than one Watt and 4K video encoding in less than two Watts.

The S2 family provides an array of IP camera design choices.  The family is comprised of software and pin-compatible SoCs that range in performance from 1080p45 encode with a 500 MHz dual-core CPU to 4K Ultra HD encode with a 1 GHz dual-core CPU. Camera designers can also access advanced features including analytics hardware acceleration, panoramic lens de-warping, hardware face detection, digital Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) and electronic image stabilization (EIS). The Linux-based S2 Software Development Kit (SDK) supports a wide range of image sensors and enables features such as WiFi connectivity, cloud services, local SD Card recording and transcoding. The SDK also offers comprehensive 3A and image tuning tools for customization.

S2 Features

• Image Sensor Pipeline with high-speed SLVDS/MIPI®/HiSPi™ interfaces, up to 32 Megapixel (MP) sensor resolution.

• Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) with multi-exposure fusion to improve video in high-contrast lighting conditions.

• Advanced 3D noise reduction with de-ghosting to enhance low-light performance.

• 4K video (3840x2160p30 or 1920x1080p120) H.264 encoding to support the new Ultra HD standard. Multi-streaming to enable independent resolutions, frame rate and quality. Support is also offered for video transcoding and low-latency encoding. Main/High Profile with B-frames for high efficiency.

• Dual Core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU with NEON and a 512 KB L2 cache provides headroom for customers’ applications, as well as enhanced power efficiency and real-time performance compared to single-core architectures.

• Analytics hardware acceleration for efficient processing of tasks like object tracking, trip zone perimeter control and intelligent motion detection.

• Real-time hardware-accelerated de-warping for 180/360 degree panoramic lenses.

• AES/3DES/SHA-1/MD5 encryption engines.

• Rich set of interfaces allows for compact designs and includes 32-bit DDR3L, Gigabit Ethernet, USBG 2.0 host and device, HDMI®, SDXC SD™ Card, and dual sensor interfaces.

iOS 6, Xcode 4.5 and iPhone 5

According  to Anandtech.com,  ‘armv7s’, a custom Apple instruction set that adds VFPv4 support, a.k.a. vector floating point support, was added to Xcode 4.5 to support iPhone 5 which uses Apple’s new A6 SoC. Xcode 4.5 makes two major changes: it drops support for the ARMv6 ISA (used by the ARM11 core in the iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G), keeps support for ARMv7 (used by modern ARM cores) and it adds support for a new architecture target designed to support the new A6 SoC: armv7s.



Coronalabs.com made following suggestions. 

If you open up your Xcode project in Xcode 4.5, you’ll see something like the following. Note the presence of both ‘armv7′ and ‘armv7s’:

The main change you need to make is to make sure the builds for device only build armv7 (i.e. remove ‘armv7s’). Here’s what they should look like after:

In this setup, you are basically telling Xcode, that by default you still want the standard instruction sets, but for iOS, you are adding override behavior, forcing it to only build for armv7. Once we add armv7s support, you can easily highlight the override and remove it (hit the delete key).

If you’re making the adjustments to your Xcode project directly, be sure to select the “Project” instead of the “Target” on the left pane.

iPhone 5 Performance - Fastest Smartphone

According to Anandtech.com, iPhone processor, A6 is an ARM-compatible system-on-a-chip, ARMv7 based, designed entirely by Apple. PCMag.com tested Web browser performance of A6 and its system performance, Then they were compared with previous iPhone and current Android phone, for the browser benchmarks: Sunspider, Browsermark, and Guimark 3 Bitmap. Sunspider is about JavaScript, Guimark is about interactive HTML5, and Browsermark is an overall browser benchmark. 

Phones	Processors
iPhone  5	A6
iPhone  4S	Dual-core 1G (underclocked to 800MHz) A5
iPhone  4	1GHz (underclocked to 800MHz) A4
iPhone 3GS	833 MHz (underclocked to 600 Mh) z ARM Cortex-A8
iPhone / iPhone 3G	620 MHz (underclocked to 412 MHz) ARM 1176JZ(F)-S
Samsung Galaxy S III	1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (Dual – core Krait)
Motorola Droid RAZR M	1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (Dual – core Krait)

The followings are PCMag.com's results:

Sony’s HMZ-T2 Head-mounted 3D Display

Sony revealed an incredible new head-mounted 3D display visor, the HMZ Immersive Pleasure Device, the HMZ-T2, Sony is going to be showing the visor at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, with public trials held on September 22nd and 23rd.

The original model, the HMZ T1, released last year, was a surprise hit for Sony, which has been criticized for a lack of innovative products as it goes through a prolonged restructuring.

The HMZ T2, the second edition of the device, is over 20 percent lighter than its predecessor and provides 5.1-channel virtual sound. The headphones can also be swapped out, allowing users to listen via their own equipment.

It features two OLED panels running at a resolution of 1280×720, with 3D immersion. The headset has two inner-ear speakers that provide virtual surround sound, and the unit only weighs 330 grams (11.6 ounces), but that’s before you count the 600 gram (21 gram) power supply unit. Sony has only announced the HMZ-T2 for launch in Japan at this point, hitting shelves on October 13th with a wallet-busting price of 70,000 yen (approx. $900).

DS28CN01 1Kbit I²C/SMBus EEPROM with SHA-1 Engine

The DS28CN01 combines 1024 bits of EEPROM with challenge-and-response authentication security implemented with the Federal Information Publications (FIPS) 180-1/180-2 and ISO/IEC 10118-3 Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-1). The memory is organized as four pages of 32 bytes each. Data copy-protection and EPROM emulation features are supported for each memory page. Each DS28CN01 has a guaranteed unique factory-programmed 64-bit registration number. Communication with the DS28CN01 is accomplished through an industry standard I²C- and SMBus™-compatible interface. The SMBus timeout feature resets the device's interface if a bus-timeout fault condition is detected. It can be used to protect your board design against piracy.

The working Mechanism

With DS28CN01, the MAC computation incorporates a random challenge chosen by the MAC recipient. Figure 1 illustrates the general concept. The longer the challenge, the more difficult it is to record all possible responses for a potential replay.


Figure 1. The challenge-and-response authentication process proves the authenticity of a MAC originator.

To prove the authenticity of the MAC originator, the MAC recipient generates a random number and sends it as a challenge to the originator. The MAC originator must then compute a new MAC based on the secret key, the message, and the recipient's challenge. The originator then sends the computed result back to the recipient. If the originator proves capable of generating a valid MAC for any challenge, it is very certain that it knows the secret and, therefore, can be considered authentic. The technical term for this process is challenge-and-response authentication. 

 

Diagram

Typical Operating Circuit

Technical Documents

App Note 3522  White Paper 9: Are SHA-1 Devices Still Secure Enough?

App Note 4478  How to Implement SHA-1 Based Secure Authentication and System Feature Settings

App Note 4594  Protect Your FPGA Against Piracy: Cost-Effective Authentication Scheme Protects IP in SRAM-Based FPGA Designs

App Note 5042  Implementing Nonvolatile, Nonresettable Counters for Embedded Systems

• Secure Authentication Starter Kit Evaluates
• Datasheet

Evaluation Kits

DS28CN01EVKIT	Evaluation Board/Evaluation System for the DS28CN01
DSAUTHSK	Evaluation Kit for the DS28E01-100, DS28CN01, and DS2460

Blackmagic Announces 2nd Model of Cinema Camera with Passive Micro Four Thirds

Blackmagic Design announced a second model of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera that features passive Micro Four Thirds lens (MFT) mount which supports any Micro Four Thirds with manual iris and focus, and is also easily adapted to other lens mounts such as PL via third party adapters. The ability to use third party adapters to allow other types of lens mount is due to the Micro Four Thirds lens mount being much closer to the image sensor and allowing space for adapters to other lens mounts.

It features

• Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT is identical to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF model.
• High resolution 2.5K sensor allows improved anti aliasing and reframing shots.
• Super wide 13 stops of dynamic range allows capture of increased details for feature film look.
• Built in SSD allows high bandwidth recording of RAW video and long duration compressed video.
• Open file formats compatible with popular NLE software such as CinemaDNG 12 bit RAW, Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD. No custom file formats.
• Includes no custom connections. Standard jack mic/line audio in, BNC 3 Gb/s SDI out, headphone, high speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, LANC remote control and standard DC 12-30V power connection.
• Capacitive touch screen LCD for camera settings and “slate” metadata entry.
• Compatible with extremely high quality Micro Four Thirds lenses and other mounts via adapters.
• Supports 2.5K and 1080HD resolution capture in 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps.
• Thunderbolt connection allows direct camera capture via included Media Express software and supports live waveform monitoring via the included Blackmagic UltraScope software.
• Includes a full copy of DaVinci Resolve 9.0 color grading software.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT will be available December 2012 for US$2,995 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

FBI launches $1 billion face recognition project

Recently-released documents show that the FBI has been working since late 2011 with four states—Michigan, Hawaii, Maryland, and possibly Oregon—to ramp up the Next Generation Identification (NGI) Facial Recognition Program. When the program is fully deployed in 2014, the FBI expects its facial recognition database will contain at least 12 million “searchable frontal photos.” According to New Scientist, this program will cost $1 billion.

Tests in 2010 showed that the best algorithms can pick someone out in a pool of 1.6 million mugshots 92 per cent of the time. It's possible to match a mugshot to a photo of a person who isn't looking at the camera too. Algorithms such as one developed by Marios Savvides's lab at Carnegie Mellon can analyse features of a front and side view set of mugshots, create a 3D model of the face, rotate it as much as 70 degrees to match the angle of the face in the photo, and then match the new 2D image with a fairly high degree of accuracy. The most difficult faces to match are those in low light. Merging photos from visible and infrared spectra can sharpen these images, but infrared cameras are still very expensive.

According to JENNIFER LYNCH,  "FBI Ramps Up Next Generation ID Roll-Out—Will You End Up in the Database",  one of the FBI’s goals for NGI is to be able to track people as they move from one location to another. Recent advancements in camera and surveillance technology over the last few years will support this goal. For example, in a National Institute of Justice presentation (pdf, p.17) at the same 2010 biometrics conference, the agency discussed a new 3D binocular and camera that allows realtime facial acquisition and recognition at 1000 meters. The tool wirelessly transmits images to a server, which searches them against a photo database and identifies the photo's subject. As of 2010, these binoculars were already in field-testing with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Presumably, the backend technology for these binoculars could be incorporated into other tools like body-mounted video cameras or the MORIS (Mobile Offender Recognition and Information System) iPhone add-on that some police officers are already using.

Private security cameras and the cameras already in use by police departments have also advanced. They are more capable of capturing the details and facial features necessary to support facial recognition-based searches, and the software supporting them allows photo manipulation that can improve the chances of matching a photo to a person already in the database. For example, Gigapixel technology, which creates a panorama photo of lots of megapixel images stitched together (like those taken by security cameras), allows anyone viewing the photo to drill down to see and tag faces from even the largest crowd photos. And image enhancement software, already in use by some local law enforcement, can adjust photos"taken in the wild" (pdf, p.10) so they work better with facial recognition searches. 

Cameras are also being incorporated into more and more devices that are capable of tracking Americans and can provide that data to law enforcement. For example, one of the largest manufacturers of highway toll collection systems recently filed a patent application to incorporate cameras into the transponder that sits on the dashboard in your car. This manufacturer's transponders are already in 22 million cars, and law enforcement already uses this data to track subjects. While a patent application does not mean the company is currently manufacturing or trying to sell the devices, it certainly shows they're interested.

As ARM-Based Devices Take Over, Intel Cuts Its Sales Forecast For The Rest Of The Year

By ROMAIN DILLET




Intel announced today that its sales for the third quarter will be lower than expected due to a decline in demand. Intel microprocessors use the x86 architecture found in most PCs and Macs today. Instead of $14.2 billion, Intel now anticipates $13.8 billion in revenue. It is not due to competition as AMD faces the same problem.

Even more important, that decline demonstrates once again that a major shift is occurring in the personal computer landscape. Even though the iPad and other tablets were quickly tagged as content consumption devices, companies such as Apple realized that tablets were canibalizing computer sales.

Intel failed to adapt to the ever-changing space and the vast majority of its revenue still comes from x86 processors. Of course computer sales are still very strong. But in August, Dell’s revenue fell 8% and HP reported a major $8.9 billion loss.

Conversely, iPad sales were up 181% year over year — and that quarter, Apple reported a “miss”. When it comes to chips, the companies that benefit from those new devices are Samsung and Qualcomm who manufacture systems on a chip with technology licensed from ARM.

Intel still hopes that Microsoft will play an important part in the coming quarters. Windows 8 will be released on October 26 and could foster PC sales. At the same time, Microsoft is betting on Windows 8 tablets with two variants of the same operating system.

Cheap ARM-based tablets with Windows 8 RT will have to co-exist with Intel-based tablets or tablet laptop hybrids. And then there is the Microsoft surface. If we ever get a release date and prices, Microsoft’s take should come with ARM and Intel chips, depending on the model.

Intel has plans to release power-efficient chips as well. Some Windows Phone 8 devices should come with an Intel mobile system on a chip that competes directly with ARM-based systems on a chip. In the end, these low-power options are what will drive the next generation of mobile computers – whether Intel is ready to move away from “big iron” or not.

Daily Android Tablet Sales Nearing 40% of iPad Sales

70,000 per day are tablets that are purely based on Google’s platform. Burnette notes that Apple sold 17 million iPads in its most recent fiscal quarter, which works out to 188,888 iPads sold each day, on average. Divide that figure into the 70,000 Android tablet sales number and you get 37.2 percent. That’s a big jump from 14 months ago.

See more at Kevin C. Tofel's reasoning "Daily Android Tablet Sales Nearing 40 of iPad Sales".

How Microsoft Is Trying To Win Mobile In The Enterprise

No other company has been hurt more by the rise of new devices in the enterprise than Microsoft.

The iPad is a particular threat, as it could replace a significant number of Windows PC sales, and could loosen the company's hold on other enterprise business software.

A recent report from BI Intelligence explains how this disruption is threatening the former leader in enterprise computing, and what Microsoft is doing to respond. 

So, what do Microsoft's mobile in the enterprise efforts look like?

• Windows 8 Is A BYOD Play: Windows 8, which will ship this October, is a two-in-one operating system. It features a new interface called Metro that is designed to be used with fingers. It also includes a traditional desktop, which is meant for legacy applications and functions that are better used with a keyboard and mouse. With this strategy, Microsoft is hoping to capture a very specific market: business users who want a tablet for casual personal use, but don't want to carry a separate laptop to work.
• What about smartphones? The next version of Windows Phone will be based on the same underlying technology as Windows 8 and Windows RT. This was Microsoft's best choice: Windows Phone 7 never got enough traction among developers to get the apps it needed to take on iOS and Android, particularly so-called "long tail" apps.
• Microsoft has huge strengths in the enterprise that will help mobile efforts: Many clients are locked into including long-term licensing agreements for products like Office and Exchange. It's revamping its core business apps for the cloud with Office 365. And it's got a renewed focus on touch screens with Windows 8 Metro. So despite its complete lack of progress in smartphones so far, Microsoft is still in a great position when it comes to mobile in the enterprise. 

See  more at businessinsider.com's "BII REPORT: Here's How Microsoft Is Trying To Win Mobile In The Enterprise".

How Cisco wants to make big data a community affair

BY Derrick Harris

Cisco has a plan for turning big data from a technological movement to a business model that everyone can get behind, and it’s hinged on the notion that large companies can serve as centralized big data repositories that will spur innovation across entire ecosystems. The company lays out its vision in a new whitepaper called “Unlocking Value in the Fragmented World of Big Data Analytics: How Information Infomediaries Will Create a New Data Ecosystem,” which it will release to the public soon.

The paper’s authors from Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group argue that big data is a movement rife with possibilities but that’s still out of reach for many companies. During a recent interview, co-author William Gerhardt explained the problem as one of resources and standards. Small companies might not have the innovative minds or high-end technologies in-house to do big data right, he said, and every company large and small suffers when valuable data is locked inside individual companies’ databases or is made available in niche formats.

The solution to that problem, they claim, is the formation of so-called “information infomediaries” that will take care of the heavy lifting of aggregating, standardizing, packaging, securing and processing data from a variety of sources. Gerhardt compared big data ecosystems to other complex ecosystems such as credit card processing and banking, where infomediaries take the reins and provide centralized services to nearly everyone in their industries. We need to simplify this ecosystem or it will fail, he told me.

At the least, it will stall in the early stages of Cisco’s big data evolution chart. In that model, Wave 1 is simple analytics contained within departments and Wave 2 is advanced, actionable and company-wide analytics. Wave 3 is the holy grail — an industry-wide ecosystem where companies and consumers can share data freely and expect a more-predictive analytic experience. According to Gerhardt, most businesses today are stuck in Wave 1.

In fact, the network is in some ways what provides the most value to Cisco’s proposition given the fast-growing collection of data marketplaces and cloud-based big data services that already make it easier to access resources and analyze data sets. For latency-agnostic applications, “the cloud becomes the great equalizer,” Gerhardt said. But Cisco envisions a world of low-latency applications analyzing and acting on data at network speed, which might require faster networks and techniques such as edge calculations and keeping business logic inside routers.

See more at gigaom.com "How Cisco wants to make big data a community affair".