Red Tacton

A New Era of Human Area Networking

K. Saranya, . Balyayogaa
Ph No: 9894478431, 9659436281
IIIrd Year, B.Tech (Information Technology)
Sasurie College of Engineering,Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
saranyaksasit38@gmail.com
balyayogasasit11@gmail.com

Abstract
The days of fiddling around with wires and
spending hours downloading songs to our iPod are
coming to an end. It has been discovered that the best
cables may be our arms and legs. According to NTT
Laboratories, our whole body is the perfect
conductor for electronic data, meaning that
information such as music and films could be
downloaded in seconds via our elbow. NTT, and the
team of scientists that invented the "Red Tacton"
system, envisage a future in which the human body
acts as a non-stop conduit for information.
RedTacton: An innovative Human Area Networking
technology that uses the surface of the human body
as a transmission path use the electric fields
generated by the human body as a medium for
transmitting the information. In this paper we mainly
focus on the underlying principle of this technology
that makes it completely distinct from wireless and
infrared. Our paper also briefs about the Red Tacton
transceiver and the experimental setup for intra body
communication. The paper also lime lights the
various functional features and its potential uses.
This Red Tacton which is a new era of ubiquitous
computing is under development and is getting all set
to hit the wireless world very soon.
1. Introduction
Today people can communicate anytime,
anywhere, and with anyone over a cellular phone
network. Moreover, the Internet lets people download
immense quantities of data from remotely located
servers to their home computers. Essentially, these
two technologies enable communications between
terminals located at a distance from each other.
Meanwhile, all kinds of electronic devices including
personal digital assistants (PDA’S), pocket video
games, and digital cameras are becoming smaller, so
people can carry around or even wear various
personal information and communication appliances
during their everyday activities. However, user-
friendly ubiquitous services involve more than just
networking between remotely located terminals.
Human society is entering an era of
ubiquitous computing, when networks are seamlessly
interconnected and information is always accessible
at our fingertips. The practical implementation of
ubiquitous services requires three levels of
connectivity: Wide Area Networks (WAN), typically
via the Internet, to remotely connect all types of
severs and terminals; Local Area Networks (LAN),
typically via Ethernet or WiFi connectivity among all
the information and communication appliances in
offices and homes; and Human Area Networks
(HAN) for connectivity to personal information,
media and communication appliances within the
much smaller sphere of ordinary daily activities-- the
last one meter.
NTT's RedTacton is a break-through
technology that, for the first time, enables reliable
high-speed HAN. RedTacton: The name we chose
for this technology is derived from “touch-act-on”
meaning “action triggered by touching” combined
with red, which in Japanese culture is an auspicious
color with connotations of warmth and love, to
convey the cordiality and warmth of interpersonal
communications
Fig1.Basic Principle of Operation

2. Red-Tacton Working Principle The operating principle of RedTacton is

RedTacton takes a different technical
approach. Instead of relying on electromagnetic
waves or light waves to carry data, RedTacton uses
weak electric fields on the surface of the body as a
transmission medium. Fig 1 illustrates the basic
principles of operation. A RedTacton transmitter
couples with extremely weak electric fields on the
surface of the body. The weak electric fields pass
through the body to a RedTacton receiver, where the
weak electric fields affects the optical properties of
an electro-optic crystal. The extent to which the
optical properties are changed is detected by laser
light which is then converted to an electrical signal
by a detector circuit.
illustrated in Fig. 3. The electric field induced toward
the body by the transmitter’s signal electrode is
represented by Ea. The system requires a ground
close to the transmitter signal electrode, so electric
field Eb induced from the body can follow a return
path to the transmitter ground. Moreover, since
people are usually standing on a floor or the ground,
electric field Ec escapes from the body to ground,
mainly from the feet. The electric field Es that
reaches the receiver is Es = Ea – (Eb + Ec). It couples
to the electro-optic crystal and changes the crystal’s
optical properties. This change is detected by laser
light and transformed into digital data by a detector
circuit.

Fig 2.Electric field in RedTacton

 signal from the electro optic sensor and converts it to
electrical signal.

Fig 3.Operating Principle Of RedTacton

3. Red Tacton Transceiver

Fig 4 shows a photograph of the RedTacton
transceiver connected to a PDA and a block diagram
of the RedTacton transceiver developed by NTT. The
transmitter consists of a transmitter circuit that
induces electric fields toward the body and a data
sense circuit, which distinguishes transmitting and
receiving modes by detecting both transmission and
reception data and outputs control signals
corresponding to the two modes to enable two-way
communication. We implemented a receive-first half-
duplex communication scheme that sends only after
checking to make sure that there is no data to receive
in order to avoid packet collisions between terminals Fig 4.RedTacton Transceiver

in compliance with the IEEE 802.3 protocol. The

receiver consists of an electro-optic sensor and a 4. Experimental Setup for Intrabody
detector circuit that amplifies the minute incoming Communication
 The experimental setup for intrabody RedTacton uses the minute electric field
communication assuming communication between emitted on the surface of the human body.
two electronic devices (PDA’S) is shown in Fig. 5. Technically, it is completely distinct from wireless
We prepared two sets of RedTacton transceivers, and infrared. The three major functional features of
each connected to a PDA. The subject held one RedTacton are highlighted below.
transmitting/receiving electrode in each hand. We 5.1. Touch
quantitatively measured the bit error rates of signals A communications path can be created with
sent through the body. The results showed that the a simple touch, automatically initiating the flow of
system had no significant practical problems at a data between a body-centric electronic device and a
transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s. Besides computer that is embedded in the environment. For
communication between two hands, we also example, two people equipped with RedTacton
demonstrated reliable communication between a foot devices could exchange data just by shaking hands. A
and finger and between other locations on the wide range of natural human actions -- grasping,
person’s body. We also verified that good sitting down, walking, or standing in a particular
communication was achieved not only when the place -- can be used to trigger RedTacton to start a
electrodes were in direct contact with the person’s networked process.
skin, but also when the signals passed through
clothing and shoes.

Fig 6.Touch

5.2. Broadband & Interactive

Using a RedTacton electro-optic sensor, two-way

communication is supported between any two points
Fig 5.Experimental Setup for Intrabody
on the body at a throughput of up to 10 Mbps.
Communication
Communication is not just confined to the surface of
the body, but can travel through the user's clothing to
5. Functional Features a RedTacton device in a pocket or through shoes to
communicate with a RedTacton device embedded in
the floor. Unlike wireless technologies, the environment of the propagating conductor, and by the
transmission speed does not deteriorate even in the thickness of the dielectric.)
presence of large crowds of people all
communicating at the same time in meeting rooms, Fig 8.Any Media
auditoriums or stores. Because the body surface is the
transmission path, increasing the number of 6. Potential Applications
connected users directly increases the available
number of individual communication channel.
6.1. One-to-One Services
With the ability to send attribute data from
personal information devices worn on the body to
computers embedded in the environment, one-to-one
services could be implemented that are tailored
to the individual needs of the user.

6.2.Intuitive Operation of Personal

Information Devices
Communication is triggered by totally natural
human actions and behavior, so there is no need to
insert smart cards, connect cables, tune frequencies,
or any of the other inconveniences usually associated
with today's electronic devices.
Fig 7. Broadband and Interactive
5.3. Any Media
6.3. Device Personalization
RedTacton can utilize a wide range of materials
Setup, registration, and configuration
as a transmission medium, as long as the material is
information for an individual user can all be uploaded
conductive and dielectric, which includes water and
to a device the instant the device is touched,
other liquids, various metals, certain plastics, glass,
eliminating the need for the device to be registered or
etc. Using ordinary structures such as tables and
configured in advance.
walls that are familiar and readily available, one
could easily construct a seamless communication
6.4. New Behavior Patterns
environment at very low cost using RedTacton. (Note
Tables, walls, floors and chairs can all act as
that constraints are imposed by the length and
conductors and dielectrics, turning furniture and other
architectural elements into a new class of
transmission medium. For example, a user could have
instant access to the Internet merely by placing a
laptop onto a conductive tabletop.

6.5. Security Applications
RedTacton could be installed on doors, cabinets
and other locations calling for secure access, such
that each secure access could be initiated and
authenticated with a simple touch. At the same time,
all the transaction details and relevant user attributes
(personal identity, security clearance, etc.) could be
logged by the security system.
7. Conclusion
RedTacton is an exciting new technology for
human area networking. Human society is entering an
era of ubiquitous computing, where everything is
networked. By making Human Area Networks
feasible, RedTacton will enable ubiquitous services
based on human-centered interactions and therefore
more intimate and easier for people to use. In contrast
to other wireless transmission methods, the
transmission speed in human networks does not fade
in the congested environments. This is attributed to
the fact that the body surface is the transmission
medium and the number of communication channels
automatically increases with the presence of more
people. Research is ongoing to embed these
transceivers in mobile phones and memory sticks.
These Human Area Networks will enable the
personalized information stored on the device worn
on the body to be transmitted to the computers
present in the neighborhood. The day is not far when
the laptop placed on a table will have an instant
access to the Internet. The emergence of Human Area
Networks on the networking scene will further
strengthen the human vision of an always on society
10. References
[1] Kamalesh Patel, “Basic Overview of Human Area
Networking Technology”.
[2] Jignesh Padhiyar,”Basic Overview of Human
Area Networking”, Published 21-06-08
[3] The Red Ferret Journal
[4].www.ieeexplore.iee.org
[5] www.scribd.com