scrapbook

Computerising the body: Microsoft wins patent to exploit network potential of skin

Call it the ultimate wireless network. From the ends of your fingers to the tips of your toes, the human body is a moving, throbbing collection of tubes and tunnels, filled with salty water and all capable of transmitting the lifeblood of the 21st century: information.

In what may seem a move too far to some, the computer software giant Microsoft has been granted exclusive rights to this ability of the body to act as a computer network. Two weeks ago the company was awarded US Patent 6,754,472, which bears the title: Method and apparatus for transmitting power and data using the human body.

Microsoft envisages using the human skin's conductive properties to link a host of electronic devices around the body, from pagers and personal data assistants (PDA) to mobile phones and microphones, although the company is uncharacteristically coy about exactly what it may have in mind.

In a statement it said: "Microsoft hasn't recently held discussions about this patent, and it does not currently map to any particular Microsoft product that is either shipping or in development. That said, one of the objectives of the intellectual property licensing policy Microsoft adopted in December 2003 is to provide other parties with access to the fruits of Microsoft's nearly $7bn annual investment in R&D - especially to innovations that do not end up manifesting as Microsoft products."

According to the patent, the technology could usher in a new class of portable and wearable electronic gizmos such as earrings that deliver sounds sent from a phone worn on the belt, and special spectacles with screens that flash up accompanying images and video footage.

Linking electronic devices raises other possibilities. Gadget lovers could use a single keypad to operate their phone, PDA and MP3 music player, or combine the output of their watch, pager and radio into a single speaker. At its most far-reaching, the technology could combine with chips and sensors fitted around our bodies and clothes to sense and react to the changing circumstances of our everyday lives.

Chris Baber, an expert in wearable computers at the University of Birmingham, said: "You could tailor your technology in the same way that you tailor your clothes. Because you put different clothes on for different occasions, if you didn't want to be contacted by work people while you're socialising then your casual jacket could tell your phone not to accept business calls. Equally you might not want your phone to give you text alerts about football while you're in an important business meeting."

The technology also raises the prospect of an array of sensors fitted around the body to monitor health. Earrings could read pulse rate and a bracelet monitor the composition of your sweat. Together with other medical information this would be sent via the skin to a central chip and, when you shook hands with your doctor, be instantly transmitted through your hand to theirs, and then onto their computer to update your records before you even sat down. According to the patent, a num ber of different devices could be powered from a single power source strapped to the skin. And, already dominant in the world of computers, Microsoft has now set its sights on the animal kingdom. "It will be apparent that the body may be that of a wide variety of living animals," the patent says.

Different technologies can already link various electronic devices to form a so-called personal area network (PAN), but Microsoft says sending signals through the skin avoids problems that plague existing techniques. Unlike radio signal networks such as Bluetooth, common on laptops, there should be no interference from other sources, and it should be more secure because nobody can eavesdrop.

The patent says the body could generate the power needed to run its various attached devices in a similar way to self-winding watches.

Most futuristically, it proposes that an area of skin could even act as a keypad: "The physical resistance offered by the human body can be used in implement ing a keypad or other input device. By varying the distance on the skin between the contacts corresponding to different keys, different signal values can be generated representing different inputs." In other words, you could type by tapping on your forearm.

Many experts in the field were surprised that Microsoft has been granted the patent, as IBM has already demonstrated that data can be transmitted through the human body, as well as between individuals. In 1996, the company unveiled a prototype PAN at the Comdex trade show that allowed two people to exchange busi ness card details to each other electronically with a handshake. A spokesman for IBM confirmed the company had filed several patents in the area, but said its research has since moved on.

Some civil liberties groups have expressed concern over Microsoft's move. "Body parts, in this case skin, should not be in any way patentable," said Jim Thomas of the ETC group, which monitors developments in technology. "There are big questions here about whether individuals will be able to refuse this technology if it is used in, for example, tracking devices."

[original text]

Posted by thinkum at July 6, 2004 08:22 PM