A recent research project done at Korea University in Seoul used the human arm as a communications conduit to transmit data. The experiment, in which two electrodes were placed on a subject’s skin, was able to record a data transfer speed of 10 megabits per second.
New Scientist elaborates on the experiment:
Researchers coated a metal electrode with a flexible silicon-rich polymer and made sure it was skin safe by asking volunteers to wear an electrode on their shoulder, or behind their ear for a week. The entire device is 300 micrometres thick – about the width of three human hairs – and withstood tests in which it was bent to a 90-degree angle 700,000 times.
The research team is now working with an electronics manufacturer to build health-monitoring networks using these new electrodes.
New Scientist: “Human arm transmits broadband”
[via Inhabitat]
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