IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July 2017 - 19

By early 2016, Pabellon achieved
another major milestone: a first touchfree control panel using solely the body's
electrolytes to control a matrix of magnetic pixels. Unlike conventional passive
near-field communication technology
that relies on receiver loop antennas for
detection and identification, the magnetic
pixel needs only our body salts to work.
Each pixel represents a discrete sensing
element. When arrayed or matrixed, the
collection of pixels can be used to position index fingers approaching but not
touching the surface. Pabellon's powertransfer emitter turns into a touch-free
pad. Unlike motion and other opticalsensing methods, the position of objects
like fingers can be resolved by small
changes in the magnetic near field. The
ability to finely control the vast amount
of things we contact on a daily basis
may not require contact alone. The magnetic pixel has a very exciting future in
the look-but-don't-touch world that
Pabellon envisions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Rubin (alex@pabellonpower
.com) is the cofounder of Pabellon,

(a)

(b)

The subtle changes of a finger or hand approaching the pixel can be used to detect both
(a) presence and (b) proximity to the pixel surface.

Campbell, California, with chief technology officer Mike Simon. He has
served as Pabellon's chief executive
officer and vice president of engineering since 2015. His interests in quantum physics and near-field magnetics
led to the founding of Pabellon.
His 35-year career has spanned a
number of technology development

efforts in aerospace, life sciences, semiconductor manufacturing, nuclear fusion,
and robotics. He is a rainforest conservationist serving on the board of Tropical
Rainforest Coalition, a nonprofit working
in the neotropics of Central and South
America. He lives just south of Silicon
Valley surrounded by beautiful wineries
and very creative nerds.

How the Blockchain Revolution Will
Reshape the Consumer Electronics Industry
By Jong-Hyouk Lee and Marc Pilkington

lockchains have attracted wide
attention as the basis of the cryptocurrencies, e.g., bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies may or may not be
the future of money, but blockchains
are a different matter. Blockchains are
considered a new form of information
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MCE.2017.2684916
Date of publication: 14 June 2017

technology that could revolutionize
technology, industry, and commerce.
In this article, we analyze the winds
of change currently blowing on the
booming multibillion-dollar global consumer electronics (CE) industry. The revolutionary impact of blockchain
technology on supply chain management
is discussed as well as potential use cases
for CE. We conclude by stating that

blockchain technology has the power to
make the CE industry a more transparent, safer, and honest place.

BLOCKCHAIN OVERVIEW
Sparked by a wave of innovation in distributed and trust computing, we are witnessing the birth of something that
could revolutionize various areas of the
economy and society, called blockchains.
JULY 2017

IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July 2017