The power of human touch might soon be used to transmit
data. Japan’s telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT)
is planning to launch a system that frees users from the trouble of
rummaging in their pockets or handbags for ID cards or keys, whenever
they want to enter rooms, unlock car doors, etc.
It uses technology to turn the surface of the human body into a means of data
transmission.
“In
everyday life, you’re always touching things,” said NTT’s research
engineer Mitsuru Shinagawa. “These simple touches can result in
communication.”
Future applications of the technology, dubbed
‘RedTacton’, could include a walk-through ticket gate, a cabinet that
opens only to authorised people and a television control that
automatically chooses favourite programmes.
How it works
The
RedTacton system comprises a super-sensitive sensor – which has to be
carried on the person – that uses the minute electric field emitted on
the surface of the human body to transmit data to a transceiver at a
maximum speed of 10 Mbps.
Technically, it is completely distinct from wireless and infrared.
A
transmission path is formed when a part of the human body comes in
contact with a RedTacton transceiver; thanks to the sensor-equipped
special card that the user is carrying.
The transmitter
induces a weak electric field on the surface of the body. The receiver
senses changes in this electric field, and converts the same to an
electrical signal.
Communication is possible using any body
surfaces, such as the hands, fingers, arms, feet, face, legs or torso.
The system works through shoes and clothing as well.
So, as
data travels through the user’s clothing, handbag or shoes, anyone
carrying a special card can unlock doors simply by touching the knob or
standing on a particular spot without taking the card out.
The
system also improves security. It ensures that only drivers can open
their cars by touching the doors if the keys are in their pockets, not
people around them.
NTT
employee Akiko Shimojima, holding the new RedTacton smart-card, touches
a printer to make prints (top right), and a knob to open a cabinet
while standing on a special mat (above), demonstrating the system’s
identification of data through her hands and feet
The company plans to start sales of the room-entry system in the coming months.
“There
is demand for hands-free entry as there are workplaces where you always
have your hands occupied. In some factories, it’s simply dangerous to
dangle something from your neck,” said NTT business creation official
Toshiaki Asahi.
Shinagawa said his technology’s ultimate aim was
to go beyond human-to-machine communications and focus on interaction
among humans.
“Eventually, doctors and nurses may be able to
record patients’ data, such as their pulse and temperature, just
through physical contact,” he said.
NTT has already developed
technology that allows swapping data as heavy as motion pictures
through a handshake, although it has not been commercialised.
“We started the research to develop a new concept of telecommunication through
touching,” Shinagawa said.
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