Hope for wireless implanted devices |
A team of Indian-origin engineers has introduced a new way of communication that allows devices to talk to smartphones and watches. Such devices include brain implants, contact lenses, credit cards and smaller wearable electronics.This new "interscatter communication" developed by a team from University of Washington in Seattle works by converting Bluetooth signals into Wi-Fi transmissions over the air. Using only reflections, an interscatter device such as a smart contact lens converts Bluetooth signals from a smartwatch, for example, into Wi-Fi transmissions that can be picked up by a smartphone. Wireless connectivity for implanted devices can transform how we manage chronic diseases, said co-author Vikram Iyer, electrical engineering doctoral student. For example, a contact lens could monitor a diabetics blood sugar level in tears and send notifications to the phone when the blood sugar level goes down.Due to their size and location within the body, these smart contact lenses are too constrained by power demands to send data using conventional wireless transmissions. The team demonstrated for the first time that these types of power-limited devices can "talk" to others using standard Wi-Fi communication.
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