This paper proposes a new operation method for portable devices and controllers using fingertip pressure. The proposed system provides multivalued, biaxial outputs according to the fingertip pressure from two directions. Strain sensors are used to detect microscopic strains caused by the fingertip pressure on the body of the portable device. For verification experiments, a prototype consisting of a detection circuit with two strain gauges and a 32 bit MPU with an aluminum body was manufactured, and various applications were implemented. The experimental results indicate that the prototype system can output accurate linear data proportional to fingertip pressure from two directions. With the proposed interface, the portable devices do not require a specific area, thickness, or position for input buttons on their bodies.
This paper proposes a small, power saving embedded Web server for home appliances. The proposed device operates with a real-time operating system on a 32 bit RISC microprocessor. A TCP/IP protocol stack, HTTP, FTP, SNTP server and client applications were developed. The prototype server requires one fortieth the power of a general server using a PC. The software resources are about 1.8 MB. Demonstrations of general Web services and functional tests of remote manipulation via the Internet were conducted to verify the prototype system. The verification results showed the texts and images stored in the server were displayed dynamically without stress. The operation of remote controlling the server through a PC connected with a LAN was also confirmed to be stable. Therefore, the proposed Web server can be easily implemented into home appliances, which require space saving, power saving and low price.
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