Purdue Engineers Design a Device That Transmits Data Through Human Touch
This prototype device allows users to send information through a fingertip touch, acting as a bridge between a smartphone and a scanner.
At Purdue University, engineers have designed a new prototype device that makes it possible to send information through human touch, allowing the human body to act as a conduit to send information from smartphones and credit cards to readers and scanners. While the device doesn’t transfer any money at this point, it is the first that can send any information via a fingertip. A recent paper released by the engineers describes how the BodyWire-HCI functions by establishing an ‘internet’ within the body, which smartphones, medical equipment, and other wearables can utilize to send information.
“These devices typically communicate using Bluetooth signals that tend to radiate out from the body. A hacker could intercept those signals from 30 feet away,” noted associate professor Shreyas Sen. The new technology could protect against hacking by keeping the signals confined to the human body in an ‘Electro-Quasistatic’ range that’s lower on the electromagnetic spectrum than other wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. For example, even hovering a finger a centimeter above a receiving device wouldn’t trigger an information transfer, as the finger needs to be in direct contact with the target device.
The researchers demonstrated the BodyWire-HCI in a lab setting using a volunteer to interact with two adjacent surfaces. Both surfaces were outfitted with an electrode to touch, a receiver to accept data from the volunteer’s finger, and an indicator light illuminating when data was received. When the user touched an electrode, the corresponding light turned on, while the adjacent surface did not illuminate, meaning no data had been leaked. The team believes their new technology could replace fey fobs or security cards that rely on Bluetooth to grant buildings access.
