University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Department of Computer Science
Radical Design Course
Homework 2
Professor George Grinstein
By: Soha Bahanshal
Sound from the Inside: The Cell Phone Implant
As crazy as it may sound to some, cell phone implants have been the topic of
technological research discussions for a long time. In fact, research began in the first part of 2000
resulting in mass media attention and many hyped rumors indicating the implant’s availability.
The fact is that the implant, at the time of the mass coverage, was merely a proposed idea of a
future technology. The concept is real and quite possible, but not in the way that headlines lure
readers into believing.
The audio tooth implant designed by James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau is not a commercially
available product, yet it deserves attention because it pushes our thinking about the range of
possibilities in a world where technology is getting smaller and smaller and human-machine
interfaces are becoming increasingly possible. The basic concept of the audio tooth implant is
that a consumer would visit the dentist to implant in their molar a device consisting of three tiny
parts:
A low frequency receiver (150kHz).
A piezo electric micro vibration device.
An electro magnetic micro generator. (Auger Loizeau)
A wireless receiver can be implanted into your tooth with the aid basic dental surgery.
The implant can allow a person to receive digital signals from radios and mobile phones,
from the privacy of their own head.
Figure 1 Source: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/06/53302
The design for the implant was made public in 2002 after designers at the Royal
College of Art in London revealed plans for the world’s first cell-phone implant (Wilson,
2002, para 1). The design of the implant is that of a small chip that houses a receiver to
pick up mobile signals and a transducer to translate them into vibrations (para 1).
According to Wilson’s article, How Cell-phone Implants Work (2002), the device is
implanted in a person’s molar. The transducer causes the tooth to “vibrate in response to
radio signals” (para 2). Because of the structure of the jaw and the sensory nerves in the
human head, the vibration is carried to the inner ear “where the user, and no one else,
could perceive them as sound” (para 2).Making the device ideal for spies, for lovers, and
for people who want to listen to the baseball game at work.
The jawbone can transmit vibrations from the tooth to the ear.
Figure 2 Source: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-implant.htm
In a sense the “product” in this case is the concept rather than the actual device. This is
halfway between art and technology. In a demonstration, Auger and Loizeau could not create the
actual product, they created a vibrating wand that users could hold up to their jaw to simulate
what the tooth implant would do (para 2).
The people who tried it confirmed that they could hear crystal voices perfectly clearly
through their teeth (para 2). The device, however, is not an actual phone; instead, it serves more
as a Bluetooth-type device.
Looking closer at the mechanics of the proposed implant, the designers illustrate the
complexities of the traditional cell phone. The bulk of the cell phone is the circuit board,
components and the battery. The screen and keypad comprise the rest of the phone, which must
be removed to continue the process of designing the implant device. It is for this reason, Wilson
affirms, that the implant uses the body instead of the typical user interface (2002). “A six-axis
piezoelectric accelerometer is attached to the angle of the mandible, or the jawbone, and detects
when the jaw opens and closes or moves from side to side (Wilson, 2002). The accelerometer
can also detect head movements using crystals that change shape when the head moves. These
crystals create electrical pulses in “a flexible circuit and conductive ink carry the accelerometer’s
electrical impulses to the implant’s microprocessor located on the back of the ear” (2002). This
is a type of processor made of a flexible thin-film transistor. It is custom-fitted to lay “precisely
along the cartilage in the back of the ear” (2002).
The modules of a cell-phone implant are inserted under the skin and in the jaw.
Figure3 Source: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-implant1.htm
In much the same way as the computer processor works, this element uses predesigned
database stored on a nearby ROM chip to match movements with the cell phone’s commands
(2002). When a gesture is made, the processor finds the corresponding electrical impulse in the
database and holds the information in a memory buffer until all gestures are complete. The
implanted transmitter sends data using radio waves in the same way the traditional cell phone
sends signals.
When the individual receives the implant, instruction on the series of head and jaw
movements or gestures is provided to train the user on how to control the phone. This process is
similar to that of the talk-to-type program functions. Wilson explains this process as being
similar to stylus shorthand used with older PDAs (Wilson, 2002). To control the implant’s ability
to work, the user touches a small on/off switch that is “located on the mastoid process, a bony
protrusion on the skull just behind and below the ear” (2002). The switch lets the implant know
when to receive signals and “prevents it from mistaking ordinary conversation or movement for
gestures” (2002). The implant can be completely shut off by holding the switch down for three
seconds. Again, this process is similar to that of the talk-to-type programs that train the software
to recognize the user’s voice and shuts down on voice command versus the movement signals of
the cell phone implant. At the time of Wilson’s article, the implant design was merely a concept.
After reviewing the article and conducting additional research, information obtained indicates
nothing new concerning the actuality of the designers’ plans for a real model.
In conclusion, with your jawbone playing antenna and your head the receiver set, your
newly enhanced teeth could allow you to hear the alarm clock without waking your partner, tune
into your favorite music and even receive stock market information while you're out playing
golf.
Given that people are becoming increasingly reliant on the ubiquitous mobile phone – the
explosion of ‘apps’ in recent years means that some mobile phones can now perform a startling
variety of useful functions – it seems likely that the relationship that mobile phone users have
with their phones will become increasingly close, especially if phones become more wearable.
As such, we may come to consider mobile phone technology as an extension of the body.
References
Auger Loizeau. N.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2002.
Sandhana, L. (2002). Excuse Me, Is Your Tooth Ringing? WIRED. Retrieved October 16, 2008
from http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2002/06/53302
Wilson, T. V. (2002). How Cell-phone Implants Work. How Stuff Works. Retrieved October 16,
2008 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-implant.htm