Prototype: Intrabody communicationDate of completion: 06/2007
This prototype was created for the project "Secret under my skin". The purpose of this prototype is to explore the technology of intrabody communition
as described by T. G. Zimmerman. This technology is made possible by Zimmerman's idea that "electronic devices
on and near the human body can exchange digital information by capacitively coupling picoamp currents through the body" (quotation taken from here).
The prototype consists of a transmitter and a receiver each with a contact surface. When skin contact is made between the two surfaces the signal is transferred through the body.
The first prototype shows a transimtter and a receiver each tuned to transmit/receive at a specific frequency.
When the receiver detects the correct frequency it turns on an led. Once the fingers touch the two contact surfaces, a connection is made.
The second prototype goes a step further, this time the signal is modulated using pulse-width.
One microcontroller continously transmits a pwm signal containing a text message, while the receiver listens to the signal and displays the message when it has received it in its entirety.