Research Plan

In this project, we've assembled four groups that have committed to developing an integrated system of ultra-small sensors that consumes little energy, contains its own ultra-small power supply mechanism, and utilizes low power wireless networking. To build up such a sensor system with these various elements, we plan to use many different facilities that belong to the Electronic Circuits Research Group of University of Hyogo and to proceed efficiently as shown in the chart below.

(1) Device Research Group
This group is tasked with developing ultra-small integrated sensors with low energy consumption that detect various physical, vital and environmental quantities through acceleration, impulse, temperature, moisture and so on using functional materials. This team is also investigating what layout and mounting assembly of sensor elements is best suited to gathering the equired data.

(2) Circuit Research Group
Researchers in this group are developing integrated circuits including analog circuits for sensor outputs, AD converters, digital signal processors, memory devices and an RF interface (2.4GHz band) using CMOS technology focusing on low power consumption circuits with a programmable standby mode. They are also developing packaging and via hole interconnection technology by thinning and stacking circuit chips.

(3) Micro Power Research Group
This group is assigned to investigate ultra-small power generation and storage mechanisms and to embed small power supply to above humanmonitoring sensor system. They are studying technology for converting human motion into electrical power using piezoelectric or magnetic thin film.

(4) Software Research Group
The investigation in this group are evaluating what kind of sensors with what characteristics should be used in a target sensing system through initial clinical testing using a prototype sensing system that we call "large model". In this way they are forming an overall picture of the human-monitoring system to be developed. Moreover they take responsibility for developing a low energy consumption RF communication protocol between a device attached to a human body and a base station, along with highly confidential networking technology and an algorithm capable of understanding a human body's situation through sensor outputs.