solar cell atau sel surya salah satu alternatif energi yang ramah lingkungan dan cukup menjanjikan. Solar cell adalah sebuah alat semikonduktor yang terdiri dari sebuah wilayah-besar dioda p-n junction, di mana, dalam hadirnya cahaya matahari mampu menciptakan energi listrik yang berguna. Pengubahan ini disebut efek photovoltaic.
Efek photovoltaic pertama kali berhasil diidentifikasi oleh seorang ahli Fisika berkebangsaan Prancis Alexandre Edmond Becquerel pada tahun 1839. Atas prestasinya dalam menemukan fenomena photovoltaic ini, Becquerel mendapat Nobel fisikia pada tahun 1903 bersama dengan Pierre dan Marrie Currie.
solar cell sebenarnya sangat potensial dikembangkan di indonesia sebagai salah satu alternatif energi masa depan mengingat indonesia berada di daerah khatulistiwa dimana sinar matahari yang diterima secara optimal di seluruh wilayah indonesia.
Kamis, 26 Juli 2007
Minggu, 22 Juli 2007
Bahan Energi Alternatif
From jawa pos
Konversi Termal Biomassa Kakao
Di tengah kelangkaan sumber daya alam sektor migas, banyak pihak yang mencari bahan bakar alternatif. Ternyata cangkang buah kakao bisa dimanfaatkan sebagai bahan bakar pengganti. Inilah riset yang dilakukan Moch. Syamsiro ST, dosen Teknik Mesin Universitas Janabadra, Jogjakarta.
-------------
Perkembangan ekonomi di era globalisasi menyebabkan pertambahan konsumsi energi di berbagai sektor kehidupan. Bukan hanya negara-negara maju, tapi hampir semua negara mengalami. Termasuk Indonesia, walaupun terkena dampak krisis ekonomi, tetap mengalami pertumbuhan konsumsi energi.
Hal itu terlihat dari pemakaian energi di Indonesia pada 2004 yang telah mencapai lebih dari 453 juta SBM (setara barel minyak), jauh lebih tinggi daripada sebelum krisis (1997). Padahal, konsumsi pemakaian energi pada waktu itu sudah mencapai 385 juta SBM.
Yang harus disadari seluruh masyarakat, konsumsi pemakaian energi akan terus meningkat pada tahun-tahun mendatang. Sementara cadangan energi nasional akan semakin menipis apabila tidak ditemukan cadangan energi baru. Oleh karena itu, perlu dilakukan berbagai terobosan untuk mencegah terjadinya krisis energi.
Mengantisipasi hal itu, pemerintah Indonesia telah mengeluarkan blueprint pengelolaan energi nasional 2005-2025. Kebijakan ini ditekankan pada usaha menurunkan ketergantungan penggunaan energi hanya pada minyak bumi.
Salah satu energi terbarukan yang mempunyai potensi besar di Indonesia adalah biomassa. Hal ini tercantum dalam Kebijakan Pengembangan Energi Terbarukan dan Konservasi Energi (Energi Hijau) Departemen Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral, yang dimaksud energi biomassa meliputi kayu, limbah pertanian/perkebunan/hutan, komponen organik dari industri dan rumah tangga.
Hal inilah yang mendasari Moch. Syamsiro ST, dosen Teknik Mesin Universitas Janabadra, Jogjakarta, untuk meneliti bahan bakar yang mampu dijadikan pengganti bahan bakar yang sudah ada. Memanfaatkan cangkang kakao yang selama ini jarang dimanfaatkan, peneliti mencoba mengembangkan bahan bakar pengganti melalui teknologi konversi biomassa.
Biomassa dikonversi menjadi energi dalam bentuk bahan bakar cair, gas, panas, dan listrik. Teknologi konversi biomassa menjadi bahan bakar padat, cair, dan gas, antara lain teknologi pirolisa (bio-oil), esterifikasi (bio-diesel), teknologi fermentasi (bio-etanol), anaerobik digester (biogas). Dan teknologi konversi biomassa menjadi energi panas yang kemudian dapat diubah menjadi energi mekanis dan listrik, antara lain, teknologi pembakaran dan gasifikasi.
Teknologi konversi termal biomassa meliputi pembakaran langsung, gasifikasi, dan pirolisis atau karbonisasi. Masing-masing metode memiliki karakteristik yang berbeda dilihat dari komposisi udara dan produk yang dihasilkan. (yandi bagus)
Punya Nilai Lebih Berpotensi Masa Depan
Dalam teknologi konversi termal biomassa, proses pembakaran langsung adalah proses yang paling mudah dibandingkan dengan lainnya. Biomassa langsung dibakar tanpa proses-proses lainnya. Cara seperti ini sangat mudah dijumpai. Di pedesaan Indonesia, banyak masyarakat memanfaatkan kayu bakar sebagai bahan bakar karena praktis dan mudah mendapatkannya walaupun secara umum efisiensinya sangat rendah.
Sedangkan di dunia industri, model pembakaran langsung juga banyak digunakan terutama untuk produksi listrik seperti di pabrik kelapa sawit dan gula yang memanfaatkan limbahnya sebagai bahan bakar. Biomassa dapat dibakar dalam bentuk serbuk, briket, ataupun batangan yang disesuaikan dengan penggunaan dan kondisi biomassa.
Teknologi pembakaran langsung relatif memiliki efisiensi cukup rendah, yaitu 20-25 persen. Walaupun demikian, karena kemudahan teknologinya, banyak yang memanfaatkan teknologi ini.
Untuk jenis teknologi konversi termal biomassa gasifikasi, dasarnya adalah usaha penggunaan bahan bakar padat yang lebih dahulu diubah dalam bentuk gas. Pada proses gasifikasi ini, biomassa dibakar dengan udara terbatas sehingga gas yang dihasilkan sebagian besar mengandung karbon monoksida.
Keuntungan proses gasifikasi ini adalah dapat digunakannya biomassa yang mempunyai nilai kalor relatif rendah dan kadar air yang cukup tinggi. Efisiensi yang dapat dicapai dengan teknologi gasifikasi sekitar 30-40 persen. Beberapa metode gasifikasi telah dikembangkan seperti fixed bed dan fluidized bed gasifier.
Teknologi ketiga adalah pirolisis, yaitu pembakaran biomassa pada kondisi tanpa oksigen. Tujuannya adalah melepaskan zat terbang (volatile matter) yang terkandung pada biomassa. Secara umum kandungan zat terbang dalam biomassa cukup tinggi. Produk proses pirolisis ini berbentuk cair, gas, dan padat. Produk padat dari proses ini berupa arang (char) yang kemudian disebut karbonisasi.
Karbonisasi biomassa atau yang lebih dikenal dengan pengarangan adalah suatu proses untuk menaikkan nilai kalor biomassa dan dihasilkan pembakaran yang bersih dengan sedikit asap. Hasil karbonisasi adalah berupa arang yang tersusun atas karbon dan berwarna hitam.
Prinsip proses karbonisasi adalah pembakaran biomassa tanpa adanya kehadiran oksigen. Sehingga yang terlepas hanya bagian volatile matter, sedangkan karbonnya tetap tinggal di dalamnya. Temperatur karbonisasi akan sangat berpengaruh terhadap arang yang dihasilkan sehingga penentuan temperatur yang tepat akan menentukan kualitas arang.
Sedikit banyaknya arang yang dihasilkan bergantung pada komposisi awal biomassa. Semakin banyak kandungan volatile matter maka semakin sedikit arang yang dihasilkan karena banyak bagian yang terlepas ke udara. Penentuan komposisi awal biomassa dilakukan dengan uji analisis pendekatan (proximate analysis). (yandi bagus)
Konversi Termal Biomassa Kakao
Di tengah kelangkaan sumber daya alam sektor migas, banyak pihak yang mencari bahan bakar alternatif. Ternyata cangkang buah kakao bisa dimanfaatkan sebagai bahan bakar pengganti. Inilah riset yang dilakukan Moch. Syamsiro ST, dosen Teknik Mesin Universitas Janabadra, Jogjakarta.
-------------
Perkembangan ekonomi di era globalisasi menyebabkan pertambahan konsumsi energi di berbagai sektor kehidupan. Bukan hanya negara-negara maju, tapi hampir semua negara mengalami. Termasuk Indonesia, walaupun terkena dampak krisis ekonomi, tetap mengalami pertumbuhan konsumsi energi.
Hal itu terlihat dari pemakaian energi di Indonesia pada 2004 yang telah mencapai lebih dari 453 juta SBM (setara barel minyak), jauh lebih tinggi daripada sebelum krisis (1997). Padahal, konsumsi pemakaian energi pada waktu itu sudah mencapai 385 juta SBM.
Yang harus disadari seluruh masyarakat, konsumsi pemakaian energi akan terus meningkat pada tahun-tahun mendatang. Sementara cadangan energi nasional akan semakin menipis apabila tidak ditemukan cadangan energi baru. Oleh karena itu, perlu dilakukan berbagai terobosan untuk mencegah terjadinya krisis energi.
Mengantisipasi hal itu, pemerintah Indonesia telah mengeluarkan blueprint pengelolaan energi nasional 2005-2025. Kebijakan ini ditekankan pada usaha menurunkan ketergantungan penggunaan energi hanya pada minyak bumi.
Salah satu energi terbarukan yang mempunyai potensi besar di Indonesia adalah biomassa. Hal ini tercantum dalam Kebijakan Pengembangan Energi Terbarukan dan Konservasi Energi (Energi Hijau) Departemen Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral, yang dimaksud energi biomassa meliputi kayu, limbah pertanian/perkebunan/hutan, komponen organik dari industri dan rumah tangga.
Hal inilah yang mendasari Moch. Syamsiro ST, dosen Teknik Mesin Universitas Janabadra, Jogjakarta, untuk meneliti bahan bakar yang mampu dijadikan pengganti bahan bakar yang sudah ada. Memanfaatkan cangkang kakao yang selama ini jarang dimanfaatkan, peneliti mencoba mengembangkan bahan bakar pengganti melalui teknologi konversi biomassa.
Biomassa dikonversi menjadi energi dalam bentuk bahan bakar cair, gas, panas, dan listrik. Teknologi konversi biomassa menjadi bahan bakar padat, cair, dan gas, antara lain teknologi pirolisa (bio-oil), esterifikasi (bio-diesel), teknologi fermentasi (bio-etanol), anaerobik digester (biogas). Dan teknologi konversi biomassa menjadi energi panas yang kemudian dapat diubah menjadi energi mekanis dan listrik, antara lain, teknologi pembakaran dan gasifikasi.
Teknologi konversi termal biomassa meliputi pembakaran langsung, gasifikasi, dan pirolisis atau karbonisasi. Masing-masing metode memiliki karakteristik yang berbeda dilihat dari komposisi udara dan produk yang dihasilkan. (yandi bagus)
Punya Nilai Lebih Berpotensi Masa Depan
Dalam teknologi konversi termal biomassa, proses pembakaran langsung adalah proses yang paling mudah dibandingkan dengan lainnya. Biomassa langsung dibakar tanpa proses-proses lainnya. Cara seperti ini sangat mudah dijumpai. Di pedesaan Indonesia, banyak masyarakat memanfaatkan kayu bakar sebagai bahan bakar karena praktis dan mudah mendapatkannya walaupun secara umum efisiensinya sangat rendah.
Sedangkan di dunia industri, model pembakaran langsung juga banyak digunakan terutama untuk produksi listrik seperti di pabrik kelapa sawit dan gula yang memanfaatkan limbahnya sebagai bahan bakar. Biomassa dapat dibakar dalam bentuk serbuk, briket, ataupun batangan yang disesuaikan dengan penggunaan dan kondisi biomassa.
Teknologi pembakaran langsung relatif memiliki efisiensi cukup rendah, yaitu 20-25 persen. Walaupun demikian, karena kemudahan teknologinya, banyak yang memanfaatkan teknologi ini.
Untuk jenis teknologi konversi termal biomassa gasifikasi, dasarnya adalah usaha penggunaan bahan bakar padat yang lebih dahulu diubah dalam bentuk gas. Pada proses gasifikasi ini, biomassa dibakar dengan udara terbatas sehingga gas yang dihasilkan sebagian besar mengandung karbon monoksida.
Keuntungan proses gasifikasi ini adalah dapat digunakannya biomassa yang mempunyai nilai kalor relatif rendah dan kadar air yang cukup tinggi. Efisiensi yang dapat dicapai dengan teknologi gasifikasi sekitar 30-40 persen. Beberapa metode gasifikasi telah dikembangkan seperti fixed bed dan fluidized bed gasifier.
Teknologi ketiga adalah pirolisis, yaitu pembakaran biomassa pada kondisi tanpa oksigen. Tujuannya adalah melepaskan zat terbang (volatile matter) yang terkandung pada biomassa. Secara umum kandungan zat terbang dalam biomassa cukup tinggi. Produk proses pirolisis ini berbentuk cair, gas, dan padat. Produk padat dari proses ini berupa arang (char) yang kemudian disebut karbonisasi.
Karbonisasi biomassa atau yang lebih dikenal dengan pengarangan adalah suatu proses untuk menaikkan nilai kalor biomassa dan dihasilkan pembakaran yang bersih dengan sedikit asap. Hasil karbonisasi adalah berupa arang yang tersusun atas karbon dan berwarna hitam.
Prinsip proses karbonisasi adalah pembakaran biomassa tanpa adanya kehadiran oksigen. Sehingga yang terlepas hanya bagian volatile matter, sedangkan karbonnya tetap tinggal di dalamnya. Temperatur karbonisasi akan sangat berpengaruh terhadap arang yang dihasilkan sehingga penentuan temperatur yang tepat akan menentukan kualitas arang.
Sedikit banyaknya arang yang dihasilkan bergantung pada komposisi awal biomassa. Semakin banyak kandungan volatile matter maka semakin sedikit arang yang dihasilkan karena banyak bagian yang terlepas ke udara. Penentuan komposisi awal biomassa dilakukan dengan uji analisis pendekatan (proximate analysis). (yandi bagus)
Rabu, 18 Juli 2007
Vegetable oil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about vegetable oil used as fuel. For other uses of vegetable oil, see vegetable oil.
Waste Vegetable Oil which has been filtered.Many vegetable oils have similar fuel properties to diesel fuel, except for higher viscosity and lower oxidative stability. If these differences can be overcome, vegetable oil may substitute for #2 Diesel fuel, most significantly as engine fuel or home heating oil.
For engines designed to burn #2 diesel fuel, the viscosity of vegetable oil must be lowered to allow for proper atomization of fuel, otherwise incomplete combustion and carbon build up will ultimately damage the engine. Many enthusiasts refer to vegetable oil used as fuel as waste vegetable oil (WVO) if it is oil that was discarded from a restaurant or straight vegetable oil (SVO) to distinguish it from Biodiesel.
History
The first known use of vegetable oil as fuel for a diesel engine was a demonstration of an engine built by the Otto company and designed to burn mineral oil, which was run on pure peanut oil at the 1900 World's Fair. When Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine, he designed it to run on peanut oil after coal dust was determined to be unsuitable as a fuel but it was soon discovered that it would operate on cheaper petroleum oil. In a 1912 presentation to the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers, he cited a number of efforts in this area and remarked, "The fact that fat oils from vegetable sources can be used may seem insignificant today, but such oils may perhaps become in course of time of the same importance as some natural mineral oils and the tar products are now."[1]
Periodic petroleum shortages spurred research into vegetable oil as a diesel substitute during the 30s and 40s, and again in the 70s and early 80s when straight vegetable oil enjoyed its highest level of scientific interest. The 1970s also saw the formation of the first commercial enterprise to allow consumers to run straight vegetable oil in their automobiles, Elsbett of Germany. In the 1990s Bougainville conflict, islanders cut off from oil supplies due to a blockade used coconut oil to fuel their vehicles.[2]
Academic research into straight vegetable oil fell off sharply in the 80s with falling petroleum prices and greater interest in biodiesel as an option that did not require extensive vehicle modifications
Application and usability
Older diesel Mercedes are popular for conversions to biodiesel or waste vaetable oil.
While engineers and enthusiasts have been experimenting with using vegetable oil as fuel for a diesel engine since at least 1900, in all the literature, only one peer reviewed study exists that compares long term use of vegetable oil and #2 Diesel as fuels which shows no noticeable difference in rate of deterioration of the engine burning vegetable oil, for one particular model of engine, the German Deutz F3l912W .[3] (#1 Diesel has a cold-weather additive to reduce gelling)
Most diesel car engines are suitable for the use of SVO, also commonly called Pure Plant Oil (PPO), with suitable modifications. Principally, the viscosity of the SVO/PPO must be reduced by preheating it, typically by using heat from the engine or electricity, otherwise poor atomization, incomplete combustion and carbonization may result. One common solution is to add an additional fuel tank for "normal" diesel fuel (petrodiesel or biodiesel) and a three way valve to switch between this additional tank and the main tank of SVO/PPO. The engine is started on diesel, switched over to vegetable oil as soon as it is warmed up and switched back to diesel shortly before being switched off to ensure it has no vegetable oil in the engine or fuel lines when it is started from cold again. In colder climates it is often necessary to heat the vegetable oil fuel lines and tank as it can become very viscous and even solidify. Another solution (the one-tank system) is to add electric pre-heating of the fuel and, if necessary, upgrade the injection pumps and glow-plugs to allow SVO/PPO fuel use with one tank. One tank conversions are most viable in hot climates.
With unmodified engines the unfavourable effects may be reduced by blending, or "cutting", the SVO with diesel fuel; however, opinions vary as to the efficacy of this. Some WVO mechanics have found higher rates of wear and failure in fuel pumps and piston rings due to partially-combusted WVO/SVO droplets carbonizing in those components[citation needed]. For normal use, without either blending or a second tank and associated modifications in a petrodiesel engine, vegetable oil has to be transesterified to biodiesel.
Many cars powered by indirect injection engines supplied by inline injection pumps, or mechanical Bosch injection pumps are capable of running on pure svo in all but winter temperatures.* Turbo diesels tend to run better due to the increased pressure in the injectors. Pre-CDI Mercedes-Benz vehicles and cars featuring the PSA XUD engine tend to perform well too, especially as the latter is normally equipped with a coolant heated fuel filter.
This article is about vegetable oil used as fuel. For other uses of vegetable oil, see vegetable oil.
Waste Vegetable Oil which has been filtered.Many vegetable oils have similar fuel properties to diesel fuel, except for higher viscosity and lower oxidative stability. If these differences can be overcome, vegetable oil may substitute for #2 Diesel fuel, most significantly as engine fuel or home heating oil.
For engines designed to burn #2 diesel fuel, the viscosity of vegetable oil must be lowered to allow for proper atomization of fuel, otherwise incomplete combustion and carbon build up will ultimately damage the engine. Many enthusiasts refer to vegetable oil used as fuel as waste vegetable oil (WVO) if it is oil that was discarded from a restaurant or straight vegetable oil (SVO) to distinguish it from Biodiesel.
History
The first known use of vegetable oil as fuel for a diesel engine was a demonstration of an engine built by the Otto company and designed to burn mineral oil, which was run on pure peanut oil at the 1900 World's Fair. When Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine, he designed it to run on peanut oil after coal dust was determined to be unsuitable as a fuel but it was soon discovered that it would operate on cheaper petroleum oil. In a 1912 presentation to the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers, he cited a number of efforts in this area and remarked, "The fact that fat oils from vegetable sources can be used may seem insignificant today, but such oils may perhaps become in course of time of the same importance as some natural mineral oils and the tar products are now."[1]
Periodic petroleum shortages spurred research into vegetable oil as a diesel substitute during the 30s and 40s, and again in the 70s and early 80s when straight vegetable oil enjoyed its highest level of scientific interest. The 1970s also saw the formation of the first commercial enterprise to allow consumers to run straight vegetable oil in their automobiles, Elsbett of Germany. In the 1990s Bougainville conflict, islanders cut off from oil supplies due to a blockade used coconut oil to fuel their vehicles.[2]
Academic research into straight vegetable oil fell off sharply in the 80s with falling petroleum prices and greater interest in biodiesel as an option that did not require extensive vehicle modifications
Application and usability
Older diesel Mercedes are popular for conversions to biodiesel or waste vaetable oil.
While engineers and enthusiasts have been experimenting with using vegetable oil as fuel for a diesel engine since at least 1900, in all the literature, only one peer reviewed study exists that compares long term use of vegetable oil and #2 Diesel as fuels which shows no noticeable difference in rate of deterioration of the engine burning vegetable oil, for one particular model of engine, the German Deutz F3l912W .[3] (#1 Diesel has a cold-weather additive to reduce gelling)
Most diesel car engines are suitable for the use of SVO, also commonly called Pure Plant Oil (PPO), with suitable modifications. Principally, the viscosity of the SVO/PPO must be reduced by preheating it, typically by using heat from the engine or electricity, otherwise poor atomization, incomplete combustion and carbonization may result. One common solution is to add an additional fuel tank for "normal" diesel fuel (petrodiesel or biodiesel) and a three way valve to switch between this additional tank and the main tank of SVO/PPO. The engine is started on diesel, switched over to vegetable oil as soon as it is warmed up and switched back to diesel shortly before being switched off to ensure it has no vegetable oil in the engine or fuel lines when it is started from cold again. In colder climates it is often necessary to heat the vegetable oil fuel lines and tank as it can become very viscous and even solidify. Another solution (the one-tank system) is to add electric pre-heating of the fuel and, if necessary, upgrade the injection pumps and glow-plugs to allow SVO/PPO fuel use with one tank. One tank conversions are most viable in hot climates.
With unmodified engines the unfavourable effects may be reduced by blending, or "cutting", the SVO with diesel fuel; however, opinions vary as to the efficacy of this. Some WVO mechanics have found higher rates of wear and failure in fuel pumps and piston rings due to partially-combusted WVO/SVO droplets carbonizing in those components[citation needed]. For normal use, without either blending or a second tank and associated modifications in a petrodiesel engine, vegetable oil has to be transesterified to biodiesel.
Many cars powered by indirect injection engines supplied by inline injection pumps, or mechanical Bosch injection pumps are capable of running on pure svo in all but winter temperatures.* Turbo diesels tend to run better due to the increased pressure in the injectors. Pre-CDI Mercedes-Benz vehicles and cars featuring the PSA XUD engine tend to perform well too, especially as the latter is normally equipped with a coolant heated fuel filter.
Selasa, 17 Juli 2007
Key to funding for eldercare technologies? Pilots
By Dawn Kawamoto,
SAN FRANCISCO--Fighting the funding battle for eldercare technologies can come via large-scale pilots or highly successful small-scale ones, say health care companies.
No matter the size, a pilot not only serves as a means to vet whether an eldercare technology will work, but it also generates much needed data for insurance companies and government entities to weigh whether they might be willing to pay for such technologies, according to panelists Tuesday at the fourth annual Healthcare Unbound conference.
Northeast Health, an upstate New York health care provider that operates a wide range of services including independent and assisted care for seniors, has conducted several small-scale pilots with IBM, GE Global Research, as well as one on its own.
In one case, Northeast Health conducted a pilot with two patients of an insurance company to prove that remote, or "telehealth," monitoring technology could save the insurance company money.
"We said to one insurance company, 'give us a couple of your most expensive patients, the ones who are always in and out of hospitals,'" said Lisa Gaudet, director of remote care technology and genetic services for Northeast Health. "They told us in one month we saved them $50,000 for one patient and $100,000 in a month for the other one."
Other pilots included a group of 35 participants in 2003 with IBM and the American Society on Aging. The 18-month pilot examined how seniors ages 65 and over used IBM's software to change the way a Web site is viewed, such as its font size, colors, size of the page and other features, Gaudet said.
"If you can't see what you're doing, that makes it difficult," she said. "The goal was to develop software for the visually impaired and increase their independence with using the Web."
Seventy percent of the pilot participants said they would not purchase the technology because its only application would help them improve their eyesight on the Web, while 30 percent indicated they would buy the software, Gaudet said.
Since 2003, Northeast has conducted three pilots with GE, which have ranged from 5 to 15 participants and lasted anywhere from eight months to a year. The health care provider will begin a fourth but unrelated pilot next year, which is expected to last about six months. Northeast is precluded from discussing the details of the pilots because of a nondisclosure agreement, she said.
Front Porch, a California-based organization that operates a network of retirement communities, began a pilot two years ago with Dakim, using its Dakim (m)Power Cognitive Fitness System.
The touch-screen device is designed to improve seniors' cognitive fitness by delivering personalized content that changes based on the fitness of their brain for that particular day.
"We wanted something engaging," said Kari Olson, chief information officer for Front Porch, which wants seniors to engage in cognitive activities on a regular basis because of the long-term benefits.
The pilot initially began with one prototype in 2005, grew to an expanded test of 10 units last fall and is now being tested among 300 Front Porch residents using 26 devices. Plans are in the works to expand the testing to all Front Porch campuses and test a home version, Olson noted.
One lesson the company learned? "You don't call it a computer or technology," said Olson. The seniors "won't touch it."
She advised presenting the technology as something "fun" or beneficial to their health.
Seniors should also be allowed to chime in on how the technology could be improved and other changes that may be needed, Olson said, adding: "Dialogue is key to a pilot's success."
While health care providers may find themselves in awe of the technology, Olson said that's not the end game.
"All this is cool technology, but it's not the point. It's the culture, people and support process you need to look at that," she said.
SAN FRANCISCO--Fighting the funding battle for eldercare technologies can come via large-scale pilots or highly successful small-scale ones, say health care companies.
No matter the size, a pilot not only serves as a means to vet whether an eldercare technology will work, but it also generates much needed data for insurance companies and government entities to weigh whether they might be willing to pay for such technologies, according to panelists Tuesday at the fourth annual Healthcare Unbound conference.
Northeast Health, an upstate New York health care provider that operates a wide range of services including independent and assisted care for seniors, has conducted several small-scale pilots with IBM, GE Global Research, as well as one on its own.
In one case, Northeast Health conducted a pilot with two patients of an insurance company to prove that remote, or "telehealth," monitoring technology could save the insurance company money.
"We said to one insurance company, 'give us a couple of your most expensive patients, the ones who are always in and out of hospitals,'" said Lisa Gaudet, director of remote care technology and genetic services for Northeast Health. "They told us in one month we saved them $50,000 for one patient and $100,000 in a month for the other one."
Other pilots included a group of 35 participants in 2003 with IBM and the American Society on Aging. The 18-month pilot examined how seniors ages 65 and over used IBM's software to change the way a Web site is viewed, such as its font size, colors, size of the page and other features, Gaudet said.
"If you can't see what you're doing, that makes it difficult," she said. "The goal was to develop software for the visually impaired and increase their independence with using the Web."
Seventy percent of the pilot participants said they would not purchase the technology because its only application would help them improve their eyesight on the Web, while 30 percent indicated they would buy the software, Gaudet said.
Since 2003, Northeast has conducted three pilots with GE, which have ranged from 5 to 15 participants and lasted anywhere from eight months to a year. The health care provider will begin a fourth but unrelated pilot next year, which is expected to last about six months. Northeast is precluded from discussing the details of the pilots because of a nondisclosure agreement, she said.
Front Porch, a California-based organization that operates a network of retirement communities, began a pilot two years ago with Dakim, using its Dakim (m)Power Cognitive Fitness System.
The touch-screen device is designed to improve seniors' cognitive fitness by delivering personalized content that changes based on the fitness of their brain for that particular day.
"We wanted something engaging," said Kari Olson, chief information officer for Front Porch, which wants seniors to engage in cognitive activities on a regular basis because of the long-term benefits.
The pilot initially began with one prototype in 2005, grew to an expanded test of 10 units last fall and is now being tested among 300 Front Porch residents using 26 devices. Plans are in the works to expand the testing to all Front Porch campuses and test a home version, Olson noted.
One lesson the company learned? "You don't call it a computer or technology," said Olson. The seniors "won't touch it."
She advised presenting the technology as something "fun" or beneficial to their health.
Seniors should also be allowed to chime in on how the technology could be improved and other changes that may be needed, Olson said, adding: "Dialogue is key to a pilot's success."
While health care providers may find themselves in awe of the technology, Olson said that's not the end game.
"All this is cool technology, but it's not the point. It's the culture, people and support process you need to look at that," she said.
Silent Hands Behind the iPhone
By KEN BELSON
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Etched into the back of every iPhone are the words “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.” Apple might as well have added “Made in Taiwan.”
With little fanfare, Taiwan companies are playing a big role not only in the production of Apple’s latest device but in a wide array of other communications equipment, including the broadband modems in homes across the United States and the next generation of high-speed wireless gear.
Apple does not discuss which vendors it uses, but news reports in Taiwan said that Hon Hai and Quanta received orders to produce millions of iPhone handsets, reports that those companies declined to confirm. Other manufacturers there were almost certainly involved because they provide components used in advanced phones, industry analysts said.
Taiwan companies also have a hand in making iPods and iMacs, they said, as well as game machines for Sony and Microsoft.
Taiwan’s rise as a communications workhorse is part of a decade-long transformation under way on this Chinese Nationalist-controlled island south of the mainland. Already the world’s biggest producers of computer components, Taiwan companies like Compal Electronics, in addition to Hon Hai and Quanta, have used their expertise to branch out into new markets that use many of the same products.
By harnessing the ability to cut costs, churn out products quickly and work flexibly with customers, the Taiwan companies have become top makers of cellphones, smartphones, broadband modems, wireless routers, global positioning devices, networking equipment and other gear. They, like companies elsewhere, have also made deep inroads into China, where many of their factories are.
“It’s not a surprise that the iPhone would be made here because the food chains for Apple’s notebooks and iPods are already in Taiwan,” said Dominic Grant, a telecommunications analyst at Macquarie in Taipei. “It’s a natural progression.”
Taiwan’s evolution from computer-making giant to telecommunications Goliath has gone largely unnoticed in the United States because companies here make most of their money as made-to-order manufacturers, not sellers of their own brand products. But Taiwan’s industrial makeover has helped its companies remain competitive in a world increasingly dominated by low-cost Chinese assemblers and by Japanese and South Korean companies with strong footholds in high-end components like flash memory chips.
The strategy of repackaging — finding new uses for computer components — has paid dividends. Companies on the island have captured 87 percent of the global market for wireless modems, 84 percent of the D.S.L. modem market and 70 percent of the market for personal digital assistants.
In the competitive cellphone business, Taiwan companies made 12.4 percent of the world’s handsets last year, up from 9.8 percent in 2005, according to the Institute for Information Industry, a government-affiliated research center. That share is expected to grow as brand-name companies like Sony Ericsson outsource more of their production to companies here.
In all, Taiwan companies produced $31.5 billion in communications equipment and services last year, more than 50 percent above the total the year before, according to the institute, which expects production to reach a value of $46 billion by 2010. Less than a quarter of that was manufactured on Taiwan, with the bulk made on the Chinese mainland.
“It’s been a fairly natural progression because handsets are really a mini-version of the PC, and Taiwanese are adept at adjusting,” said Gary Chia, president of the Yuanta Research Center.
The transformation did not happen by accident. As in many Asian areas, the government played an active role in steering businesses into new markets by showering them with tax incentives, cheap property to build factories and research money.
Companies on Taiwan have also been able to shift gears smoothly because the concentration of component producers on the island has made it easier to gather the technology and engineers to design and assemble new products.
And Taiwan companies, like their rivals in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere in Asia, have increasingly shifted production to their factories in China to save money. With their close cultural, financial and linguistic ties to mainland China, Taiwan’s companies have an edge over those from elsewhere.
These advantages helped scores of companies tackle new markets. Take D-Link, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of broadband modems. About two decades ago, it started out by making network interface cards that linked computers. As Internet access for home use expanded, the company started making dial-up modems.
As phone companies in the United States and elsewhere started leasing modems to their customers, D-Link was flexible and designed products to each carrier’s specifications while remaining cheap enough to nudge out rivals.
“Telecommunications companies are difficult to deal with because each one has its own standards, and there is a lot of customization,” said J. C. Liao, D-Link’s president. “But it turned out to be an advantage because Taiwanese are more flexible compared to companies in the U.S. or Japan. We’re quick to lower costs and not stick to our own rules.”
D-Link has evolved with the technology, expanding into wireless modems and pushing into emerging markets like India and Russia, as well as selling under its own brand name at big retailers like Best Buy and Office Depot to become the No. 2 competitor, after Linksys. About 15 percent of the company’s revenue now comes from brand products.
Mitac International, a leading seller of global positioning devices, took a similar route. Through the 1980s and early ’90s, it built personal computers for the likes of Compaq. But as profit margins slipped and mergers reshaped the industry, the company started making personal digital assistants. Then Hewlett-Packard bought Compaq, leaving Mitac short a big customer.
So when the United States government allowed civilians to use G.P.S. technology, the company integrated it into its personal digital assistants after a couple of years of development. Mitac joined another leader in the industry, Garmin, which is based in Kansas but makes almost all its G.P.S. devices in Taiwan.
“We saw these big waves come one by one in the mid-1990s, so we tried to figure out how to survive in this rapidly changing business,” said Billy Ho, the president of Mitac International, which sells G.P.S. devices under the Mio brand. “We realized there was no Microsoft in the digital map business.”
Mitac still earns about 70 percent of its sales by making desktop computers, servers and other technology for other companies, though Mr. Ho hopes that the share will fall to 50 percent by next year.
Since so many of the latest devices are made here, it is perhaps unsurprising that some Taiwan companies are beating brand-name companies to the punch. High Tech Computer, for instance, introduced a touch-based handset just weeks before the iPhone was released. With a less recognizable name, High Tech has more modest ambitions. But it is still pleased that Apple has joined the market.
“We’re happy they share the same vision as we do,” said Fred Liu, the chief operating officer. “We think these phones will change people’s minds and their behavior.”
While D-Link, High Tech and Mitac have developed brand-name products to reduce their reliance on their made-to-order business, there are plenty of other companies that have had trouble branching out on their own.
For instance, in 2005 BenQ, which primarily made cellphones for other companies, bought the handset division of Siemens in hopes of taking on the likes of Sony Ericsson and LG. Yet BenQ, a spinoff of the Taiwan computer giant Acer, alienated one of its biggest customers, Motorola, which was wary of having a new competitor manufacturing its products. BenQ also underestimated the depth of Siemens’s problems and how much it would cost to break into an already crowded and competitive cellphone market.
After losses mounted, BenQ liquidated the venture and will focus its energy on making handsets for other companies, as well as on its existing businesses producing flat-panel monitors, televisions and digital cameras.
“People thought with Acer’s success, BenQ could make it, too, since its chairman came from Acer,” said Kirk Yang, managing director at Citigroup in Hong Kong. “But the acquisition was a black hole. BenQ didn’t have a home base and had no experience running a branded handset business.”
Mr. Yang and other analysts said that Taiwan companies were unlikely to abandon their made-to-order business entirely. Instead, they will focus more on doing more design work on behalf of customers who are trying to outsource more and more of their production.
“The iPhone is a great example of where Taiwan is still strong: reliable sourcing, leading technology and complex integration,” said Allen J. Delattre, chief of the electronics and high-technology practice at the consulting firm Accenture. “Does the average person who buys an iPhone know it’s from Taiwan? Maybe. Do they care? Probably not. But if you look at the companies in Taiwan, they are behind the scenes, and that’s a good place to be because that’s where the value is.”
The key for Taiwan companies, Mr. Delattre and other analysts said, is to invest in next-generation products early. For example, companies here are fast becoming important players in the development of WiMax wireless and fiber optic broadband equipment.
They are again getting a healthy push from the government, which is spending more than $200 million over five years to help create the world’s largest high-speed WiMax network. By next year, with 2,000 base stations spread across the island, companies will be able to start testing new applications, like the sending of video from ambulances on their way to hospitals.
“We are trying to make the infrastructure more complete,” said Tsung-Tsong Wu, deputy minister of the National Science Council, which has a $1 billion annual budget. “If the highways are built, companies can go as fast as they like.”
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Etched into the back of every iPhone are the words “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.” Apple might as well have added “Made in Taiwan.”
With little fanfare, Taiwan companies are playing a big role not only in the production of Apple’s latest device but in a wide array of other communications equipment, including the broadband modems in homes across the United States and the next generation of high-speed wireless gear.
Apple does not discuss which vendors it uses, but news reports in Taiwan said that Hon Hai and Quanta received orders to produce millions of iPhone handsets, reports that those companies declined to confirm. Other manufacturers there were almost certainly involved because they provide components used in advanced phones, industry analysts said.
Taiwan companies also have a hand in making iPods and iMacs, they said, as well as game machines for Sony and Microsoft.
Taiwan’s rise as a communications workhorse is part of a decade-long transformation under way on this Chinese Nationalist-controlled island south of the mainland. Already the world’s biggest producers of computer components, Taiwan companies like Compal Electronics, in addition to Hon Hai and Quanta, have used their expertise to branch out into new markets that use many of the same products.
By harnessing the ability to cut costs, churn out products quickly and work flexibly with customers, the Taiwan companies have become top makers of cellphones, smartphones, broadband modems, wireless routers, global positioning devices, networking equipment and other gear. They, like companies elsewhere, have also made deep inroads into China, where many of their factories are.
“It’s not a surprise that the iPhone would be made here because the food chains for Apple’s notebooks and iPods are already in Taiwan,” said Dominic Grant, a telecommunications analyst at Macquarie in Taipei. “It’s a natural progression.”
Taiwan’s evolution from computer-making giant to telecommunications Goliath has gone largely unnoticed in the United States because companies here make most of their money as made-to-order manufacturers, not sellers of their own brand products. But Taiwan’s industrial makeover has helped its companies remain competitive in a world increasingly dominated by low-cost Chinese assemblers and by Japanese and South Korean companies with strong footholds in high-end components like flash memory chips.
The strategy of repackaging — finding new uses for computer components — has paid dividends. Companies on the island have captured 87 percent of the global market for wireless modems, 84 percent of the D.S.L. modem market and 70 percent of the market for personal digital assistants.
In the competitive cellphone business, Taiwan companies made 12.4 percent of the world’s handsets last year, up from 9.8 percent in 2005, according to the Institute for Information Industry, a government-affiliated research center. That share is expected to grow as brand-name companies like Sony Ericsson outsource more of their production to companies here.
In all, Taiwan companies produced $31.5 billion in communications equipment and services last year, more than 50 percent above the total the year before, according to the institute, which expects production to reach a value of $46 billion by 2010. Less than a quarter of that was manufactured on Taiwan, with the bulk made on the Chinese mainland.
“It’s been a fairly natural progression because handsets are really a mini-version of the PC, and Taiwanese are adept at adjusting,” said Gary Chia, president of the Yuanta Research Center.
The transformation did not happen by accident. As in many Asian areas, the government played an active role in steering businesses into new markets by showering them with tax incentives, cheap property to build factories and research money.
Companies on Taiwan have also been able to shift gears smoothly because the concentration of component producers on the island has made it easier to gather the technology and engineers to design and assemble new products.
And Taiwan companies, like their rivals in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere in Asia, have increasingly shifted production to their factories in China to save money. With their close cultural, financial and linguistic ties to mainland China, Taiwan’s companies have an edge over those from elsewhere.
These advantages helped scores of companies tackle new markets. Take D-Link, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of broadband modems. About two decades ago, it started out by making network interface cards that linked computers. As Internet access for home use expanded, the company started making dial-up modems.
As phone companies in the United States and elsewhere started leasing modems to their customers, D-Link was flexible and designed products to each carrier’s specifications while remaining cheap enough to nudge out rivals.
“Telecommunications companies are difficult to deal with because each one has its own standards, and there is a lot of customization,” said J. C. Liao, D-Link’s president. “But it turned out to be an advantage because Taiwanese are more flexible compared to companies in the U.S. or Japan. We’re quick to lower costs and not stick to our own rules.”
D-Link has evolved with the technology, expanding into wireless modems and pushing into emerging markets like India and Russia, as well as selling under its own brand name at big retailers like Best Buy and Office Depot to become the No. 2 competitor, after Linksys. About 15 percent of the company’s revenue now comes from brand products.
Mitac International, a leading seller of global positioning devices, took a similar route. Through the 1980s and early ’90s, it built personal computers for the likes of Compaq. But as profit margins slipped and mergers reshaped the industry, the company started making personal digital assistants. Then Hewlett-Packard bought Compaq, leaving Mitac short a big customer.
So when the United States government allowed civilians to use G.P.S. technology, the company integrated it into its personal digital assistants after a couple of years of development. Mitac joined another leader in the industry, Garmin, which is based in Kansas but makes almost all its G.P.S. devices in Taiwan.
“We saw these big waves come one by one in the mid-1990s, so we tried to figure out how to survive in this rapidly changing business,” said Billy Ho, the president of Mitac International, which sells G.P.S. devices under the Mio brand. “We realized there was no Microsoft in the digital map business.”
Mitac still earns about 70 percent of its sales by making desktop computers, servers and other technology for other companies, though Mr. Ho hopes that the share will fall to 50 percent by next year.
Since so many of the latest devices are made here, it is perhaps unsurprising that some Taiwan companies are beating brand-name companies to the punch. High Tech Computer, for instance, introduced a touch-based handset just weeks before the iPhone was released. With a less recognizable name, High Tech has more modest ambitions. But it is still pleased that Apple has joined the market.
“We’re happy they share the same vision as we do,” said Fred Liu, the chief operating officer. “We think these phones will change people’s minds and their behavior.”
While D-Link, High Tech and Mitac have developed brand-name products to reduce their reliance on their made-to-order business, there are plenty of other companies that have had trouble branching out on their own.
For instance, in 2005 BenQ, which primarily made cellphones for other companies, bought the handset division of Siemens in hopes of taking on the likes of Sony Ericsson and LG. Yet BenQ, a spinoff of the Taiwan computer giant Acer, alienated one of its biggest customers, Motorola, which was wary of having a new competitor manufacturing its products. BenQ also underestimated the depth of Siemens’s problems and how much it would cost to break into an already crowded and competitive cellphone market.
After losses mounted, BenQ liquidated the venture and will focus its energy on making handsets for other companies, as well as on its existing businesses producing flat-panel monitors, televisions and digital cameras.
“People thought with Acer’s success, BenQ could make it, too, since its chairman came from Acer,” said Kirk Yang, managing director at Citigroup in Hong Kong. “But the acquisition was a black hole. BenQ didn’t have a home base and had no experience running a branded handset business.”
Mr. Yang and other analysts said that Taiwan companies were unlikely to abandon their made-to-order business entirely. Instead, they will focus more on doing more design work on behalf of customers who are trying to outsource more and more of their production.
“The iPhone is a great example of where Taiwan is still strong: reliable sourcing, leading technology and complex integration,” said Allen J. Delattre, chief of the electronics and high-technology practice at the consulting firm Accenture. “Does the average person who buys an iPhone know it’s from Taiwan? Maybe. Do they care? Probably not. But if you look at the companies in Taiwan, they are behind the scenes, and that’s a good place to be because that’s where the value is.”
The key for Taiwan companies, Mr. Delattre and other analysts said, is to invest in next-generation products early. For example, companies here are fast becoming important players in the development of WiMax wireless and fiber optic broadband equipment.
They are again getting a healthy push from the government, which is spending more than $200 million over five years to help create the world’s largest high-speed WiMax network. By next year, with 2,000 base stations spread across the island, companies will be able to start testing new applications, like the sending of video from ambulances on their way to hospitals.
“We are trying to make the infrastructure more complete,” said Tsung-Tsong Wu, deputy minister of the National Science Council, which has a $1 billion annual budget. “If the highways are built, companies can go as fast as they like.”
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