RED TACTON

Human Area Networking (HAN) is a technology that safely turns the surface of the human body into a data transmission path at speeds up to 10 Mbps between any two points on the body.

History of HAN

•         The concept of intra-body communication was first proposed by IBM in 1996.

•         This communication mechanism was later evaluated and reported by several research groups around the world.

All those reported technologies had two limitations. 

1.    The operating range through the body was limited to a few tens of centimeters.

2.    The top communication speed was only 40 bit/s!!

These limitations were overcome by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) located in Tokyo, Japan by using photonic electric field sensors and finally came up with a human area  networking technology called   ‘REDTACTON’.

Overview of RedTacton

·         RedTacton is a new Human Area Networking technology that turns the surface of the human body as a safe, high speed network transmission path.

·         Communication is possible using any body surfaces, such as the hands, fingers, arms, feet, face, legs or toes.

·         RedTacton works through shoes and clothing as well.

·         RedTacton uses the minute electric field emitted on the surface of the human body for data transmission.

NTT developed super sensitive Photonic electric field sensor for detecting minute electric field emitted on the surface of the human body.

The electro-optic sensor has three key features:

ü  It can measure electric fields from a device under test (DUT) without contacting it, which minimizes measurement disturbance.

ü  Ultra wide-band measurement is possible.

ü  It supports one-point contact measurement that is independent of the ground,                   

            which is the most significant feature in the present context.

NTT utilized this third feature to fabricate an intra-body communication receiver for its human area networking technology, which is called RedTacton.

                                              At the end of 2002 the Japanese telecommunications group NTT had announced that it would develop a new data transmission technology that uses the conductive properties of the human body to exchange information between electronic devices. With RedTacton the company has now scarcely two and a half years later presented its first prototype of a Human Area Network (HAN).

                                         Japanese company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) claims to have developed the first viable Human Area Network (HAN) device, enabling fast data transfer between devices using the human body as a conduit. NTT reckons this latest advance on the wireless Personal Area Network concept - dubbed RedTacton- can transmit data over the surface of the skin at up to 2Mbps. Where it differs, though, from previous offerings, is that a RedTacton-enabled device does not have to be in direct contact with the skin - only within about 20cm.

WHAT IS RED TACTON?

                                           Human society is entering an era of ubiquitous computing, where networks are seamlessly interconnected and information is always accessible at our fingertips. Red- Warmth, T-Touch, Acton-Action stands for RedTacton. Instead of relying on electromagnetic waves or light waves to carry data RedTacton uses weak electric fields on the surface of the body as a transmission medium.

                                                 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) is pursuing research and development of an innovative Human Area Networking technology called RedTacton that safely turns the surface of the human body into a data transmission path at speeds up to 10 Mbps between any two points on the body.

                                             Using a novel electro-optic sensor, NTT has already developed a small PCMCIA card-sized prototype RedTacton transceiver. RedTacton enables the first practical Human Area Network between body-centered electronic devices and PCs or other network devices embedded in the environment via a new generation of user interface based on totally natural human actions such as touching, holding, sitting, walking, or stepping on a particular spot.

                                            RedTacton can be used for intuitive operation of computer-based systems in daily life, temporary one-to-one private networks based on personal handshaking, device personalization, security, and a host of other applications based on new behavior patterns enabled by RedTacton. NTT is committed to moving RedTacton out of the laboratory and into commercial production as quickly as possible by organizing joint field trials with partners outside the company.

 HOW IT WORKS?

RedTacton utilizes a point to point network, known as a Pico-net  that allows information to be exchanged between two transceivers without the need for a server to store or process information RedTacton operates on the idea that optical properties of an electro-optic crystal can vary according to the changes of a person own electric field.  After contact with another RedTacton enabled device, the transmitter induces an electric field on the body.  Next, the transceiver on the device detects changes in the wearer’s electric field which was caused by the device.  The devices then communicate and send data by inducing fluctuations in the electric field of the human body.  Data is received using a photonic electric field sensor that combines an electro-optic crystal and a laser light to detect fluctuations in the minute electric field.               

                            Multiple transceivers can be used simultaneously. This is because RedTacton uses a proprietary CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) protocol that allows multiple accesses with the same medium from multiple nodes.

WHAT DOES IT NEED?

                                   Each device we wish to communicate with must be equipped with a RedTacton transceiver that is able to detect the messages programmed into our own device.  We are able to program our devices to exchange specific types of information by using a programmable transceiver that connects to any computer and allows users to customize their transmission settings through a graphical user interface.   Once transmitter, is programmed to recognize and exchange information with other devices we select, we will be able to communicate with them easily.

WHO DOES IT NEED?

                                            All bargaining power in the consumer market lies with the device manufacturers who would be our buyers.  Our suppliers are companies such as NTT that provide this technology to the device manufacturers.   Currently, we define a device as any handheld communication medium such as a cell phone or PDA.  However, as this technology evolves and its popularity spreads, a device could be any piece of technology that we wish to exchange information with.

                                           While device manufacturers may see the potential benefits of RedTacton technology, they will likely require a significant monetary fee to influence them to build this new technology into their devices.  The introduction of new technologies into existing devices often requires significant design changes that can be costly and time consuming. Unless the device manufacturer stands to benefit from the design change they may reject the new technology in favor of promoting and developing the old one.

RedTacton also needs a lot of research and development.  The government, military, or medical professionals might be ideally suited to help further develop the technology and find other uses for it. 

                                               Many areas can benefit from this technology RedTacton can be used for intuitive operation of computer-based systems in daily life, temporary one-to-one private networks based on personal handshaking, device personalization, security, and a host of other applications based on new behavior patterns enabled by RedTacton. Human society is entering an era of ubiquitous computing, where everything is networked. RedTacton is gearing up to compete with Bluetooth, Zigbee, IrDA (infrared data association), UWB (ultra wide band), and other wireless communication forms. 

                                             

                                                      So we can clearly say that, this technology will spawn revolutionary changes in the modern communications and become a pivot technology. When we compare RedTacton with other technologies, RedTacton will give a better performance over other. In this technology there is no problem of hackers as our body is itself a media. If RedTacton is introduced into cyber market it brings a marvelous & tremendous change and will be adopted by many more people.

                                                  So, in few years from now everything is going to fall under this super technology. And, finally I conclude, “   FUTURE BELONGS TO REDTACTON   ”