Quickfilter Digital Filters Providing Intelligent Signal Processing at the Sensor Network Edge

"Intelligent Signal Processing at the Sensor Network Edge" describes trends currently under way in the industry to not only increase the level of networking between sensors, but also to move the signal processing close to the sensor itself. Facilitating these trends and helping our customers overcoming the technical challenges along the way is part of the Quickfilter philosophy.

Sensors are being used everywhere with new applications such as monitoring office rooms for building automation, increasing uptime in an industrial factory and monitoring the border for homeland security. Ideally, these new applications have potential to flood an area with an array of sensors. In order to do this an order of magnitude in cost reduction must be obtained while improving accuracy, robustness and future proofing the sensor network for changes in configuration.

While many technology standards are being introduced to address these challenges such as Wireless Sensor Networks using Zigbee for the RF protocol (based upon IEEE 802.15.4) and Sensor Plug and Play for a standard sensor interface (IEEE 1451.x), the goals of future sensor networks cannot be fully realized without going to a distributed processing network topology. This will require placing intelligent signal processing near or at the sensor before sending data across the communications link. Quickfilter has written a white paper and uses industrial machine monitoring as an application example to illustrate why intelligent signal processing is needed at the edge and proposes a solution to the problem. You can view this white paper at http://www.quickfiltertech.com.

Quickfilter's approach to implementing filter design offers significant improvements over conventional techniques. Compared to analog filtering Quickfilter offers higher performance filtering such as tighter passbands, improved rejection and immunity to temperature variations. Compared to DSPs Quickfilter offers programmable filters as good or better, but without the need to write code, and freeing up the microcontroller to perform other system tasks. In all cases the development tools allow the design to be completed, verified and optimized in a matter of minutes - compared to days or weeks for conventional designs.

About Quickfilter Technologies:
Quickfilter Technologies is privately funded and was founded in the fall of 2003 by an experienced team of semiconductor executives. Product demos with development kit shipments to selected customers began in the spring of 2005. A public product announcement with general availability of development kits and prototype quantities of ICs through distribution was made in December 2005. Quickfilter Technologies offers a family of mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs) for analog signal conditioning and digital signal processing. For more information visit http://www.quickfiltertech.com.