“Connecting the world” – innocuous
phrase meaning “connecting the world…in order track everyone and everything and
make the whole world addicted to Facebook.”
Forget
wearable tech, embeddable implants are already here
NEW
YORK (CNNMoney) -- Smartphone mapping features are great for getting directions,
until you lose signal. But you could avoid getting lost in the woods with a
guiding system embedded in your body.
Electronic
engineer and biohacker Brian McEvoy has designed the first internal compass,
and will be the first test subject. The 'Southpaw' -- inspired by the North Paw
bracelet - works by sealing a miniature compass inside a silicon coat, within a
rounded Titanium shell, to be implanted under the skin. An ultra-thin whisker
juts out, which is activated when the user faces north, to lightly brush an
alert on the underside of the skin.
"For
a disc shape, it would be best located near shoulder", says McEvoy, ahead
of the procedure. "I don't foresee any safety issues". Materials and
shape have been chosen for the body's tolerance of them, but the Minnesota
biohacker is working with experts to minimize risk before going under the
knife.
Although
McEvoy alone will take the implant, Southpaw has been a collaborative project,
developed through the leading forum Biohack.me, that draws on the shared
knowledge of citizen science labs around the world. For these dedicated
blue-sky enthusiasts with stated goals that include eternal life and learning
to fly, the paradigm for technology has gone beyond wearable, to implanted.
Magnets
and microchips are standard for community members, often for aesthetic or
novelty value. But the implants are growing in sophistication to offer
practical applications, such as the 'Circadia' micro-computer developed by
Biohack.me offshoot company Grindhouse Wetware, which CEO Tim Cannon embedded
in his arm last year, and was able to collect and transmit temperature data via
Bluetooth.
Another
of the forum's stars, Rich Lee has pioneered the use of magnets. With one
embedded in each ear he can listen to music through them, via a wire coil he
wore around his neck, that converts sound into electromagnetic fields, creating
the first 'internal headphones'.
But
his experiments go far beyond sound. "It is a sixth sense", says Lee.
"The implants allow me to detect different sensors, so I can 'hear' heat
from a distance. I can detect magnetic fields and Wi-Fi signals, so much of the
world that I had no awareness of."
There
is a practical purpose to Lee's experiments, as he suffers deteriorating
eyesight and hopes to improve his orientation through greater sensory
awareness, and is learning to navigate through echolocation. But he sees his
self-hacking as a voyage of discovery rather than a medical trial.
"It's
almost erotic when you feel something totally unexpected when there was no
sensation before. You want to enquire and learn more. This is an adventure for
me."
Appropriately
enough, a priority among Lee's 130 projects are 'adult industry' implants for
erogenous zones to maximize pleasure, for which he anticipates major commercial
interest. Another device for the nose would aim to control the body
temperature, which could increase endurance and physical capacity.
Lee is
convinced that improving implants equate to a better body and a better life, and
puts no limit on what procedure he would undergo. "If better models come
out every 18 months I would buy them. The way people are with cellphones, I
feel the same way about implants."
Availability
looks set to improve. Writer and biohacker Frank Swain, who with degenerative
hearing, has secured commercial backing for a new type of implant that would
convert environmental data -- such as Wifi signals, into sounds that allow the
user to orientate themselves. A prototype will be unveiled this fall.
On a
larger scale, several hundred RFID tags are being shipped around the world to
backers of a successful crowd funding campaign. Amal Graafstra, an implant
enthusiast who received his first tag in 2005, launched the campaign through
his start-up Dangerous Things and claims it is the largest non-medical
implantation program yet.
"We're
the first to put near field communication (NFC) compliant implants on the
market like this", says Graafstra, adding that recent breakthroughs have
facilitated chips with greater memory and potential. "There are 880 bytes
of space, relative to 97 in the previous generation, so before you could keep a
name and phone number but now it has far greater capacity."
Graafstra
already uses his implants as universal passwords, unlocking physical and
electronic barriers. Similar technology is already widely used in contactless
card payment systems and clothing tags, and Motorola are developing an
RFID-activated 'password pill' that a user can swallow and access their devices
without the hassle of remembering them.
Graafstra
recommends the people buying his tags have the procedures professionally
implanted through vetted specialists, but includes a DIY guide for those who
insist on going it alone. "I mainly got into this to encourage safety
standards", says Graffstra. "When I first started people were using
the wrong equipment and having horrible accidents, this is a step to
standardizing procedures."
In the
US and across much of Europe, professional medics would be forbidden from implanting
the device, and there is widespread distrust of biohackers. "Anyone doing
this to themselves should stop", says Dr. Anthony Guiseppe-Elie, professor
of bioengineering at the University of South Carolina, and editor of
'Bioengineering' journal, stressing the medical principle to solve problems
rather than enhance healthy people.
Yet
Guiseppe-Elie accepts the biohackers could be drivers for public acceptance of
emerging technologies such as cochlear and retina implants, that have had
dramatic successes in improving the conditions of hearing and sight-impaired
people.
"Public
perception has been the main barrier -- implants make people
uncomfortable", says Guiseppe-Elie. "But we have seen that they can
have a huge impact." RFID implants are also of proven value with
Alzheimer's patients, he adds, and their use could be extended.
To
minimize the invasiveness, Guiseppe-Elie suggests two major considerations.
"They must be small, and easily powered, so that repeat operations are not
necessary." For the latter consideration, induction coils and biofuel
cells that use the body's energy are evolving solutions.
A
further direction, which his team is researching, are "electronic
tattoos" equipped with sensors that sit on the skin and can measure vital signs
without invasive surgery, and transmit them via wireless technology. The
tattoos have been a popular concept and are in commercial development, marketed
for versatility -- they can be applied on the body, as well as relatively
casual use -- they could be applied by patients themselves.
The
tattoos could also be applied to the head to read brainwaves, although the
distance would limit accuracy. Implants for the brain could tell more, but
represent the highest risk as well as reward. Should the body reject any
material it could kill the patient.
Yet
the Wellcome Trust in the UK has begun a trial with Alzheimer's patients
carrying a silicon chip on the brain itself, to predict dangerous episodes, and
able to stimulate weakened neurons. Military researchers Darpa are also
experimenting with a chip implant on humans to help control mental trauma
suffered by soldiers.
This
latter case challenges the medical principle against using implants to do more
than return to humans their natural faculties, as Darpa believe their chip
could eventually condition soldiers to battle-readiness through improvements
such as awareness, memory and mood. Whether it is industry or enthusiasts
pushing the limits, it seems 100% is no longer enough, as the add-ons become
available and increasingly powerful.
Source:
money.cnn.com
Key
trends from the world's biggest mobile technology show
========
(CNN)
-- Mobile World Congress spans the full spectrum of untethered gadgetry, from
the next generation of mobile phone networks to wireless charging technology.
Trend
1: Getting the whole world connected
Mark
Zuckerberg used his keynote address to wax lyrical about Internet.org, "a
global partnership dedicated to making internet access available to the
two-thirds of the world not yet connected."
By
striking deals with telecommunications companies in emerging markets,
Internet.org plans to get basic web services - weather reports, Wikipedia,
messaging and Facebook (naturally,) to people at no cost, in the hope that it
will inspire them to explore the rest of the web and reap the benefits that it
can provide. And there was plenty of hardware at MWC that should help along the
way.
Given
the deep relationship with Microsoft, many were surprised to see Nokia's mobile
division adopt Android for its new devices, but Android is a platform more
suited to the emerging markets at which these three devices are aimed. The X
series lacks superstar specifications but do feature dual SIM slots, expandable
memory and swappable cases, all of which Nokia's Windows Phone devices lack,
and all of which it says the developing world wants.
Mozilla's
Firefox OS might not be making huge waves in the developed world, but it could
be the platform that helps spread smartphone use through emerging markets.
The
company showed off a prototype of a $25 smartphone running Firefox OS, with
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, camera, and access to HTML5 apps, at a price similar to
budget feature phones.
Trend
2: Wellness and wearables
The
recent trend for the use of fitness trackers looks set to go into overdrive as
vendors add features that allow them to harvest even more data about how we go
about our daily lives. All for our own good, of course.
Samsung's
flagship Galaxy S range is second only to Apple's iPhone in the popularity
stakes, but it has been accused of peddling gimmicks in place of meaningful
innovations. This year's device majors on robustness, and its ability to get to
know you better than you know yourself.
It is
water resistant, and round the back is a heart rate sensor that in conjunction
with the S Health app can help build a more complete picture of your fitness.
Like the iPhone 5S, it'll also scan your fingertips via its home button to
provide an extra layer of security, and it can be used to seamlessly authorise
PayPal payments.
It is
also a powerhouse device with a 4K video-recording, 16 megapixel camera,
super-fast quad-core processor, next-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and a vast
5.1-inch 1080 pixel screen. Despite that, Samsung reckons its new Ultra Power
Saving mode can give 24 hours of standby from a 10% battery charge.
Sony's
take on the fitness band takes a few cues from smartwatches, providing
notifications via haptic feedback and allowing control over the music you're
playing on a connected Android device. However, it's the Lifelog companion app
thats the big news - it doesn't just track your activity, but it measures how
you sleep, where you've been (and how fast you went there), how much you
browse, play music, watch movies and game, and even more besides. Could be a
bit of a wake-up call (it'll do that too.)
Samsung
introduced three wearable devices, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches (the
latter minus a camera,) and the Gear Fit fitness band. Like the Galaxy S5
smartphone, all three came with the new ability to constantly monitor your
heart rate, making them far more useful as training aids.
Trend
3: Go big or go home
Smartphone
screens get bigger every year, but the new normal is now so big that the
"phablet" category seems obsolete. From now on, if your device
doesn't have a 5-inch screen (or bigger), you're out of date. And the trend
will only continue as companion devices such as smartwatches give us fewer
reasons to fish the whopping gadgets out of our pockets.
The LG
G Pro 2 has a 5.9-incn 1080-pixel screen, a 13 megapixel 4K video-recording
camera and huge power, making it an intriguing (and very, very big) gadget -
but its key innovation is how it reacts when you wrap your knuckles on it. A
custom combination of taps to lock and unlock the device, replacing Android's
standard PIN and Pattern unlock. Combinations with up to 8 taps can be created,
and there are 80,000 possible combinations of knock according to LG. Crucially,
it works when the screen is off - no need to seek out the power button.
Trend
4: The future
Tech
shows are always a good opportunity to find out what's on the horizon, and MWC
2014 didn't disappoint. The best technology demonstration at the show came
courtesy of Fujitsu. The prototype Sensory tablet has ultrasonic inducers on
its screen that allow it to vibrate at different frequencies, creating an
almost magical level of tactile feedback - it mimics different levels of
friction and even creates the illusion of raised surfaces. It works wonderfully,
and it should come to market in 2015. Imagine the difference it could make to
mobile gaming.
Blippar
is a British company that's been working on augmented reality technology in
smartphones for years, but using Google's smart eyewear, it can now provide
real-time recognition of objects and faces in the real world, and display
relevant data to the wearer in real time. This could give rise to an
"annotated world" - pass a landmark and immediately be furnished with
its history, look at a restaurant and immediately access relevant reviews. But
it could also allow rich media marketing to be pumped directly into your eye.
Like
the one before it, the second generation phone from Russian smartphone maker
Yota has two screens. At the front is the usual color LCD touchscreen, but at
the back is a secondary E-ink display (similar to that on an Amazon Kindle)
that only uses power when it refreshes.
Via an
app, you tell the secondary display what you want it to show you -- a book, a
Twitter feed, notifications -- and it sits there updating from time to time
without you needing to waste time and energy switching your phone back on. It's
ingenious, and this year, it's a good deal slicker than it was.
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