The world is changing. Very Fast. And it’s pretty hard to catch up.
And while we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the super-awesomeness of wearables and the different ways we can use them to enhance our lives .... a whole new dimension is here: The Arrival of Internables
Really Cool Wearables
From smartwatches, smart garments to fitness trackers, wearables have been dominating the tech space lately.
Initially thought as a passing fad, wearable tech is gradually becoming a trend that’s here to stay. A March 2016 report by Ericcson Consumer Lab has reported that wearables’ users are rapidly increasing. With many of the respondents looking forward to even better sophistication in the near future – say 2020.
In fact, it is posited that wearables will take over smartphones in usage and become the ultimate Personal device.
As humans, we are naturally wired to seek shortcuts -better ways of living better lives, cutting out time spent on chores and maximizing our productivity. And the power to augment our sensory abilities with powerful tech is too attractive to be ignored.
A really cool wearable I discovered is the Sgnl smart strap - a body conduction unit that seeks to replace tiny speakers used in calls. This is done by transmitting vibrations from the wrist through the hand.
To answer a call, we either use a wireless headset or bring up the phone towards the cheek. As depicted in the picture above, the smart strap seeks to form speakers on the fingers tips. This is done by transmitting vibrations through the hand. This vibration then becomes amplified sounds on touching the ear.
Compatible with most smartwatches, the smart strap developed by Innomdle Lab has successfully raised $464,329 on Kickstarter. An amount far more than the $50,000 goal with 31 days to go.
Another cool wearable released last month is the smart skin interface- DuoSkin - a product made by MIT in partnership with Microsoft. It allows temporary tattoos that change based on skin temperature and also interact with smartphones.
The extent of how cool this trend will be can only be imagined. Coupled with the rise of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) trend, the possibilities are endless.
Yet, despite the fact that the wearables market is still in the early phase with a lot of new users still having complaints on the current set of wearables available, we’re already witnessing the rise of a new trend - Internables
A 2016 Consumer Trend: Internables Are the New Cool
An Ericsson Consumer Insight Summary Report released in December 2015 fore casted 10 Hot Consumer Trends 2016. No 8 on the list is Internables – internal sensors that augment sense and capabilities.
A major reason why a lot of smartphone users don’t fancy wearables is the public awkwardness associated with wearing them. E.g Many people find it unfashionable to use Google glass.
What if we no longer need to wear body-monitoring tech devices? What happens if these augmenting devices are in the body?
The Sky is Gray. And TV is Black and White. The Man Who Listens To Color
Born color blind, Neil Harbisson was only able to see the gray side of life. Everything was gray to him and he only saw TV in black and white. Imagine a lifetime of seeing a gray, dull sky. :(
In 2013, after several years of lobbying and research, he finally succeeded in implanting eyeborg – a metallic device which includes an antenna implanted in his skull.
The eyeborg - a color sensor that detects the color frequency in front of him and sends it to a chip inserted at the back of his head. He then hears the color through the bone – bone conduction.
Now, Neil can perceive 360 human colors and even more colors (infrared and ultraviolet rays) that the human eye can not perceive. Making him one of the first human cyborgs on the earth surface.
He got so used to the device that he felt it was part of him.
You should really watch this TEDx talk he gave a couple of years ago.
Very interesting and funny. Here’s a quote: Before I use to dress in a way that looks good. Now, I dress in a way that sounds good.
The Earthquake Lady
Intrigued with the excitement from having a superpower, Moon Ribas implanted a tiny magnet in her arm. This magnet receives data from a custom iPhone app to give her a unique superpower – The ability to feel the movements of the earth (tremors and earthquakes) anywhere on earth in real time.
While many might consider this queer, Moon believes that the modification has helped her feel more connected to the earth and also to people affected by earthquakes.
Interestingly, together with Neil – the man with the eyeborg and a number of collaborators, they started a company that’s launching a mainstream implantable device – The North sense - that gives human beings the animal powers of truly sensing North.
Biohackers – Body Augmentation and The New SuperPowers
Surprisingly, the concept of gaining new superpowers isn't a new trend, a group of nerds called bio-hackers have been extending their sensory abilities for years now.
For example, in 2014, MIT researchers wondered how it would look and feel like to have two extra fingers. To try this, they armed Faye Wu, a graduate student with 2 robot fingers that gave her more functionalities e.g pick heavy objects easily.
The rise of the cyberpunk/grinders movement has also brought more attention to bio-hacking. Pioneers like Amal (the man in the TEDx video above) are implanting chips that help do simple things like unlocking office doors through RFID tags and a host of other cool body-sensor augmenting hacks.
THE Possibilities: Medical, Workplace etc
Beyond the geeky trend and cool superhuman powers grinders get from implanting small bio-safe devices in their bodies, experts think Internables might be the go to device in the future.
The possibilities are endless, especially in the Health and Fintech sector.
Implanted NFC chips can be used to secure our Online banking accounts. Without ever having the need to remember passwords.
Or a pill to be taken F1 race drivers that will measure their temperature
Or a bionic device that can help diabetes patients better monitor and regulate their blood sugar levels.
The opportunities are many! Maybe we’re eventually going to do away with the Pebbles and Fitbits of this world.
Imagine! What will happen when we stop developing apps for our phones and start developing cool apps for our bodies?
The Moral Question
“I modified my body, to modify my mind” – Moon Ribas
To a geek, augmenting one’s sensory abilities is a cool activity. However, not all people feel that way. Health regulatory bodies are trying to play safe. In fact, it took Harbisson 10 years to convince a Spanish bioethics board . And he failed.
Not until he found a young surgeon who shared his frontiersman spirit to do the surgery on the condition of anonymity.
Several people believe it's unnatural. A way of changing the natural process of nature. Will there be huge negative side-effects of these implants on human health? Time will tell as this can't be noticed until several months of research and testing.
In all, here’s a quote by Hackaday that I found to be a perfect closing statement.
Whatever your personal thoughts are on human augmentation, it’s undeniable that the technology already exists to make it a reality. Grinders are already doing it. The only questions are what they’ll come up with next, and whether you’re going to join them.
Here is a toast to a future where we all are cyborgs ;). Lol.
It’s been quite a while I wrote a post save for SteemMag. I write every now and then on topics – (AI, Economics, Psychology and all things tech) - that pique my curiosity. And I'm glad to be back.
Would love to hear from you. Are you comfortable with having an implant in you? and which superpower would you like to have? :)
Sources:
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/wearable-gadgets/
https://www.ericsson.com/thinkingahead/consumerlab/consumer-insights/wearable-technology-and-the-internet-of-things
http://newatlas.com/sgnl-smart-strap/45190/
https://wtvox.com/wearables/mit-temporary-tattoo/
https://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/2015/consumerlab/ericsson-consumerlab-10-hot-consumer-trends-2016-report.pdf
http://qz.com/716095/this-company-will-help-you-become-a-cyborg-one-implanted-sense-at-a-time/
http://qz.com/677218/this-woman-a-self-described-cyborg-can-sense-every-earthquake-in-real-time/
http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/07/robotic-glove-gives-you-extra-fingers-for-grabbing/
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/12/cyberpunk-yourself-body-modification-augmentation-and-grinders/
http://www.g2innovation.com.au/blog/future-trend-internables
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/12/cyberpunk-yourself-body-modification-augmentation-and-grinders/
Stretching a little the definition of cyborgs, we've been that for a while. Smartphones may not be implanted in our bodies, but are almost unremovable appendages of modern humans.
The wearables and internables you mention are mostly about hardware and sensors, but I feel there's a lot of power on the cloud, processing and storage wise.
People stopped memorizing phone numbers, schedules and facts and depend on their almost cyborg augmentation to look these things up on demand. Looking forward to see where that ends up as people get more and more connected.
Google is my memory augmentation.
Exactly what I mean. You don't need a chip in to your brain, we are cyborgs with external memory units. :-)
I think the strict definiton of cyborg is 'cybernetic organism' which means implants and augments rather than wearables..
By the definition included on this post I think it kinda fits.
And who goes by strict definitions when innovating? ;-)
LOL. I like this statement.. I wonder what will happen if Google goes down for a day...
What happens if you slip and fall down. Conk yourself on the head and can't remember anything? It's happened to the Hildebeast.
ha, Yahoo or Bing will happily take its place. But not really, this would probably happen but X720
Also here's there "technique" to make sure that never ever happens
Ha! True! With new almost otherworldly tech being released frequently, the future looks so exciting and scary at the same time.
Interesting article! For myself as a consumer, whatever is convenient for me is great. But I am not so sure about putting electronic stuff on me unless it is a heart valve. But oh well, maybe my great grand children do not mind and that is for the future
All of this will either be our salvation or our undoing, or perhaps both. I hope that we can decentralize to keep this data from being pooled in the hands of nefarious powers. but, I probably won't be giving up my smart phone any time soon. Great post! Thanks!
Wow! The future has innovative and groundbreaking technologies ready.
It fascinates but also frightens me to be a cyborg myself one day :D ...
I'm gonna chase the advancement of that big talking point, thanks for the article @infovore, have a great one everybody! ;-)
Thanks... Im glad you like it... It will be interesting to see how the societal rules will change when internables go mainstream.
I take caution to these new changes though. Because government has consistently shown that they are going to serve there self interest first (which is usually based on corrupt and immature decisions), then they are not trust worthy and this could be used as a tool to control the masses.
I'm not necessarily a full believer in every single thing in the bible (since it could and has been altered by man through out time) but to add to the suspicion, the similarities between this happening and the bible prophecy in revelation is eerily accurate.
Basically it is saying that each person will receive a mark on there right hand or forehead and that they will not be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark with either the name or the number (social security). Really not sure about all this, especially if the start mandating RFID chips in every newborn.
The Hindu Bindi?
I don't know of the hindu bindi. What about it?
It's a red mark on the forehead. It's been in use for thousands of years.
Mmm interesting, but I don't think that's what there talking about from the way they describe it.
Ooh.. I see.. Just to note that the forerunners of this movement are just the nerds who are excited about the geekiness of such powers... Ofcourse, as with anything cool, the govt always has a way of corrupting/ruining everything :(
forgot to mention, great a blog btw:) Agreed especially for the person who has never seen color. Very beautiful for him to finally experience it through hearing. As a hobby it is just all fun, really exciting and innovative.
What concerns me is when this starts getting implemented in the health care business. I cant speak for other countries but the U.S. health care industry is pretty much mostly corrupted and controlled.
A very wicked triangle between health care, Insurance and the pharmaceutical company has been made. Exactly, lol this is why we cant have nice things:p
Also on a side not, idk if you know what shadowrun is but its kinda like DnD. It take place in the future with a whole story line and pretty much every cyborg mod (called Cyberware mods) is available. but you can only get so much added to you because it starts taking away from you humanity:p
The government is in the business of saying "no" then selling you a permit to do what you originally could do anyway.
Wow. Really cool.. I never saw this video during my research. Thanka man.
One of the ways for humanity to prosper in and on the future is to be combined with technology . To be smarter,faster,fatigue free,to see better,to have more strength and so on. Exoskeleton are in fast stage of development ,new materials popping out everywhere ,humans are being combined with electronics ...
And it can be a fast way of ruining ourselves and our natural balance ;(
True that , but if we use that technology for people to prosper further instead of using this tings as military application it is going to be good . But today we see most of that is used for killing other people so we are on a path to destruction .
dubloon135There is a fine line I believe that we should not cross lest we become un-caring.
nah.
I agree.. I wrote a post several weeks ago if we're turning robotic? We can never know unless we try those tech out though ;)
Holy crap! Amazing post @infovore! One of your bests to date in my opinion.
Thanks for all the attention and research you put into it! I'm gonna read this again :)
Thanks so much... I've been searching for ideas for weeks and as soon as I read article about internables, I knew I wanted to dive down the rabbit hole... And it was so much fun to feel alive again...
I'm gad you enjoyed it mate
Haha nothing beats feeling alive :) And I did enjoy it. Great work!
I'm all for it.
There will be Luddites, there always is. If they don't want to get involved they don't have to . They can be Amish (non technological people, nothing against them) and I'll be happy for them. They can do what they want to and others of us can be Cyborgs.
I would Love to be a Cyborg. I want to be a Steve Austin (without the pain). Or better yet Iron Man.
I'm a SciFi author. Right now I have series of posts about this very thing. (kinda sorta) If you are interested come join the discussion.
Sure. That was why I found the hackaday quote to be a perfect closing statement..
Thats cool of you.. Will surely drop by.. I've found myself reading up a lot of AI-y stuffs lately. Thanks for dropping by mate
You're welcome. I'm looking forward to discussing things with you.
Now , this was a very trippy article! The future scares me a bit. I realize I'm too vintage and old school but fascinated what I just read
Great posts. Thank you.
Thanks. Im glad you like it.
Nice post. Keep it up. Forwarding future.
Great posts. Thank you.
Well don! I follow you :)
I enjoyed reading your post! Thanks for collecting the information and sharing it!
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A little worrisome - some things can't be replaced by technology. For example, No AI will ever know my favorite kind of cookie, @infovore. ;)
Maybe we can get AI with mindreading/hypnotism abilities. You just might never know ;)