Human eyes – and perhaps more importantly our brains – offer such a high degree of general-purpose visual object recognition and spatial awareness that it’s difficult to imagine them doing anything but relaying a coherent picture of objects.
What makes a lensless sensor “smart?”
Rambus Fellow and Research Director Dr. David Stork recently spoke with Smithers Apex about lensless smart sensor (LSS) technology on the sidelines of the Image Sensors 2015 conference in the United Kingdom. According to Stork, Rambus lensless smart sensors consist of special optical phase gratings affixed to standard CMOS image sensor arrays.
Building smart cities with intelligent sensors
Rambus CMO Jerome Nadel recently participated in 4YFN’s MWC 2015 panel discussion about the Internet of Things (IoT), smart sensors and the evolution of smart cities. Additional 4YFN panelists included Cisco CTO John Baekelmans, MLOVE Founder and Curator Harald Neidhardt, Intel Human Computer Interaction Expert Mara Balestrini, D4SC Designer-Founder Priya Prakash and Digitel director Amitai Gindel.
Envisioning an intelligent future with Rambus lensless smart sensors (LSS)
Rambus, along with partners MLove and IXDS, hosted 4YFN’s “Eyes of the IoT” MWC 2015 workshop this afternoon in Barcelona, Spain. Participants discussed how smart vision, facilitated by technology such as Rambus’ lensless smart sensors (LSS), could potentially impact the future of smart cities, medical equipment, transportation and manufacturing.
Bramble Subway Smartcard now Live with Payzone
March 2015
Subway Smartcard users can now buy tickets in shops around Glasgow
Payzone outlets across Glasgow now offer pay as you go top-ups as well as the ability to buy Subway season ticket products at convenience stores and newsagents around the city.
Smart card holders can now top up at Payzone outlets, selected due to their proximity to Subway stations, giving even more access to the Subway – as well as buying tickets in stations.
The credit or travel season ticket is uploaded directly to the smart card using contactless technology in Payzone terminals similar to that used by payment terminals in coffee shops.
The move is possible thanks to the flexibility of the smart technology used in the Subway Smartcard, called Bramble, delivered by the joint venture partnership between SPT and Rambus Ecebs called Nevis Technologies. 
This is part of a wider vision to deliver even greater convenience to public transport customers through the use of smart technology. Future deployments could include topping up online or remotely through smartphones.
David Braddock, Director of Nevis Technologies commented: “The integration with Payzone makes it even easier for travellers to get their tickets or top-ups. Uploading straight to your smartcard but away from the station is something we know people want – it’s very simple and convenient and helps to avoid queues at stations during peak periods. All you need is a Subway smart card and the Bramble technology will do the rest.
“We have started this process with 45 Payzone outlets located near Subway stations. The long term vision is to embrace technology still further and find new ways to make everyone’s life a little easier. So watch this space.”
Uptake of the Subway smart card continues to increase, with around 100,000 ‘smart’ journeys taking place on the Subway every week.
Damian Scholes, Business Development Director from Payzone added: “Payzone is an easy way to add travel at your convenience in your local shops. Payzone has enabled a number of outlets at locations close to Subway stations which are open, early morning or late into the evening seven days a week. Payzone has been delivering Smart Ticketing services across the whole of the UK and is delighted to be working with Nevis Technologies and we look forward to delivering further services together.”
Rambus to deploy lensless smart sensor PODs
Rambus kicked off Mobile World Congress 2015 by announcing its newly minted lensless smart sensor (LSS) POD (Partners in Open Development) program. “Individuals and companies designing sensors for the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) are often forced to code complex algorithms from the ground up,” Kendra De Berti, a director at Rambus, told us on the sidelines of MWC 2015 in Barcelona.
