CONTRACTS
Thermacore, Inc.—Has been awarded a $9.5-million contract, if all options are exercised, by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the development of Micro-technologies for Air-Cooled Exchangers (MACE). The successful development of this technology will improve the thermal performance of military electronic systems, such as telecommunications, active sensing and imaging, radar, and other platforms. The goal of the program is the development and demonstration of micro-technologies that will enable thermal performance improvements and reduce electrical consumption of air-cooled heat exchangers. The MACE program is a two-phase effort designed to run 48 months through the fourth quarter of 2013.

Ericsson—Has announced the signing of a commercial LTE network with TeliaSonera. This network will cover Sweden’s capital, Stockholm. The contract is Ericsson’s first for the commercial deployment of LTE. Ericsson and TeliaSonera have started the rollout in Sweden for commercial launch in 2010. Ericsson will perform network implementation services and will manage the network during the initial operation period.

INSIDE Contactless—Is partnering with Sagem Wireless to create handset platforms that will support enhanced NFC services. Expected to be available to major wireless operators and customers from the fourth quarter of 2009, the Sagem Wireless NFC platforms will utilize INSIDE’s award-winning MicroRead NFC chip. It also will incorporate the associated MicroRead Software Foundation NFC protocol stack—licensed by Sagem Wireless—which will be integrated and validated with Sagem Wireless’ handset platform software. In parallel with this partnership, INSIDE Contactless has reinforced its strength in NFC by establishing a new support facility in Cergy (Paris area), France.

FRESH STARTS
Xceive—Has selected the XC5000 silicon tuner for its new lines of high-end flat-panel TVs. Xceive’s XC5000 is the first silicon TV tuner IC accepted into mainstream TV production for worldwide markets. The XC5000 will be embedded in LG’s liquid-crystal-display (LCD) and plasma screens ranging from 22 to 60 inches. The addition of the XC5000 smart tuner architecture on board promises to help reduce engineering costs across multiple regional products. It should therefore reduce the return rate due to tight production tolerances, protecting customers from the product variances that are common in CAN-based TVs. The initial rollout will begin in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand followed by the US, Singapore, Taiwan, and Korea.

UPM Raflatac—Has been invited to join the advisory board of the University of Arkansas RFID Research Center, an academic laboratory conducting seminal research on the use of RFID in inventory management. Working with Wal-Mart, the center has demonstrated RFID’s ability to automate and enhance critical inventory-management processes by providing the real-time, highly accurate data that retailers need to optimize product ordering, replenish goods, and reduce out-of-stocks. The center— a vendor-neutral, third-party research and testing facility—is the first academic laboratory to be accredited by EPCglobal. It houses a 10,000-foot RFID laboratory that models a production warehouse and retail-store environment, which the center’s staff and sponsors use to test the performance of new RFID products and applications.

Leader Tech—Has completed its Phase II, Global EMI Shielding Technology Center expansion. Since the grand opening announcement in May of 2008, Leader Tech has benefited from a notable increase in demand for the company’s board-level EMI shielding products. The most recent expansion includes the addition of three domestic sales representatives, a new regional sales engineer, and a dedicated 45-press manufacturing line.

The COMSOL Group—Has opened a full-service office in Bangalore, India. The India office will market and sell the multiphysics simulation environment from COMSOL and provide technical support services to its customers.

Raytheon Co.—Has successfully completed two significant milestones for the US Air Force’s next-generation Global Positioning System Control Segment, or GPS OCX, establishing a solid foundation and roadmap to keep the program on track and on schedule. The Raytheon-led team completed the segment design review and modernized capability engineering model demonstration on Dec. 13, 2008.The segment design review was a comprehensive review of the team’s progress in systems engineering, systems architecture, and program management. The successful completion demonstrates that the design is sufficiently mature and the level of residual risk is acceptable to proceed to the program’s next phase.

PCTEL, Inc.—Has acquired Wi-Sys Communications, Inc., an Ottawa, Canada-based company that specializes in GPS antenna and receiver technology. In 2008, Wi-Sys’ proprietary products and technology generated approximately $2.2 million in revenue. PCTEL will pay $2.1 million for Wi-Sys and will fully integrate the Wi-Sys operations into its Antenna Products Group (APG).

AWR—Has acquired Simulation Technology and Applied Research, Inc. (STAAR) of Mequon, WI— a developer of 3D parallelized FEM tools for the EM simulation of components and subsystems operating at RF and microwave frequencies. STAAR is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AWR Corp. It will retain its operations and facilities in Wisconsin and be under the continued guidance of STAAR Founder, Dr. John DeFord.

VX Corp.—Has announced the launch of its new web site, www.vx.com. The web site provides easy access to in-depth information on solving engineering and manufacturing problems.

Azimuth Systems, Inc.—Has been selected to join the Long Term Evolution/System Architecture Evolution Trial Initiative, a global, collaborative technology trial initiative focused on accelerating the availability of commercial and interoperable next-generation LTE mobile-broadband systems.