Researchers are looking to use the human body as a tool to transmit digital data. Digital data can be successfully transmitted to the receiving point with a special wristband. New technology for transferring data through the human body has been developed by Purdue University engineers. This project will make it possible to make a payment by simply touching the machine with your finger instead of inserting a card or scanning a smartphone.

This kind of technology has been developed in the past, in which two people wearing a special bracelet can transfer data by touching their fingertips. In this system, even door locks could be opened by touching. Sensor experts Shreyas Sen and David Yang from Purdue University announced a similar technology. Again, the person wearing a special wearable device transmitted digital data to the receiving point through their body.

The new prototype developed by Purdue University engineers makes it possible to transmit information just by touching a surface, as it allows your body to act as a link between a card or smartphone and the reader or scanner. In this technology, low-power electromagnetic fields are used. This means that while digital data is kept securely in the body, it is transmitted only when the receiving point is contacted.

Making Your Body Online

The prototype is the first technology that can transfer any information with the direct touch of a fingertip. Yet, it doesn’t transfer money. A user can wear this prototype as a watch and use their own body to send information such as a photo or password when touching a sensor on a laptop.

The technology establishes an “internet” within the body to send information through smartphones, smartwatches, or any other wearable devices. These devices typically communicate using Bluetooth signals, which tend to radiate out from the body. But Sen’s technology keeps signals confined within the body by coupling them in a much lower part of the electromagnetic spectrum than typical Bluetooth communication: the so-called “Electro-Quasistatic range.” This mechanism enables the transfer of information by only touching a surface.

The information wouldn’t transfer through this technology without direct touch — even if your finger hovered just one centimeter above a surface. That could help protect private information like credit cards from potential hacking attempts by intercepting signals. Researchers state that in this transmission method, moves such as interception or shortcuts by attackers will not work, making it more secure than other transfer methods.

Therefore, it has great potential in many areas, such as mobile payments or digital identity verification at building entrances. However, a method needs to be developed so that digital identity stored in the body is not transmitted to unrelated receiving points, as transferring critical data to every contact point could cause serious problems. Researchers believe that once such obstacles are overcome, body-based data transmission technology will become highly effective. It is also expected to find widespread use when integrated into daily wearable devices such as smartwatches.