I had dreamed of something like this awhile ago, but I didn’t imagine it would be a reality so soon (assuming it’s even close to real). On one level, assuming it’s safe, it presents great potential for easy access to information (think web surfing on your arm) or a communication device (think never losing your cell phone again). On another, this crosses the line into bionics, merging the human body with machines. It’s a fuzzy line — we put all kinds of medical technology in our bodies — but typically it’s an artificial replacement for an existing body part, not an intrusion of a device that historically is used only through external sensory organs like a telephone.

This is body piercing of the future. But it’s more. It begs us to consider how far we’ll go for the sake of communication convenience. I’m not saying I won’t be tempted to try this like another gadget. But its a little more invasive than trying on a new cell phone or pair of pants. Perhaps one day our bodies will contain a subcutaneous layer from head to toe that means we’ll never have to wear clothes. We just dial it up day to day — even program it in advance based on your meeting schedule. Wouldn’t that save us all a lot of time in the morning?

Think about the possibilities — a built-in stopwatch and heart rate monitor for runners, a GPS locator for people in trouble or who have been kidnapped (and also potentially the first thing a kidnapper cuts out of his victim), a built-in time-sucker (imagine playing Bejeweled on your arm — they are endless).

But there is something even more intriguing about this. A device that runs on human blood. Our bodies waste tremendous amounts of energy. I’m not saying we should all turn ourselves into batteries, but this is a creative approach to alternative energy. This is the kind of thinking that will free us of fossil fuel consumption.

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Andy Swindler Categories: Gadget, Green, Technology