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Man Implants Giant Computer Into His Arm Without Doctors
- p4bl0 13y agoI saw that a few days ago. It's disgusting. I couldn't even read the article because of the images.
- supergirl 13y agook, thanks for letting us know, author of most useless comment ever.
- DanBC 13y agoWarning people of gore isn't useless. Your comment, however...
- thenerdfiles 13y agoC'mon, everyone. Our [deepest felt] opinions just have to be valid, or else where will all that humanity go?
- benologist 13y agoI don't understand why the thing is roughly the size of a phone...
- jlebrech 13y agoyou weren't joking when you said GIANT. Couldn't he have made it the size of an ipod/fitbit or something.
- larrybolt 13y agoI'm only guessing, but I think the reason it's soo big is because they want it to be "DIY" and a bluetooth-module and wireless-recharging module cannot be made much smaller, not to forget that thing also needs to have a battery that can hold out long enough!
- sitharus 13y agoWireless charging, perhaps, but I have a bluetooth module with embedded CPU and GPIO pins that's not much larger than 2x2cm. I'm pretty sure the reason for the size is aesthetics, rather than requirement.
- infinitone 13y agoDoes the GPIO include analog? If so, can you link me :D
- sitharus 13y agohttp://www.ti.com/product/cc2540 http://www.ti.com/product/cc2540 12-bit ADC onboard. Also two serial (SPI/UART) and an AES module. Microcontrollers pack so much in these days.
- LionRoar 13y agoI am not put off by the DIY surgery or the size of the computer. But I was astonished by this line: 'the chip can record Cannon's body temperature and transfer it in real time via Bluetooth.' If I would attempt such a thing like this I would make sure it could do a lot more! Direct link to the article: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-diy-cyborg http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-diy-cyborg Spoiler: there are no pictures of the biohack surgery
- thenerdfiles 13y agoYeah, and upgrades... I'm quite sure an intuitive requirement of cyborgitzation involves the capacity to "expand" or viably upgrade added Enhancements. This looks like a grueling effort for a Terminal Enhancement. Does it really even need to be under the skin to accomplish its feature-set? I mean, if the margin of error is increased only slightly, stay above. The cost of going under the skin just does not seem worth it. This seems like a romantic thrust toward "looking" cyborg, regardless of the actual scope of the feature-set.
- larrybolt 13y agoI certainly agree with that, it seems the only two functions of the implant are measuring the temperature and making light up his arm a little bit. I am however curious to see how this project will advance, will he be able to use his arm like he did before, won't it affect his health in any way... how about heath generated by the device itself... But being honest about it, this is cool! I always imagined with the current technologies (think google glass, thalmic's myo, current smartphones) we will come very soon to a time where wearable computers will make our live much easier, the only bottleneck seems to be we haven't got batteries that could last longer than a day and power such a device.
- james4k 13y agoWell, that arm is going to basically be unusable.
- ByronT 13y agoOh, I hope he never falls on it.
- baby 13y agoYou'd be surprised how limited you are once you get a piercing. A simple piercing. I got one at the eyebrow, I loved it (and especially the ladies my age) but you have to restrain yourself a lot. You can't bump into someone, you cannot really sleep on your head, you have to take care when you're taking off your Tshirt, or when you're washing your face, drying your face, wearing glasses, and on and on.
- DanBC 13y agoBe interesting to see how he gets through a variety of different security scanning processes.
- prakster 13y agoDuuuude, do a Kickstarter campaign or something to cut that down to size!
- Ahnon 13y agoThe functionality doesn't seem to be greater than that of wearable sensors. It does get people's attention though and like good art, makes you think. Where's your threshold? What would it need to do before you'd be willing to take the risk? Are there better locations for the device? What about upgrades and recharging? Their way works but what's better? Definitely a useful exercise.
- Ellipsis753 13y agoIt can read his body temperature and send it via bluetooth. It also has 3 status leds. Now honestly, the question really is, why is this so large? You can easily get a temperature sensor and logger along with a small battery that would be the size of a coin in total. Since it has wireless connectivity he could just transmit status over that instead of using leds? It looks far, far too large for what it does...
- jdubs 13y agoNo one would be impressed if they couldn't see it.
- infinitone 13y agoI think it does more than just temperature, but has other biometrics. I'm assuming this based on the project on their site: http://www.grindhousewetware.com/Circadia.html http://www.grindhousewetware.com/Circadia.html
- DanBC 13y agoPart of the reason it's huge is that it's a body-modification. That's an aesthetic choice. It could be made smaller, but then people don't see it, and so what's the point of having it? With a huge lump under your arm people say "What's that huge lump?" and you can then talk about how you're a cyborg. In the UK getting someone else to help you is putting that person at risk of serious legal problems. Probably around the assault or grievous bodily harm. Gibson said something like 30 years ago (about implantable watches) "Why don't they just carry it around in a pocket?". I forget which book, and what the exact quote is, and I don't have them at this house to check. But if I want to know my temperature I'll use an infra-red thermometer in my ear.
- chasing 13y agoI feel like the actual medical community is almost certainly working on technology like this that will actually be: 1) Useful. 2) Safe. That'll be cool. As for what this guy's actually contributing... Not really sure. (Other projects on their site also kind of sound like bullshit. For example: "The idea is to stimulate your brain with direct current (in the case of tDCS) or with square waves of current (in the case of CES) which can either raise or lower the potential energy of the stimulated neurons, depending on the orientation of electrodes. This allows them to fire more or less easily, and activates or deactivates a given region, thus engaging certain brain states." -http://www.grindhousewetware.com/thinkingcap.html http://www.grindhousewetware.com/thinkingcap.html Sounds like either pseudo-science or wishful thinking to me.)
- Geee 13y agoNothing pseudo-science about tDCS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_direct-current_stimulation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_direct-current_sti...
- chasing 13y agoInteresting. Also: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/specialty_areas/brain_stimulation/tdcs.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/specialty_areas/br... At any rate, if these were researchers at Johns Hopkins, that'd be one thing. But I won't believe that this product does what they claim unless they do actual studies with it and post them on their site. But. I suspect they won't. Because I suspect they're using the Soylent scientific process: "We tried it on ourselves and it seems to work! And didn't kill us!"
- Geee 13y agotDCS devices are simple like that, just DC current in your brain. There has been a lot of discussion about them on HN: https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=tdcs&start=0 https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=tdcs&start=0
- acqq 13y ago
- mahyarm 13y agoWhy doesn't he just use a basis band or a bodymedia device? It measures temps & more and you don't have to risk an infection.
- failrate 13y agoSome body modification enthusiasts currently get significantly large silicon implants placed under the skin. The most common one appears to be synthetic horns, but large symbols in relief and larger abstract forms placed along muscles/against bone are also feasible. Note, when I say "feasible" I mean that no apparent reduction in function is caused by the implant. In this fellow's case, it might even be a good idea for him to encapsulate a wireless unit within a silicon sheath to avoid any kind contamination. That could increase the bulk of the unit considerably.
- xlayn 13y agoEven a nexus 4 in a complete sealed bag would be smaller and more functional.... included leds, lot of sensors, cell chips and others...
- TeeWEE 13y agoThis guy is crazy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R3hxcgvOTw#t=144 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R3hxcgvOTw#t=144 I think he is in it for the thrill. Not usable at all, much to big, better to just have a smartphone in your pocket. Or an arduino with sensors on your skin. Instead of implanting this.
- etrautmann 13y agoI'm not clear why this is a story. This is hardly interesting from a technology standpoint even as a proof of concept. I'm guessing it grabs peoples' attention based on the pain this person went through to perform surgery on himself, but this too doesn't strike me as a story.
- nivertech 13y agoI disappointed that device have no USB plug aka BioPort ;)
- aspensmonster 13y ago>It’s also huge, since it comes with a battery pack that charges wirelessly. This is one of the main problems with sub-dermal implants. You don't want anything trans-dermal, because it's a recipe for infection. But if it's sub-dermal, it not only needs to be biocompatible but also needs to wirelessly transmit data. This implies a need for a power source of some sort that won't overheat. I sincerely hope he's thought this through, because if that battery gets too hot, he's going to destroy a lot of tissue, to say nothing of how biocompatible the device is.
- Rhapso 13y agoAbout time. The fact this can be done with "relative" safety needs to be publicized. It wont get safer or smaller until people make statements that there is a demand for such technology. And as to all the people going on about how foolish it is, right now with the legal, financial, and social barriers, this is the only way it can be done. And even smarter to do it while we still have effective antibiotics.
- Osmium 13y agoHow completely and utterly ridiculous and reckless. I understand the thrill, but jeez... And good luck walking through an airport in future!
- anigbrowl 13y agoThis is the original article: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-diy-cyborg http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-diy-cyborg (which would have been better to submit than the Time magazine blogspam).
- Simon321 13y agoFor people complaining it's big, the guy on reddit's futurology subreddit who helped design it said it was just the first step, it will shrink in size and grow in features. http://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1ohqpl/this_is_the_very_first_prototype_of_something/ccs19fx http://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1ohqpl/this_is_t... He also said it's just temporary, for 3 months. http://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1ohqpl/this_is_the_very_first_prototype_of_something/ccs7pc6 http://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1ohqpl/this_is_t...
- sanoli 13y agoBeing that big and having a battery, I would have implanted a tiny mp3 player with a smallish speaker. Waay cooler (because to me he did it pretty much for the 'cool' factor).
- plywoodtrees 13y agoWow, at least round off the corners!
- bane 13y agoThe cyborgs I thought about as a kid were way cooler than this lameness. They talk about this like it's some history making implant that's never been done before, yet much more sophisticated implants for various ailments like ICDs are quite common. A 10 year old with a cochlear implant is way more impressive than this.