Technology and biology have always been close, and in the future their "encounter" will be closer than ever. A future made of sensors so small that they disappear under the skin, yet capable of perceiving, communicating. Transmit. A future of flesh and silicon in which the human body becomes a living network of information, a pulsating universe of data.
The salt of communication
Imagine a silicon sensor the size of a grain of salt. In fact, even smaller. So tiny that it can be implanted in the body or integrated into a wearable device without you even realizing it. Yet, this Lilliputian fragment of silicon contains within itself an extraordinary power: the ability to detect specific events and transmit that data in real time, wirelessly, via radio waves.
This is the promise of the new sensors developed by a team of researchers from Brown University in the USA. Sensors which, in their infinitesimal size, mimic the functioning of neurons in our brain. Because the secret of these devices lies precisely in this: the ability to imitate brain communication.
When silicon learns from the brain
“Our brain works very parsimoniously,” he explains Jihun Lee, postdoctoral researcher and first author of the study published in Nature Electronics (that I link to you here).
Neurons don't fire continuously. They compress the data and “fire” sporadically, so as to be very efficient. We are mimicking that structure in our wireless telecommunications approach.
Jihun Lee, Brown University
Just like neurons, these sensors do not transmit data continuously. They send only the relevant information, when needed, in the form of short bursts of electrical pulses. And they do it autonomously, independent of other sensors, without having to coordinate with a central receiver.
The result?
Significant energy savings and a more streamlined and efficient data flow. “By doing this, we would be able to save a lot of energy and avoid flooding our central receiver hub with less meaningful data,” Lee points out.
In short, these sensors don't waste precious resources on useless chatter, but get straight to the point, transmitting only what really matters. A communicative elegance which, in a world increasingly saturated with information, almost seems like a luxury.
Whispers under the skin, revolutions on the horizon
The potential of these silicon sensors goes far beyond mere energy efficiency. Their ability to integrate perfectly with the human body opens up scenarios that until yesterday seemed pure science fiction. Imagine having a network of sensors under your skin that monitor your vital parameters in real time, that detect anomalies or imperceptible changes, that communicate with your medical devices or your smartphone.
Is that a bad prospect for the plants? What if a network of silicon sensors became so small that it could be sprayed, even before it was implanted. On the body, on an object, on a surface. Or again, think about wearable devices that, thanks to these sensors, become natural extensions of your body. Which perceive your movements, your emotions, your needs, and offer you an increasingly intuitive and personalized interaction experience with technology.
These are just some of the possible scenarios that these tiny sensors could reveal. Scenarios in which the barrier between biological and artificial becomes increasingly thinner, until it almost disappears. In which technology is no longer something external and alien, but becomes an integral part of ourselves.
Silicon, the future is increasingly present
We are only ever at the beginning of this revolution. Brown University's silicon sensors are yet another first step towards a path we know well.
A road that leads towards a tomorrow in which technology will no longer be just a tool, but an integral part of who we are: human. Because what is more human than learning, adapting, evolving? What is more human than embracing change, challenging limits, exploring new frontiers?
