NTT is launching a card which when you’re wearing it makes you communicate data by touching stuff.
It uses technology to turn the surface of the human body itself into a means of data transmission.
As data travels through the user’s clothing, handbag or shoes, anyone carrying a special card can unlock the door simply by touching the knob or standing on a particular spot without taking the card out.
“In everyday life, you’re always touching things. Even if you are standing, you are stepping on something,” research engineer Mitsuru Shinagawa told AFP.
“These simple touches can result in communication,” said Shinagawa, senior research engineer at the company’s NTT Microsystem Integration Laboratories.
He said future applications could include a walk-through ticket gate, a cabinet that opens only to authorised people and a television control that automatically chooses favourite programs.
The system also improves security. It ensures that only drivers can open their cars by touching the doors if the keys are in their pockets, not people around them.
NTT has already developed technology that allows swapping data as heavy as motion pictures through a handshake, although it has not been put into commercial use.
Now I have an idea that this might be RedTacton technology – That’s been hanging around since 2005 without me having seen any practical application of it…
Robin