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Washinton - Software giant Microsoft has gone one step nearer global domination by patenting a new kind of network - human skin. US Patent No. 6,754, 472 - just awarded - is a "method and apparatus for transmitting power and data using the human body." The idea is to link together multiple devices, like watches, displays and keyboards, using the skin. Microsoft cites speakers as an example: why have separate speakers for a watch, a PDA and a radio, when one will do? One connected by skin!
A number of different devices could be powered from a single power source strapped to the skin. Each would be driven by multiple power supply signals working at different frequencies, according to the patent abstract. Data and audio signals could be transmitted over that same power signal. The power source and devices would be connected to the body via electrodes.
Other research has gone along similar lines. The New York Times has reported research into tiny fuel cells that convert the body's glucose into power. Such sugar-powered fuel cells have been inserted into and powered by grapes. It also gave an example of where the technology could go: plugged into a soldier who could eat a banana to power up his radio.
Microsoft says the company set out to address the proliferation of small handheld or wearable devices with redundant parts for input and output of data, such as separate speakers in a watch, a radio, and a personal digital assistant. If all those devices were networked, they could all share one speaker, the company suggests. Personal wireless networks have potential problems involving power consumption, interference and security, and batteries add weight and are inconvenient to replace or recharge.
Not that the idea is exactly new. Back in 1996, IBM's Thomas Zimmermann led research into a similar area. Scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center examined Personal Area Network technology that used the natural electrical conductivity of the human body to transmit electronic data. Using a small prototype transmitter (roughly the size of a deck of cards) embedded with a microchip, and a slightly larger receiving device, the researchers transmitted a pre-programmed electronic business card between two people via a simple handshake. The prototype allowed data to be transmitted from sender to receiver through up to four touching bodies. PAN technology was demonstrated publicly for the first time at the Comdex computer industry trade show in Las Vegas.
The natural salinity of the human body makes it an excellent conductor of electrical current. PAN technology takes advantage of this conductivity by creating an external electric field that passes an incredibly tiny current through the body, over which data is carried. The current used is one-billionth of an amp (one nanoamp), which is lower than the natural currents already in the body. In fact, the electrical field created by running a comb through hair is more than 1,000 times greater than that being used by PAN technology.
A number of different devices could be powered from a single power source strapped to the skin. Each would be driven by multiple power supply signals working at different frequencies, according to the patent abstract. Data and audio signals could be transmitted over that same power signal. The power source and devices would be connected to the body via electrodes.
Other research has gone along similar lines. The New York Times has reported research into tiny fuel cells that convert the body's glucose into power. Such sugar-powered fuel cells have been inserted into and powered by grapes. It also gave an example of where the technology could go: plugged into a soldier who could eat a banana to power up his radio.
Microsoft says the company set out to address the proliferation of small handheld or wearable devices with redundant parts for input and output of data, such as separate speakers in a watch, a radio, and a personal digital assistant. If all those devices were networked, they could all share one speaker, the company suggests. Personal wireless networks have potential problems involving power consumption, interference and security, and batteries add weight and are inconvenient to replace or recharge.
Not that the idea is exactly new. Back in 1996, IBM's Thomas Zimmermann led research into a similar area. Scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center examined Personal Area Network technology that used the natural electrical conductivity of the human body to transmit electronic data. Using a small prototype transmitter (roughly the size of a deck of cards) embedded with a microchip, and a slightly larger receiving device, the researchers transmitted a pre-programmed electronic business card between two people via a simple handshake. The prototype allowed data to be transmitted from sender to receiver through up to four touching bodies. PAN technology was demonstrated publicly for the first time at the Comdex computer industry trade show in Las Vegas.
The natural salinity of the human body makes it an excellent conductor of electrical current. PAN technology takes advantage of this conductivity by creating an external electric field that passes an incredibly tiny current through the body, over which data is carried. The current used is one-billionth of an amp (one nanoamp), which is lower than the natural currents already in the body. In fact, the electrical field created by running a comb through hair is more than 1,000 times greater than that being used by PAN technology.
