Automotive Applications Seen For NTT Prototype Of Human Body As Digital Transmission Path

Tokyo Feb 22, 2005; Aki Tsukioka writing for JCNN reported that NTT has developed an innovative human area networking technology called RedTacton (red implies a warm color; tacton is coined with "touch" and "action") that turns the surface of a human body into a data transmission path. RedTacton uses weak electric fields on the surface of the body as a transmission medium to enable data speeds of up to 10Mbps between any two points on the body.

The company has prototyped a small PCMCIA card-sized RedTacton transceiver that uses a novel electro-optic sensor, which bounces a laser beam off of an electro-optic crystal and measures the reflected beam. The card transceiver induces extremely weak electric fields on the body surface, which pass through the body to the receiver and causes changes in the optical properties of an electro-optic crystal. The extent to which the changes are made is detected by laser light, which is then converted to an electrical signal by a detector circuit.

RedTacton is characterized by three functional features: A communications path can be created with a simple touch, automatically initiating the flow of data between a body-centric electronic device and a computer that is embedded in the environment; the electro-optic sensor enables two-way communications at up to 10Mbps between any two points on the body; RedTacton can use a wide range of materials as a transmission medium, as long as it is conductive and dielectric, which includes water and other liquids, various metals, certain plastics, and glass.

NTT mentions possible applications including personalized one-to-one services, the intuitive operation of personal information devices, user-registration-free device personalization, and security applications.