Micromachined actuators have a range of applications, e.g. for the integration of an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) on a single chip, novel lithography techniques, micro-switches, etc. The project investigates thermal actuators to realise movement along three axes. A micro-fabrication process has been developed that allows to produce in-plane bimorphs consisting of aluminium and silicon. An actuator stage is being designed having a platform on which an atomically sharp tip can be placed. This can be used for scanning an area of a sample, thus obtaining an image of the sample topology. The actuators incorporate piezo-resistors which result in a resistance change proportional to strain due to surface-tip interaction.
A variety of microfluidic devices are being investigated such as micro-pumps which are capable of pumping fluids and gases, micro-flowsensors and mixers. These devices can be integrated on a microfluidic circuit board to realise systems that are suitable for a range of biological and chemical applications. Examples include polymerese chain reaction chambers (PCR) for DNA amplification, fully automated DNA analysis systems, chemical synthesis reactors and micro-Total Analysis Systems.
Novel concepts and approaches for micromachined inertial sensors such are accelerometers and gyroscopes are investigated. A micromachined disk will be levitated by electrostatic forces which can sense acceleration along three axes. If the disk is spun about its main axis, it concurrently can sense angular rotation about the two axes. The aim of the project is to design a five-degree of freedom inertial sensor. Furthermore, intelligent interface and closed loop control strategies for inertial sensors are being investigated. The principle relies on an electro-mechanical sigma-delta modulator loop; this approach results in a digital sensor which can directly interface to a DSP and facilitates smart sensors.
This Internet 2 collaborative IPv6 deployment study project was led by Southampton and also featured Lancaster University and UCL. The project covered eight areas of study, from IPv6 routing and addressing through to transition and integration techniques. Overseen by UKERNA, the project has led to a UK IPv6 pilot for IPv6 on JANET (the UK academic network) and to all partners' participation in the 6NET project.
ECS has been running IPv6 on its internal network since 1996. It acquired what we believe was the first UK IPv6 native WAN connection in 1997, to UUNet in Telehouse, London. Since then IPv6 deployment locally has grown, and research has followed from projects including 6INIT, 6WINIT, Bermuda 2, 6NET and Euro6IX. The IPv6 network also covers the teaching labs, where students are able to use IPv6 in coursework and project assignments. The testbed also spans a building-wide wireless LAN, allowing Mobile IPv6 experiments using laptops and PDAs such as the iPAQ running Familiar Linux.
The EU IPv6 Task Force met between April 2001 and January 2002 to develop recommendations for adoption of IPv6 in Europe, targetted at national governments, the European Commission and industry. ECS' role was as rapporteur and contributor to a number of the sub-working groups.
The GEANT TF-NGN group meets four times a year to discuss trials and studies of novel and leading edge network technologies for the GEANT pan-European academic research network. ECS has leadership of the IPv6 Working Group, which includes deployment of a mini-backbone comprising a Juniper M5 router in Paris, a Telebit router in Amsterdam and, soon, a Hitachi GR2000 router in Southampton. The group covers activities complementary to those of 6NET.
6WINIT is a wireless follow-up to the previous 6INIT project. The project includes three medical sites with partner universities, in addition to parallel application developers. In this tw-year project, ECS will develop IPv6 tools for the "meeting room scenario", with consideration for ad-hoc networking, and brokering and discovery of network services.
Euro6IX is a three-year pan-European IPv6 research and deployment project, featuring the major European telcos (BT Exact, France Telecom, Telefonica, DT, etc) and a small number of universities. The project will deploy a number of IPv6 Internet Exchange points in Europe, and will seek to investigate new business models appropriate for IPv6 deployment. ECS' main role is the development of an IPv6 Unified Messaging System (6UMS) that will demonstrate IPv6's advantages for peer-to-peer applications.
6NET was a three-year IPv6 deployment project that featured 11 European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs). Led by Cisco, who contributed at least 16 high-end GSR routers, and including IBM, 6NET had a total project budget of over 15M Euros and 1,100 man months of resources. The project was a key precursor to the full production IPv6 services in European academic networks including GEANT. ECS' main role in the project was leadership of the IPv6 transition and integration work package, which considered interworking between IPv4 and IPv6 systems. The project was extended due to its success, and scored maximum ratings in its final assessment.