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Bones Could Become Conduits For Data Swaps

Posted by Zonk on from the shin-bone-connects-to-the-rj-45-jack dept.

Billosaur writes "New Scientist Tech has an intriguing article about researchers at Rice University in Houston, TX who are looking at ways to use the human skeleton to transmit data. The idea is to use bones to conduct sound waves, with 0's and 1's being represented by different frequencies. Preliminary results, shared with a conference on body networks in Florence, Italy, this week, show that bones can conduct even low-power vibrations with few errors. The idea is that the conduction of sound along bone would be more secure than that via radio waves, leading to the possibility of swapping data with someone by shaking their hand."

5 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. I can see this really taking off by grahamsz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    An implanted vibrator that would allow me to securely send data from my phone to someone elses phone. Really, how often does bluetooth actually fail to beam a business card?

    Also I'd expect that the vibrations would exit through your feet and allow for snooping from ground based devices.

    I can see the potential in the medical device field.

    1. Re:I can see this really taking off by grahamsz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Cross talk would be a killer if you tried to put a DC in a graveyard using low frequency FSK signalling.

      Bass frequencies tend to travel through anything dense.

  2. Funny... by Fx.Dr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The vast majority of people I meet can barely transmit their own data through their brains.

  3. Re:Who funded this? by Otter · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I need to find out who funded this research. With the chance for practical usage ever at about 0.001%, it's clear that someone just has money to piss away if this is the research they're doing.

    As is frequently the case here (think yesterday's story about the judge supposedly demanding that RAM be turned over), if you read a blurb here and think "If true, that person must be really stupid!", it's worth R'ingTFA.

    As usual, the submitter completely missed the point of the link.

    --
    What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
  4. Re:What would the interchange be called by ls+-la · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Logically we'd have to say "Let me bone you my business card", and i'm not sure i like that. Just depends who the recipient is.