Vitamin Gummies √ Calcium Supplements √ Password Pill? Hmm . . .

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Thanks to the Internet, we now do everything, ranging from shopping to banking and even watching movies, electronically - While this has made life a lot easier, it has also resulted in the creation of numerous password combinations that have to be kept track of. Now thanks to Regina Dugan, Senior Vice President of Advanced Technology and Projects at Motorola, there may be an unusual solution - A daily pill!

The researcher, who prior to joining Motorola was the first female director of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) said that she embarked on this innovative idea because she wanted to fix “the mechanical mismatch between humans and electronics”. And while it may sound like a futuristic dream, Dugan has already figured it all out and even has prototype that she debuted at Wall Street Journal's prestigious, All Things Digital Conference that took place in Ranchos Palos Verdes, California, at the end of May.

Working in partnership with a company called Proteus Digital Health that already has clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for an ingestible sensor, albeit for use as a medical device, she created a tiny pill that embeds a small chip with a switch. When swallowed, the acids in the stomach serve as electrolytes and help power the chip - This in turn, prompts the switch to turn on and off intermittently and send 18-bit ECG-like signals through the entire body. The result? the arms act like wires and fingers, like alligator clip electrical connectors.

Hence, as soon as the person that ingested the pill touches any of his/her personal electronic device or even car or house door, it automatically authenticates him/her and allows complete access - As Dugan succinctly puts it - They gain their first superpower! What is not clear however, is what would happen if someone else gets hold of the pill and decides to swallow it!

Little queasy about swallowing an electronic pill? Not a problem. Dugan may soon have another alternative - A temporary sticker tattoo that Motorola is developing with MC10, a company that specializes in 'stretchable circuits'. Simply stick it on your arm and you are ready to access anything your own.

Which one would you prefer? Taking a (hopefully) yummy password pill or slapping on an electrical circuit tattoo onto your arm? Be sure to let us know, by adding your comments below.

Sources: allthingsd.com

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132 Comments
  • karan69
    karan69about 10 years
    Cool!
    • SNTRADEMARKover 10 years
      im not logged in right now but thank you finally for posting it, to the person who posts the things to the website, you can post this one if you want but you dont have too, anyway if you can get to my profile and message me and let me know that you got this thanks (man/woman)SN
      • sntrademark
        sntrademarkover 10 years
        so to anyone who wondered who SNTRADEMARK is here u go but anyway, im in 8th grade and i feel that this may not be the best way to solve the problems for this, im not trying to be mean or anything but if you think about it... the kackers now a day can pretty much hask anything. so why would they create a pill that can be accesed through another device. and eventually what happens after a year or so if the pill still in your stomache, how does it come out if you want it too and how does it only know your passwords. think about this now, if someone next to you has a pill in them just like yours and you both go to unlock the car, then what would happen then. and the tatto, how does that know anything about it either. so to readers plecae postthis so that this way i get extra credit please
        • meadowlark12
          meadowlark12over 6 years
          That's also one more thing the government can hack into to track us down. by now they probably know what apps I like, what websites I frequently visit- they probably even know what I look like.
          • nikukyu
            nikukyuabout 9 years
            So true! We if made new machines or pills or whatever to do what we doon't want to, humans will become slobs. And of course I'll repost this!
          • SNtrademarkover 10 years
            definitely a pill because it is hard and not squishy like a gummySN
            • tothepasswordover 10 years
              yeah this is trademarkSN, using logic in my grade of8th grade, gummies are what they are in the name gum-mies and ,like i said before the pill also may have downsides to it like a foult by ACCIDENT. anyway i still wonder where my third comment went so think about this and say "toSN" at the top so i know u replied SN
              • the passwordover 10 years
                gummies, or a pill that works great
                • SNtrademarkover 10 years
                  the pill might as well be a good device for long distances like when you unlcok the car, and i dont know why but my laswt comments werent posted but whatvere, please post thisSN
                  • trademarkSNover 10 years
                    also there is an upside to this pill, it just needs to be a little bit better in the creating, and maybe a fire wall or something like the government. but make sure that it cant be hacked as easily SN
                    • i love cover 10 years
                      gummies!
                      • PIeTastyover 10 years
                        but it is also very smart... i think