How Computer Clothing WorksThere's a major movement going on in the electronics and computer industries to develop wearable devices for what's being called the post-PC era. We are now at the dawn of that era, and some of these devices are already making their way to the consumer market. Despite the small size and portability of these devices, they are still noticeable and aren't always very aesthetically pleasing. The next phase of this post-PC era will be to integrate computers and other devices directly into our clothing, so that they are virtually invisible.

In the next few years, we might be filling our closets with smart shirts that can read our heart rate and breathing, and musical jackets with built in all-fabric keypads. Thin light-emitting diode (LED) monitors could even be integrated into this apparel to display text and images. Computerized clothes will be the next step in making computers and devices portable without having to strap electronics to our bodies or fill our pockets with a plethora of gadgets. These new digital clothes aren't necessarily designed to replace your PC, but they will be able to perform some of the same functions.

Computerized clothes are the ultimate in portable high-tech gadgetry. In this edition of How Stuff WILL Work, you will learn just what these clothes are made of, who is making them and what kind of products we might be wearing in the coming decade.

How Computer Clothing WorksWeaving the Digital Fabric

A micrograph of silk organza. You can see the copper foil that is wrapped around the horizontal threads.

Photo courtesy MIT Media Lab

As with all clothes, computerized apparel starts with the proper thread. Cotton, polyester or rayon don't have the needed properties to carry the electrical

current needed for digital clothing. However, metallic yarns aren't new to the clothing industry. We have seen these metallic fabrics worn to make fashion

statements for years. Researchers at MIT's Media Lab are using silk organza, a unique fabric that has been used to make clothes in India for at least a

century.

Silk organza is ideal for computerized clothing because it is made with two fibers that make it conducive to electricity. The first fiber is just an ordinary silk

thread, but running in the opposite direction of the fiber is silk thread that is wrapped in a thin copper foil. It's this copper foil that gives silk organza the

ability to conduct electricity. Copper is a very good conductor of electricity and some microprocessormanufacturers are beginning to use copper to speed

up microprocessors.

The metallic yarn is prepared just like cloth-core telephone wire, according to the MIT researchers. If you cut open a coiled telephone cable, there's

usually a conductor that is made out of a sheet of copper wrapped round a core of nylon or polyester threads. Because metallic yarn can withstand high

temperatures, the yarn can be sewn or embroidered using industrial machinery. This property makes it very promising for mass producing computerized

clothing.

Not only is silk organza a good electrical conductor, but it's fiber's are spaced with the right amount of space, so that the fibers can be individually

addressed. A strip of the fabric would basically function like a ribbon cable. Ribbon cables are used in computers to connect disk drives to controllers.

One problem with using silk organza would result if the circuits were to touch each other, therefore MIT scientists use an insulating material to coat or

support the fabric.

Once the fabric is cut into a desirable shape, other components need to be attached to the fabric, like resistors, capacitors and coils. These components

are sewn directly to the fabric. Additional components, such as LEDs, crystals, piezo transducers and other surface mount components, if needed, are

soldered directly onto the metallic yarn, which the developers say is an easy process. Other electronic devices, can be snapped into the fabric by using

some kind of gripper snaps, which pierce the yarn to create an electrical contact. These devices can then be easily removed in order to clean the fabric.

A circuit fabricated on silk organza fabric

Photo courtesy MIT Media Lab

At Georgia Tech, researchers have developed another kind of thread to make smart clothes. Their smart shirt, which we will look at in the next section, is

made of plastic optical fibers and other specialty fibers woven into the fabric. These optical and electrical conductive fibers will allow the shirt to wirelessly

communicate with other devices, transferring data from the sensors embedded in the shirt.

Tomorrow's E-Wardrobe

This keypad controls Levi's musical jacket and is made completely with fabric, even the wiring.

Photo courtesy MIT Media Lab

The development of digital yarn opens up the opportunity for an entire computerized clothing industry. In the next decade, we will likely see a wide range

of digital apparel enter the consumer market. Several companies are already exploring the possibility of putting us in designer computerized clothing,

including IBM, Levi,Philips, Nike and SensaTex. In Europe, Levi is already test marketing the musical jacket developed by the MIT Media Lab.

Levi's musical jacket is made with the silk organza and is controlled with an all-fabric capacitive keyboard. This keyboard has been mass-produced

using ordinary embroidery techniques and conductive thread. The keypad is flexible, durable and responsive to touch. A printed circuit is used to give

the keypad a sensing ability, so that the controls react when pressed. The keypad can sense touch due to the increase in capacitance of the electrode

when touched. The keypads are connected to a miniature MIDI synthesizer that plays music. Power could be supplied by a parasitic power source such

as solar power, wind, temperature or mechanical energy from turning wrists or walking. Further out, researchers are looking for fabrics capable of

generating power as they flex.

Another all-fabric keyboard being developed by the MIT Media Lab uses conductive and non-conductive material sewn together in arow- and column-

addressable structure. The final product looks like a quilt that's been pieced together in a square pattern. The quilted conductive columns are insulated

and form the conductive rows with soft, thick fabric, like felt or velvet. Holes in the insulating fabric allow the row and column conductors to make contact

when a user presses down on the keyboard. Shirts and other clothes using this keyboard can be thrown in the washing machine just like an ordinary

piece of clothing.

MIT Media Lab's all-fabric, switching-contact keyboard is washable.

Photo courtesy MIT Media Lab

While the musical jacket is an example of how computerized clothing could be used for entertainment, researchers at theGeorgia Institute of

Technology have developed a practical, medical purpose for this technology. The smart shirt can monitor both heart and breathing rates by using optical

and electric conductive fibers that are woven into the fabric of the shirt.

The smart shirt project at Georgia Tech was originally financed by the U.S. Navy, beginning in 1996. At that time, the shirt was being designed for

soldiers in combat, so that medical personnel could find the exact location of a bullet wound. To pinpoint the location of bullet penetration, a light signal is

continually sent from one end of the optical fiber to a receiver on the other end. This fiber is also connected to a personal status monitor worn on the hip.

If the light from the emitter does not reach the receiver inside the monitor, this signals that the soldier has been shot. The light signal then bounces back

to the point of penetration, which helps doctors find the exact location of the bullet wound.

An early prototype of the smart shirt developed at Georgia Tech

Photo courtesy SensaTex Inc.

Wearers of the device attach sensors to their body, pull the shirt on and attach sensor to the smart shirt. The shirt also tracks vital signs, such as heart

rate, body temperature and respiration rate. These measurements are monitored in two ways -- through the sensors integrated into the shirt and the

sensors on the wearer's body, both of which are connected to the monitor on the hip. Because of it's capability to monitor these vital signs, the shirt is

being marketed as a way to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Athletes may also be interested in it to track their body's performance

during training and competition.

Microchip implant (human)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For use in animals, see Microchip implant (animal).

The hand of microchip implant hobbyist Amal Graafstra, just after an operation to insert an RFID tag. The yellow coloration comes from iodine

used to disinfect the hand for surgery.

A human microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit device or RFID transponder encased in silicate glass and

implanted in the body of a human being. A subdermal implant typically contains a unique ID number that can be linked to

information contained in an external database, such as personal identification, medical history, medications, allergies, and

contact information.

Contents

  [hide] 

1   Hobbyists

2   Commercial implants

o 2.1   Medical records use

o 2.2   Building access and security

o 2.3   Possible future applications

3   Potential problems

o 3.1   Cancer

o 3.2   Other medical complications

o 3.3   Security risks

4   Societal and religious criticism

5   Legislation

6   See also

7   References

8   Further reading

9   External links

Hobbyists[edit]

The first reported experiment with an RFID implant was carried out in 1998 by the British scientist Kevin Warwick.[1] As a test,

his implant was used to open doors, switch on lights, and cause verbal output within a building. The implant has since been

held in the Science Museum (London).[citation needed]

Since that time, several additional hobbyists have placed RFID microchip implants into their hands or had them placed there

by others.

Amal Graafstra, author of the book "RFID Toys," asked doctors to place implants in his hands. A cosmetic surgeon used a

scalpel to place a microchip in his left hand, and his family doctor injected a chip into his right hand using a veterinary Avid

injector kit. Graafstra uses the implants to open his home and car doors and to log on to his computer.

Mikey Sklar had a chip implanted into his left hand and filmed the procedure. He has done a number of media[2] and personal

interviews[3] about his experience of being microchipped.

Commercial implants[edit]

In 2002, the VeriChip Corporation (known as the "PositiveID Corporation" since November 2009) received preliminary

approval from the United StatesFood and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its device in the U.S. within specific

guidelines. The device received FDA approval in 2004, and was marketed under the name VeriChip or VeriMed. In 2007, it

was revealed that nearly identical implants had caused cancer in hundreds of laboratory animals.[4] a revelation that had a

devastating impact on the company's stock price. Some time between May and July 2010, the Positive ID Corporation

discontinued marketing the implantable human microchip.[5]

In January 2012, the VeriTeQ Acquisition Corporation acquired the VeriChip implantable microchip and related technologies,

and Health Link personal health record from PositiveID Corporation. VeriTeQ is majority owned and led by Scott R.

Silverman, former Chairman and CEO of PositiveID and VeriChip Corporation. PositiveID has retained an ownership interest

in VeriTeQ.[6]

Medical records use[edit]

The PositiveID Corporation (previously known as The VeriChip Corporation; Applied Digital Solutions, Inc.; and The Digital

Angel Corporation) distributed the implantable chip known as the VeriChip or VeriMed until the product was discontinued in

the second quarter of 2010. The company had suggested that the implant could be used to retrieve medical information in

the event of an emergency, as follows: Each VeriChip implant contained a 16-digit ID number. This number was transmitted

when a hand-held VeriChip scanner is passed within a few inches of the implant. Participating hospitals and emergency

workers would enter this number into a secure page on the VeriChip Corporation's website to access medical information

that the patient had previously stored on file with the company.

According to some reports, in 2006 80 hospitals had agreed to own a VeriChip scanner provided by the company and 232

doctors had agreed to inject the devices into patients who requested them.[7] However, the VeriChip Corporation/Applied

Digital Solutions was sued by its shareholders for making "materially false and misleading statements" regarding hospital

acceptance figures. According to Glancy & Binkow, the law firm that filed the class action suit:

"...on May 9, 2002, defendants [the then Applied Digital Corporation] claimed that nearly every major hospital in the West

Palm Beach, Florida area would be equipped with VeriChip scanners, an indispensable component of the Company's

VeriChip technology. However, one day later on May 10, 2002, the truth was disclosed that no hospital had accepted a

scanner, an essential device for retrieving the VeriChip's information. Following the May 10, 2002, disclosure, the price of

Applied Digital stock again fell sharply, dropping nearly 30% in a single day."[8]

Building access and security[edit]

The VeriChip Corporation has marketed the implant as a way to restrict access to secure facilities such as power plants.

Microchip scanners would be installed at entrances so locks only work for persons whose chip numbers are entered into the

system. Two employees of CityWatcher, an Ohio video surveillance company, had RFID tags injected into their arms in

2007. The workers needed the implants to access the company's secure video tape room, as documented in USA Today.[9] The company closed, but there is no word on what happened to the employees or their implants.

A major drawback for such systems is the relative ease with which the 16-digit ID number contained in a chip implant can be

obtained and cloned using a hand-held device, a problem that has been demonstrated publicly by security

researcher Jonathan Westhues [10]  and documented in the May 2006 issue ofWired   magazine ,[11] among other places.

The Baja Beach Club, a nightclub in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, once used VeriChip implants for identifying VIP guests. [12]

Possible future applications[edit]

Theoretically, a GPS-enabled chip could one day make it possible for individuals to be physically located by latitude,

longitude, altitude, speed, and direction of movement. Such implantable GPS devices are not technically feasible at this time.

However, if widely deployed at some future point, implantable GPS devices could conceivably allow authorities to

locate missing persons and/or fugitives and those who fled from a crime scene. Critics contend, however, that the technology

could lead to political repression as governments could use implants to track and persecute human rights activists, labor

activists, civil dissidents, and political opponents; criminals and domestic abusers could use them to stalk and harass their

victims; slaveholders could use them to prevent captives from escaping; and child abusers could use them to locate and

abduct children.[citation needed]

Another suggested application for a tracking implant, discussed in 2008 by the legislature of Indonesia's Irian Jaya would be

to monitor the activities of persons infected with HIV, aimed at reducing their chances of infecting other people.[13][14] The

microchipping section was not, however, included into the final version of the provincial HIV/AIDS Handling bylaw passed by

the legislature in December 2008.[15] With current technology this would not be workable anyway, since there is no

implantable device on the market with GPS tracking capability.

Potential problems[edit]

Cancer[edit]

Veterinary and toxicology studies carried out from 1996 to 2006 found that lab mice and rats injected with microchips

sometimes developed cancerous tumors around the microchips (subcutaneous sarcomas). Data suggest that between 1%

and 10% of the implanted lab animals developed malignant cancers  originating in the tissue surrounding the microchips. Dr.

Cheryl London, a veterinarian oncologist at Ohio State University, noted: "It's much easier to cause cancer in mice than it is

in people. So it may be that what you're seeing in mice represents an exaggerated phenomenon of what may occur in

people." London suggested a 20-year study of chipped canines was needed "to see if you have a biological effect."

Specialists from several pre-eminent cancer institutions have supported such testing before microchips are implanted on a

large scale in humans.[16]

Other medical complications[edit]

According to the FDA, implantation of the VeriChip poses potential medical downsides.[17] Electrical hazards, MRI

incompatibility, adverse tissue reaction, and migration of the implanted transponder are just a few of the potential risks

associated with the Verichip ID implant device, according to an October 12, 2004 letter issued by the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA).[18]

A patient could be burned if the chip reacts to outside source of EMF radiation, such as a strong electrical field or a magnetic

resonance imager (MRI) machine. The strong magnets used in an MRI scanner could destroy the implant and cause serious

burns, internally and externally.[citation needed] According to the FDA's Primer on Medical Device Interactions with Magnetic

Resonance Imaging Systems, "electrical currents may be induced in conductive metal implants" that can cause "potentially

severe patient burns."

However, when the MythBusters TV show, in episode 18 of the 2005 season, Myth Evolution, tested a microchip implant in

an MRI machine, neither test subject showed any signs of pain or trauma. Since MRI machines come in various strengths, it

is possible that higher energy-emitting MRI machines may be more problematic. The model and make of the chip could

affect possible outcomes as well.

Security risks[edit]

Since nearly all implantable microchips are unencrypted, they are extremely vulnerable to being read by third-party

scanners. By scanning secretly, someone could steal the information on a chip and clone the signal, enabling that person to

impersonate a chipped individual. This could create security problems for building or computer access or potentially enable

criminal misuse of a medical account held by an unrelated person. Also, the chip could easily be removed from the person,

or the appendage containing the device could be removed.[7] The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) of

the American Medical Association published a report in 2007 alleging that RFID implanted chips may

compromise privacy because there is no assurance that the information contained in the chip can be properly protected.[19]

Societal and religious criticism[edit]

Microchip implant in humans have raised new ethical discussions by academic groups,[20] human rights organizations,

government departments and religious groups.

RFID tagging has been criticised by believers of Abrahamic religions. In Christianity, a few believe the implantation of chips

may be the fulfillment of theMark of the Beast, prophesied to be a requirement for buying and selling,[21] and a key element of

the Book of Revelation.[22][23] Islam also considers body modifications "haram", an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", because

they involve changing the body, a creation of God.[24] The health risks associated with implantable microchips described

above may also invoke Islamic prohibitions.[25]

Legislation[edit]

Following Wisconsin and North Dakota,[26] California issued Senate Bill 362 in 2007, which prohibits employers and others

from forcing anyone to have a RFID device implanted under their skin.[26]

On April 5, 2010, the Georgia Senate passed Senate Bill 235 that prohibits forced microchip implants in humans and that

would make it a misdemeanor for anyone to require them, including employers. The bill would allow voluntary microchip

implants, as long as they are performed by a physician and regulated by the Georgia Composite Medical Board. If the

General Assembly passes the new Senate version, Georgia would join California, North Dakota and Wisconsin in banning

mandatory microchip implant.[citation needed]

On February 10, 2010 Virginia's House of Delegates also passed a bill that forbids companies from forcing their employees

to be implanted with tracking devices.[27]

This is an illustration of the kind of microchip used in pets.

HowStuffWorks 2008

Micro capsule type robotUS 6719684 B2

RESUMEN

In a micro capsule type robot for examining the internal organs of a human body, by installing

stopping unit for stopping or delaying moving of a micro capsule type robot at a certain examination

position of the internal organs according to a stop control signal inputted from outside of a human

body, the micro capsule type robot can be fixed to a certain position of the internal organs of a

human body or its movement can be delayed in case of need in spite of peristalsis of the internal

organs in order to examine the certain position minutely, accordingly a lesion judgement rate can be

improved and a diagnosis function of the micro capsule type robot can be heightened.

DESCRIPCIÓN

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a micro capsule type robot, and in particular to a micro capsule type robot which is capable of stopping or delaying at a

certain portion of the internal organs of a human body in accordance with a stop control signal inputted from outside of the human body.

2. Description of the Prior Art

An endoscope is used for examining or treating a disease of the internal organs without performing surgeries. However, because the large intestine is

curved at a steep angle, in performing of an endoscopy in the large intestine a patient may feel much pain, accordingly it has not been welcomed by

patients In more detail, because the large intestine is curved steeply, in the large intestine endoscopy patient's pain and a lesion judgement are largely

influenced by experience and skill of a doctor.

Recently, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem of an endoscopy in the large intestine, a virtual colonoscopy or a gene examination method, etc.

have been developed. However, a doctor can not directly measure an affected part or perform a biopsy, etc. by the methods, they are regarded as

indirect methods. In addition, by developing a swallowable micro capsule type endoscope for transmitting certain image information of the internal organs

to outside, the small intestine which can not be examined by the conventional endoscope can be examined, accordingly a range of a medical examination

has been broadened.

In the above-mentioned micro capsule type endoscope, the small intestine can be examined by transmitting information received from a camera unit of

the micro capsule type endoscope to outside of a human body through a wireless transmission module.

However, because moving of the micro capsule type endoscope including the wireless camera unit only depends on natural peristalsis of the internal

organs, it is impossible to stop the micro capsule type endoscope at a certain position of the internal organs even a doctor wants to examine a specific

portion.

It means the micro capsule type endoscope for examining the internal organs has an image information transmission function, but it has not a stop

function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a micro capsule type robot which is

capable of stopping or delaying its movement at a certain examination position according to a stop signal inputted from outside.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in a micro capsule type robot having a camera for examining the internal organs of a human body, a

micro capsule type robot includes stopping means installed to a body of a micro capsule type robot for stopping or delaying moving of the micro capsule

type robot at a certain examination position according to a stop signal inputted from outside of a human body.

In addition, a micro capsule type robot includes a capsule type robot body, a camera unit installed to the capsule type robot body in order to observe the

internal organs of a human body, a lighting unit installed to the capsule type robot body and throwing a light on the internal organs so as to capture

images inside the internal organs by the camera unit, a transmitter-receiver installed to the capsule type robot body, transmitting image information of the

camera unit to the outside and receiving a control signal inputted from outside of a human body, stopping means installed to the capsule type robot body

for stopping or delaying the capsule type robot body at a certain position of the internal organs, a control unit installed to the capsule type robot body and

controlling operation of the camera unit, the lighting unit, the transmitter-receiver and the stopping means, and a power supply unit installed to the body

and supplying power to the camera unit, the lighting unit, the transmitter-receiver, the stopping means and the control unit.