Micro Electro Mechanical Systems
Synopsis
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and 'neural dust' — DARPA and UC Berkeley's millimeter-scale sensors: Berkeley Smart Dust (2001), dust-sized in-body sensors (2016), and Hitachi's honey-bee-sized RFID chips.
Overview
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) — also called nano-machines — combine micro-scale mechanical structures with electronics on a single substrate. Building on this work, DARPA and UC Berkeley developed what became known as neural dust: sensors small enough to rest on a single nerve or muscle fiber.
Berkeley & DARPA, 2001 — autonomous sensing in a cubic millimeter
UC Berkeley completed its initial Smart Dust project in 2001, demonstrating autonomous sensing and communication within a single cubic millimeter.
- Principal investigator: Kris Pister
- Co-investigators: Joe Kahn, Bernhard Boser
- Subcontract: Steve Morris, MLB Co.
- Support: DARPA/MTO MEMS program
Berkeley & DARPA, 2016 — dust-sized in-body sensors
Berkeley engineers created the first dust-sized sensor that can be implanted in the human body. The device, about the size of a large grain of sand, uses ultrasound — which can penetrate nearly anywhere in the body — to power and read out measurements. The sensor contains a piezoelectric crystal that converts ultrasound vibrations from outside the body into electricity to power a tiny, on-board transistor that is in contact with a nerve or muscle fiber. The sensor could monitor internal nerves, muscles, or organs in real time, as well as stimulate nerves and muscles — possibly leading to new treatments for epilepsy, immune-system disorders, or inflammation. The technology may also lead to improved brain–machine interfaces and better brain control of prosthetics.
Electrical engineering and computer sciences professors Michel Maharbiz and Jose Carmena are the study's main authors; graduate students Dongjin Seo, Ryan Neely, and Konlin Shen, undergraduate Utkarsh Singhal, and professors Elad Alon and Jan Rabaey co-authored the study.
Funded by the DARPA/MTO MEMS program. Further reading: Neural Dust — Berkeley Engineering.
Hitachi RFID
The tag is an ultra-small UHF tag with a built-in antenna, high durability, and high productivity, and is readable directly by a standard UHF reader with high reliability in harsh environments. Its read range is easily extended with a booster antenna, so the tag serves not only as a tag itself but also as a material for other kinds of tags — near-metal, in-molding, heavy-industry, and more. At 2.5 mm square, the tag is small enough to sit on a honey bee, and each customer can design a suitable tag for their own application.
Julian Assange on "evil intelligent dust"
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