VCCI Dayori No.65

EMC on the Internet (No.4)

Benefits of symbolization and coding

Nobuhiko Tsunefuka

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A driver subconsciously recognizes a great number of road signs and follows traffic regulations on the road. In a city, we often find a post covered with many traffic signs. If traffic sign displays only letters, it would be difficult to quickly judge which regulation the sign is indicating. A lively trading market where traders thrust and parry with hand signals is always invigorating to see. The hand signals are secret codes that only people concerned understand. By making signs for the trading information that often used in the business, people can immediately exchange information but still keep the information private. Vision/hearing-impaired people use sign language including Braille characters as communication tools. The sign communication was originated in the communication using fire and drum during the prehistory era. At the desert area of the Silk Road, we can still observe the mark of the place that carried a torch for communication. In this way, signalization and symbolization provides various benefits.

• Sign language learning site:
http://siva.cc.hirosaki-u.ac.jp/usr/koyama/semi/syuwa/syuwa.htm

The presentation of research, business and project with diagrams and illustrations brings about better and quick understanding rather than the one with only words. In addition, the process of drawing diagrams helps sorting out the idea and sometimes provides a new idea. Besides his work at the university, Keiichi Hisatsune, Professor at Miyagi University who calls himself ?ga diagram promoter?h, has been actively promoting the utilization of diagrams for R&D, human resource development and invigoration of local communities.

• The website of Keiichi Hisatsune, Professor at Miyagi University:

http://www.hisatune.net/

Tompa letter that Naxi tribe in Yunnan, China, has been using for centuries are now popular among young Japanese people. Now, a mobile phone allows displaying Tompa letter on its screen. Young people often uses vocabularies that older generations don?ft understand. These kinds of vocabularies, fashion and cosmetics that only the same group of people understands have a benefit to assure the bindings among members.

Push buttons and touch panel of electric products display functions with symbols. Symbol marks are widely used to show the location of public organizations including police boxes and post offices and transport facilities such as stations and bus stops. These designs are universal so that people can easily understand the function of products and location.

Some of resistors use color code to indicate resistance and tolerance. This is the conversion of numbers and accuracy into colors. It is easier to recognize even from a distance compared to the one only with numbers. However, the current predominant chip products are as small as rice and do not even have a space for numbers or color sign. There are many chip products that we cannot tell the model of parts externally.

• Color code for resistor:

http://www.jarl.or.jp/Japanese/7_Technical/lib1/teikou.htm

Encryption technology with coding is widely used for security purpose such as the PIN number to enter an office and an apartment and ID and password to operate a personal computer. It is said that there is a black market for stolen cars in the Middle East and many stolen luxury cars are shipped from Japan. As prevention, more and more people choose to install an immobilizer. With an immobilizer, when the identification codes of an engine and a key don?ft match, a starter works but an engine does not start. It is also popular to employ GPS to a car. For rooms with highly confidential information and hazard products that require severe security, biometrics technology is employed and unique body features such as fingerprints and iris are used as keys. The number of cases that use biometrics technology is increasing.

Data coding enables the communication between personal computers and digital equipments. The letters and numbers entered with touch panel and keyboard are coded with an encoder. Two-dimension barcode, IC card and non-contact tag are the new data entry devices and its applications are increasing.

Image and video data is increasing, but it is not easy to store and transmit/receive such data because of its large volume size. Therefore, data needs to be compressed by coding utilizing the sequence pattern of scanning lines and images. Many kinds of data can be coded using its unique feature. When a new compression/decompression technology becomes a standard, a new high speed LSI for compression/decompression will be developed to satisfy the standard. LSI has been a key for the development of many new digital record and replay devices including digital camera, DVC, MP3 player. In the full-scale digital broadcasting era, the benefits of digital coding will increase further.

Some of laptop computers of foreign makers carry so many conformity marks on the back. These marks are the proof that the computer passed required standards. To clear the standards of each country, a product has to take many similar types of tests. This is a factor to delay the timing to introduce the product into a market and pushing up production cost. Therefore, to reduce the number of similar tests, international communities are trying to promote MRA and certification mark recognition. I hope to see someday MRA efforts will realize one unified mark that is effective all over the world so that products can be smoothly shipped beyond boarders.

• Japan- Europe MRA: General rules and attachments by categories:

http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/eu/s_kyotei/

Nobuhiko Tsunefuka 1943 Born in Tokyo 1968 Graduated form Department of Engineering Science, Osaka University -1984 Worked on developing Information Technology Device at Taga Works, Hitachi, ltd. 1991- Engaged in education on EMC related matters at Hitachi Institute of Technology 1999- Planning Manager,