ETRI's Body Area Network prototype: prints through your body

Besides working on non-exploding batteries and Flexible OLEDs, Korea's ETRI is hard at work on the underlying technology of their Body Area Network (BAN). Yes, that would be the human body area network, like the Bluetooth PAN only much more personal. Really though, it's just another variation of Microsoft's (and someday even Sony's) patented technology which uses the human body as the electrical conduit between devices. So assuming you wanted to print a document from ETRI's prototype wearable above, you just start the job on the device, touch the Touch-And-Play (TAP) enabled printer and voila, out pops your hard copy. Sweet... and creepy, but still pretty sweet. Assuming of course, that ETRI has met their data transfer goals of 1MB/s by now -- otherwise, you'll look pretty silly poking the printer as you strain under the weight of that modest 2.4Kbps data rate achieved last year. Just remember, never confuse the work of Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute with the that of the Korea's Advanced Institute of Science and Technology -- no one likes a splitter. Now kick back, grab a sack of wolf nipple chips and check the pics after the break.

[scabby @ Nov 20th 2006 10:31AM]

I'm scared enough of cell phones...

Either this tech is great because it reduces the power requirements for "wireless" transmission of data, or it's horrible and will fry your mitochondrial DNA. Hope they have a fairly robust and long-term product safety testing.

[Christian Martin @ Nov 20th 2006 11:13AM]

BAN? Is it a deodorant?

"Keeps you dry through the most intensive defrags!"

[kris.honeycutt@ @ Nov 20th 2006 11:33AM]

I'll give you points for fitting in a "Life of Brian" quote...
They show up when you least expect them.

[hypoxide @ Nov 20th 2006 11:40AM]

It's a shame that Microsoft has now patented the human body.

Hurry and patent all other conductive mediums before Microsoft gets there.

[Paul @ Nov 20th 2006 12:38PM]

It sounds like a really interesting idea, but I to wonder about some sub-cellular damage from sending an electrical current throughout the body... It seems to me that it could interfere with some of the bodies natural electrical signals in some minute way that over time could lead to damage, but then again I am no doctor.

[way2trivial @ Nov 20th 2006 1:32PM]

http://www.research.ibm.com/topics/popups/smart/mobile/html/pan.html

Same thing- from IBM and 1997!!! baby.....

[-Tj- @ Nov 20th 2006 8:16PM]

Perhaps I'm just a little confused at the interface of this idea (TAP), but wouldn't it just be simpler to touch the device to the printer..? Seems people are just running out of ideas to patent these days.

[rockintom99 @ Nov 22nd 2006 12:16PM]

Awesome, so it would be like the keycards in MetalGear Solid?

[tahid @ Aug 16th 2008 1:20AM]

It changes oour lives. The world is so close and easy to monitor to us.