科技新聞:Forget wearable tech, embeddable implants are already here忘記耐磨高科技,嵌入植入物已經在這裡了

 

 

By Keiron Monks, for CNN

April 8, 2014 -- Updated 1629 GMT (0029 HKT) | Filed under: Innovations

We've found electronic throat tattoos, password pills and memory chips. Find out how "grinders" are already embracing our cyborg future...

HIDE CAPTION

Biohack yourself!

<<STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • A new generation of embeddable tech implants could soon change the way we live
  • Devices could repair damage to hearing and sight -- and enhance humans' natural abilities
  • Some pioneers have begun self-experimenting with basic devices
  • "Anyone doing this to themselves should stop", says professor of bioengineering

故事突出

  • 新一代嵌入式技術的植入物可能很快就會改變我們的生活方式
  • 設備可以修復損壞的聽覺和視覺 - 和增強人體的自然能力
  • 一些先驅者已經開始自行嘗試與基本設備
  • 任何人這樣做是為了自己應該停止說,生物工程教授
  •  

Editor's note: Make, Create, Innovate is a new science and technology series that tells the stories behind the inventions and technological breakthroughs that are reshaping our world.

(CNN) -- Smartphone mapping features are great for getting directions, until you lose signal. But you could avoid getting lost in the woods with a guiding system embedded in your body.

Electronic engineer and biohacker Brian McEvoy has designed the first internal compass, and will be the first test subject. The 'Southpaw' -- inspired by the North Paw bracelet - works by sealing a miniature compass inside a silicon coat, within a rounded Titanium shell, to be implanted under the skin. An ultra-thin whisker juts out, which is activated when the user faces north, to lightly brush an alert on the underside of the skin.

"For a disc shape, it would be best located near shoulder", says McEvoy, ahead of the procedure. "I don't foresee any safety issues". Materials and shape have been chosen for the body's tolerance of them, but the Minnesota biohacker is working with experts to minimize risk before going under the knife.

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Although McEvoy alone will take the implant, Southpaw has been a collaborative project, developed through the leading forum Biohack.me, that draws on the shared knowledge of citizen science labs around the world. For these dedicated blue-sky enthusiasts with stated goals that include eternal life and learning to fly, the paradigm for technology has gone beyond wearable, to implanted.

Magnets and microchips are standard for community members, often for aesthetic or novelty value. But the implants are growing in sophistication to offer practical applications, such as the 'Circadia' micro-computer developed by Biohack.me offshoot company Grindhouse Wetware, which CEO Tim Cannon embedded in his arm last year, and was able to collect and transmit temperature data via Bluetooth.

Another of the forum's stars, Rich Lee has pioneered the use of magnets. With one embedded in each ear he can listen to music through them, via a wire coil he wore around his neck, that converts sound into electromagnetic fields, creating the first 'internal headphones'.

But his experiments go far beyond sound. "It is a sixth sense", says Lee. "The implants allow me to detect different sensors, so I can 'hear' heat from a distance. I can detect magnetic fields and Wi-Fi signals, so much of the world that I had no awareness of."

There is a practical purpose to Lee's experiments, as he suffers deteriorating eyesight and hopes to improve his orientation through greater sensory awareness, and is learning to navigate through echolocation. But he sees his self-hacking as a voyage of discovery rather than a medical trial.

"It's almost erotic when you feel something totally unexpected when there was no sensation before. You want to enquire and learn more. This is an adventure for me."

Appropriately enough, a priority among Lee's 130 projects are 'adult industry' implants for erogenous zones to maximize pleasure, for which he anticipates major commercial interest. Another device for the nose would aim to control the body temperature, which could increase endurance and physical capacity.

Lee is convinced that improving implants equate to a better body and a better life, and puts no limit on what procedure he would undergo. "If better models come out every 18 months I would buy them. The way people are with cellphones, I feel the same way about implants."

Availability looks set to improve. Writer and biohacker Frank Swain, who with degenerative hearing, has secured commercial backing for a new type of implant that would convert environmental data -- such as Wifi signals, into sounds that allow the user to orientate themselves. A prototype will be unveiled this fall.

On a larger scale, several hundred RFID tags are being shipped around the world to backers of a successful crowd funding campaign. Amal Graafstra, an implant enthusiast who received his first tag in 2005, launched the campaign through his start-upDangerous Things and claims it is the largest non-medical implantation program yet.

It's almost erotic when you feel something totally unexpected when there was no sensation before.
Implant pioneer Rich Lee

"We're the first to put near field communication (NFC) compliant implants on the market like this", says Graafstra, adding that recent breakthroughs have facilitated chips with greater memory and potential. "There are 880 bytes of space, relative to 97 in the previous generation, so before you could keep a name and phone number but now it has far greater capacity."

Graafstra already uses his implants as universal passwords, unlocking physical and electronic barriers. Similar technology is already widely used in contactless card payment systems and clothing tags, and Motorola are developing an RFID-activated 'password pill' that a user can swallow and access their devices without the hassle of remembering them.

Graafstra recommends the people buying his tags have the procedures professionally implanted through vetted specialists, but includes a DIY guide for those who insist on going it alone. "I mainly got into this to encourage safety standards", says Graffstra. "When I first started people were using the wrong equipment and having horrible accidents, this is a step to standardizing procedures."

In the US and across much of Europe, professional medics would be forbidden from implanting the device, and there is widespread distrust of biohackers. "Anyone doing this to themselves should stop", says Dr. Anthony Guiseppe-Elie, professor of bioengineering at the University of South Carolina, and editor of 'Bioengineering' journal, stressing the medical principle to solve problems rather than enhance healthy people.

Yet Guiseppe-Elie accepts the biohackers could be drivers for public acceptance of emerging technologies such as cochlear and retina implants, that have had dramatic successes in improving the conditions of hearing and sight-impaired people.

 

Wave to unlock doors: Dangerous Things sells a password tag for implanting at home.

COURTESY DANGEROUS THINGS

 

"Public perception has been the main barrier -- implants make people uncomfortable", says Guiseppe-Elie. "But we have seen that they can have a huge impact." RFID implants are also of proven value with Alzheimer's patients, he adds, and their use could be extended.

To minimize the invasiveness, Guiseppe-Elie suggests two major considerations. "They must be small, and easily powered, so that repeat operations are not necessary." For the latter consideration, induction coils and biofuel cells that use the body's energy are evolving solutions.

Anyone doing this to themselves should stop.
Dr. Anthony Guiseppe-Elie, professor of bioengineering

A further direction, which his team is researching, are "electronic tattoos" equipped with sensors that sit on the skin and can measure vital signs without invasive surgery, and transmit them via wireless technology. The tattoos have been a popular concept and are in commercial development, marketed for versatility -- they can be applied on the body, as well as relatively casual use -- they could be applied by patients themselves.

The tattoos could also be applied to the head to read brainwaves, although the distance would limit accuracy. Implants for the brain could tell more, but represent the highest risk as well as reward. Should the body reject any material it could kill the patient.

Yet the Wellcome Trust in the UK has begun a trial with Alzheimer's patients carrying a silicon chip on the brain itself, to predict dangerous episodes, and able to stimulate weakened neurons. Military researchers Darpa are also experimenting with a chip implant on humans to help control mental trauma suffered by soldiers.

This latter case challenges the medical principle against using implants to do more than return to humans their natural faculties, as Darpa believe their chip could eventually condition soldiers to battle-readiness through improvements such as awareness, memory and mood. Whether it is industry or enthusiasts pushing the limits, it seems 100% is no longer enough, as the add-ons become available and increasingly powerful.

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編者按: 製作,創造,革新是一種新的科學和技術系列,告訴發明和技術突破,正在重塑我們的世界背後的故事。

CNN -智能手機映射功能是偉大的獲得方向,直到你失去信號。但你可避免迷失在樹林裡嵌入在你的身體一個導向系統。

電子工程師,biohacker布賴恩·麥克沃伊設計了第一個內部指南針和將首先測試對象。在左撇子 ' -靈感來自北爪手鐲 -工程通過密封矽外衣裡面的微型指南針,在一個圓形的鈦殼,皮膚下植入。一種超薄型晶須伸出,當用戶面對北,輕輕地刷警報在皮膚上的下側而被激活。

對於一個圓盤形狀,這將是最好靠近肩,麥克沃伊說,前面的過程。我不預見任何安全問題。材料和形狀已被選定為他們的身體的耐受性,但明尼蘇達州biohacker正在與專家之前,下刀去最大限度地降低風險。

當天真空清潔機器人節約

觸手可及的無線電力?

可以蛛絲幫你自我修復?

雖然麥克沃伊單獨將植入物,左撇子一直是一個合作項目,通過領先的論壇程序Biohack.me,即借鑒了世界各地的公民科學實驗室共享的知識。對於這些專門藍天愛好者既定目標,包括永生,學習飛行,該範式的技術已經超越耐磨,來植入。

磁鐵和微芯片是標準的社區成員,往往為了美觀或新奇價值。但植入物也越來越複雜,提供實際應用中,如Circadia“微型計算機由Biohack.me分支公司開發的刑房濕件,其CEO蒂姆·坎農嵌在他的手臂去年,並能夠收集和傳輸溫度通過藍牙的數據。

另一個論壇的明星,富李率先使用磁鐵。一個嵌入在每個耳朵,他可以通過他們聽音樂,通過一個線圈,他戴在他的脖子上,那聲音轉換成電磁場,創造了第一個內部耳機

但他的實驗遠遠超越聲音。這是一個第六感,李說。該植入物讓我發現不同的傳感器,這樣我就可以熱從遠處,我可以檢測磁場和Wi-Fi信號,這麼大的世界,我有沒有意識。

有實際的目的,李的實驗,因為他患有視力惡化,希望通過更大的感官認識,以提高他的方向,是學習瀏覽迴聲定位。但他認為他的自我黑客作為探索的旅程,而不是一個醫學試驗。

這幾乎是色情的,當你覺得事情完全出乎意料的時候以前沒有的感覺。您想查詢和了解更多,這是一個冒險的我。

恰如其分,李的130個項目中的優先事項是成人產業植入性敏感區,以最大限度的樂趣,為此,他預計主要的商業利益。另一種設備的鼻子的目標是控制體溫,這可能會增加耐力和體力的能力。

李相信,提高植入物等同於一個更好的身體和美好的生活,並把沒有限制什麼程序,他會接受。如果有更好的車型問世每18個月我就買了。人的方式是用手機,我覺得植入物一樣。

供貨情況似乎將有所改善。作家和biohacker弗蘭克·斯溫,誰與聽力退化,已獲得商業後盾的新型植入物,將轉換環境數據 - WiFi信號,轉換成聲音,允許用戶確定自己的方位。原型將亮相今年秋天。

在一個規模較大,幾百個RFID標籤被運往世界各地有成功的人群籌資運動的支持者。阿邁勒Graafstra,誰收到了他的第一個標籤在2005年植入愛好者,通過他的初創發起的運動危險的事情,並聲稱它是世界上最大的非醫療植入程序呢。

這幾乎是色情,當你覺得事情完全出乎意料的時候以前沒有的感覺。植入先鋒李豐富

我們是第一個把近場通信(NFC)標準的植入物在市場上像這樣,說Graafstra,並稱近期的突破,促進了芯片,更大的內存和潛力。880個字節的空間,相對於上一代97,所以,如果你能保持一個姓名和電話號碼,但現在它已遠遠更大的容量。

Graafstra已經使用了植入物作為通用的密碼,解鎖物理和電子屏障。類似的技術已經廣泛應用於非接觸式卡的支付系統和服裝標籤,和摩托羅拉正在開發一個RFID激活的密碼丸',用戶可以不用記住它們的麻煩吞下,並訪問他們的設備。

Graafstra建議人們買他的標籤有通過審核專家專業植入的程序,但包括為那些誰堅持單幹一個DIY指南。我主要是鑽進這個鼓勵安全標準Graffstra說。當我第一次開始被人們使用了錯誤的設備,並有可怕的事故,這是一個步驟,規範的程序。

在美國和整個歐洲大部分地區,專業醫務人員會從植入設備被禁止,並有biohackers的普遍不信任。任何人這樣做是為了自己應該停止,說博士安東尼朱塞佩 - 埃利,生物工程教授,在南卡羅來納大學,以及生物工程雜誌主編,強調醫療原則來解決問題,而不是增強健康人。

然而,朱塞佩 - 埃利接受biohackers可能是司機市民接受新興技術,如人工耳蝸和視網膜植入物,這樣已經在改善聽力和視力障礙的人的條件戲劇性的成功。

 

波開門:危險的東西賣了密碼標記植入在家裡。

禮貌危險的事情

 

公眾的認知一直是主要的障礙 - 植入讓人不舒服,說朱塞佩 - 埃利。但是,我們已經看到,他們可以有很大的影響。” RFID植入物被證明價值與阿爾茨海默氏症患者還,他補充道,其應用可以擴展。

為了盡量減少侵襲性,朱塞佩 - 埃利表明兩個主要的考慮因素。他們必須是小的,並且很容易提供動力,以便重複操作是沒有必要的。” 對於後者的考慮,使用身體的能量的感應線圈和生物燃料電池是不斷發展的解決方案。

任何人這樣做是為了自己應該停止。博士安東尼朱塞佩-埃利,生物工程教授

另一個方向,這對他的團隊正在研究,是電子紋身配備了坐在皮膚,可以測量生命體徵無創手術,並通過無線技術傳輸它們的傳感器。紋身是一個流行的概念,並在商業發展,市場上銷售的多功能性 - 他們可以在身上,以及相對隨意使用應用 - 他們可以通過患者自己可以應用。

紋身也可適用於頭部讀取腦波,雖然距離將限制準確性。植入大腦可以告訴更多,但代表了最高的風險和報酬。應身體拒絕任何物質也可能殺死病人。

然而,威康信託基金會在英國已開始與攜帶一個矽芯片上的大腦本身阿爾茨海默氏症患者的試驗,預測危險的情節,並能刺激減弱的神經元。軍方DARPA的研究人員也與對人體芯片植入試驗,以幫助控制精神創傷的士兵受到影響。

這後一種情況下,挑戰反對使用植入物做更多的醫療原則不是回到人類自然院系,作為DARPA的相信他們的芯片可以最終調節士兵經過改進,如認知,記憶和情緒,以戰鬥的準備。無論是行業還是發燒友挑戰極限,似乎100%不再是不夠的,因為加載項變為可用,並日益強大。

 

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