News Release 12/26/2000
Certain statements contained herein are "forward~looking"
statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities
Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks
and uncertainties actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. For a discussion of some of these risks and
uncertainties, please refer to the company's SEC filings,
which contain additional discussion about those factors which
could cause actual results to differ from management's
expectations.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A Sherman Oaks company,Gerald Daniel Krug,today unveiled
an up-grade for all car alarms.
The system,called a "Uswitch",keeps carjackers from finding
a car alarms valet switch.The owner,Gerald Krug,says,
"It's been a long time since alarms were first made for cars,and
finally,with a Uswitch up-grade,car alarms really work.
The Uswitch has other uses too.Every tool box should have a
Uswitch inside."
The Uswitch is flat,easy to hide under carpet or in upholstery.
You don't have to take it out of it's package to install.###
Media Contacts Investor Relations Stock Symbol
GDK Market Update
Statement on the Company's Operations during 2000
Sherman Oaks;Los Angeles,Calif. December 22, 2000- GDK
Electronics,a global provider of customized electronic part
solutions, today issued a statement concerning the Company's
operations during the period January through December 2000.
"The Company was presented with some significant challenges
during the past twelve months," said Mr. Gerald Krug,
President and co-Chief Executive Officer of GDK.Some we
overcame, while some we are now actively overcoming. Our
successes in 2000 bodes well for the future of the Company.
The bringing online of six large gas station chains for
Uswitch sales,during September and December, respectively,
were our biggest operations successes. We are pioneering
where custom auto accessories are sold. In many respects we
are creating a new market. But we have proved that the GDK
solution works and there are thousands of targeted outlets
that will be working with us during 2001. These outlets have
discovered that it takes a lot of time, energy, expertise,
money and resources to create successful switching sensor
solutions. GDK has solutions consumers can implement easily,
on a global scale and without it being a substantial drain on
their human, technical and financial resources."
Mr. Krug continued, "The overall business environment hasn't
changed, we are pursuing many opportunities which certainly
still exist. Some of our lack of progress during the year was
due to the changing NHTSB environment, while some of it
was attributable to delayed sales effort from new product
developments in June 2000."
The newly appointed Chairman ot the Company, added, "The
board of directors has recently begun to play a more active
role in management and has taken steps to improve overall
Company efficiency. The board is taking further measures to
strengthen the management of the Company in conjunction with
the previously announced business review. He further noted
that, "During 2000 GDK made a number of announcements
concerning the signing of memoranda of understanding and
letters of intent with various companies. The board believes
that a more conservative approach to public relations is
preferable in the future."
Uswitch
As an example of the Company's progress Mr. Krug went on to
explain that the Company had recently completed the
development and release of an enhanced version of its easy-to-
use, on-line business incubator.
Project Update
The business model of GDK is simple," said Mr. Krug "We aim
to provide elegant solutions to meet safety and security
needs, whether this be on an overall outsourced basis or one
that will meet more specific needs. To help us do this we are
continually searching for new and improved ways to find new
partners to help us find buyers for our solutions. Some
partnerships thrive, others whither."
Mr. Krug said that an example of a successful partnership and
product development during 2000 include the addition of
Wireless Markup Language (WML)(wap) protocol to the boughtup.com
web site to support salespeople at the point of sale.
For more information visit http://boughtupcom.freeservers.com or contact
GDK at 1-877-619-2277 or by Email at gdkss@hotmail.com
November 4, 1996
[Go To First Ranked Hit]
Issue: 926
Section: Design -- Components
By Terry Costlow
Dearborn, Mich. - The boom in the use of microprocessors in cars has pulled sensor[50] usage along in its slipstream, sparking plenty of work in new technologies. Many programs aimed at reducing size and weight, as well as plans to put sensors[50] in new areas, were examined at the Convergence conference on automotive electronics here late last month.
The microprocessors used in cars have to get data from the real world, unlike computer systems, which have data entered for them. This means that the typical car will have more sensors[50] than it has microprocessors, so the potential for growth is enormous.
Over the past decade, electronic sensors[50] have rapidly replaced electromechanical sensing products.
Now, researchers are pushing to lower the cost of sensors[50] and increase their performance. In a paper presented by the University of Michigan, researchers detailed the state of the art in devices that put more than one sensor[50] on a single piece of silicon.
Putting more than one device on a chip is far more difficult with sensors[50] than with conventional semiconductor devices, since sensors[50] usually have movable elements that must be micromachined from the silicon. If all sensor[50] elements can't be etched during the same pass, there is much danger that moving elements etched earlier will be damaged during later steps.
Michigan researchers note that multi-sensor[50] devices will be less common than parts with a sensor[50] and some type of processor. But they add that in some instances, the best and most cost-efficient technique is to put multiple sensors[50] on the same part.
A monolithic mass flow-meter is one example, sharply reducing the size needed for this job. The part holds a heater, temperature sensor[50], thermocouples and other parts (see figure). It even determines what type of gas is passing over it.
Along with developing newer, smaller sensors[50], the auto industry is looking at new places to use them. Monitoring tire pressure and the operating temperature of a tire can provide significant cost savings to a commercial truck fleet operator, so Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (Akron, Ohio) has begun evaluating the concept of smart tires.
Measuring tire pressure is important for both fuel economy and tire life, but on tandem trucks, it is often tested by smacking the tire with a hammer and judging pressure by the rebound speed.
Since that's pretty inefficient, Goodyear is looking at passive and active techniques for sensing tire pressure and identifying tires. Most techniques require putting an IC, temperature sensor[50] and pressure sensor[50] inside the tire, sometimes with a battery and sometimes without. The unpowered version, called a passive technique, relies on power from the reader.
Both passive and active sensing products have pluses and minuses. The key drawback for active products is that their batteries take up space and cost more money, while their positive feature is that they can work with off-the-shelf sensors[50]. Passive designs need sensors[50] that draw very little power, but they are smaller, lighter and less expensive.
Regardless of which technique is used, the parts must remain attached to the inside of the tire throughout its lifetime, able to withstand continuous vibration and heat. In commercial trucking environments, the sensor[50] must also be able to survive the rough treatment that comes when tires are retreaded, which also extends the lifetime requirement for the sensing subsystem.
While smart tires are still a laboratory oddity, smart passengers are fairly common. Technology Media Lab at MIT (Cambridge, Mass.) is among the many groups trying to figure out where those people are sitting, and how large they are. A primary reason is to determine when to set off airbags, which can be fatal to infants.
Radar, RF
At MIT, the focus is on figuring out inexpensive ways to sense people's location and size. Among the techniques being examined are capacitive, radar and RF sensing.
Just how soon all these sensors[50] will be integrated into what can truly be called a smart car is tough to discern. Some predict that by the year 2000, cards will have enough sensors[50], processors and other things to provide advanced communication, information and vehicle control functions. Delco Electronics Corp. (Kokomo, Ind.) asks whether that may end up being the year 2020, since cost, electronic architecture and government regulations may make it tough to change much in the rest of this decade.
In 2000, J1850 and CAN networking will link systems together and there will be more electronics in the power train. Chassis electronics such as radar sensors[50] and intelligent cruise control will also emerge.
The real difference between these cars and the smarter cars of the future will center around two things, Delco presenters said. One is that electronics will be functionally integrated around a common communications bus, which will let different modules work in harmony. The other is the likely emergence of open architectures and common standards, which will make it much simpler and less expensive to integrate electronic technology into cars.
Copyright * 1996 CMP Media Inc.
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