John Glenn's Biometrics...

my inner geek (geek@ifeden.com)
Thu, 22 Oct 1998 18:27:40 +0800

John Glenn mentioned that his bio monitor is taken as a large pill.
>From there it monitors his heart rate, temperature, etc.

Does this pass through his system eventually?

A year or so ago the Alcor crowd was discussing "Lifelink" or some sort of biometer that would make sure the host arrived at the suspension facilities in fresh condition.

Perhaps we could create a new open standard for GPS-enhanced CDMA PCS cellphones that allows for a near-range telemetry link amd automatic contingency program that activates cell phone activity when certain biometric telemetry signals are received.

For example, if your heart stops and the cell phone is within 50 feet, the cell phone automatically dials a help number and transmits your GPS coordinates.

This would appeal, I'm sure, to a lot of Senior citizens.

We need an API that allows for a programming the phone (maybe a few K of ram for a Java app), and some basic near range telemetry functionality for communication with the implant.

As for whether or not the implant should be permanent, I suppose that can be up to the individual.

We could have surgical implants, like pacemakers, or use suppositories (see http://define.com/balls.htm).

We could embed MEMS security keys in these things, so that *your* phone was *your* passport, wallet, and Lifelink.

P.S...on the subject of MEMS, we could put these into our wall-mounted flat panel displays, along with a terabyte of RAM, a variable power radio with a fast DSP, and a GPS unit, and that TV could become a packet router too. Makes for a pretty wide pipe if everybody has one.