So, who's working on what?
I'm a bit curious as to what projects are still active. I know Grindhouse has put some good work out there with the Circadia, and then there was the ear lobe magnet implant, too. Who else is working on what, and what is the project's status? To me it looks like Biohack.me has gone into a bit of a hibernation mode, with the only real conversation being about theory and philosophy.
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It's basically a Circadia in usefull. Read: smaller, safer, actual interfaces with the body using electrodes, lower power, etc.
It consists of a number of sub-circuits which can be more or less easily reused.
So far the Qi based wireless power supply is done(i plan on switching to a newer standard which got published a few month ago but no integrated parts are available yet). Battery management is also done (a battery is optional, connecting supercaps or running without storage is possible with only minimal modification). The main microcontroller is also on the board (not sure about it's placement yet, i may move it around. And only moments ago, i finished the freshly redesigned electrode driver. which can drive up to 8 separate outputs with fully software programmable intensity. Right now, you could add a magnetometer breakout board and you'd have everything you'd need for building the southpaw.
To give a sneak preview. that's what it looks like atm, things change fast and often:
GND and VCC planes are not drawn (it's a 4 Layer PCB, made in KiCad)
Due to the rather minimal size, assembling that thing isn't quite as easy, but still possible in a DIY way if you have the time to build some helpful equipment.
Still on my ToDo list are:
Adding some sort of wireless module (not sure about bluetooth or a more cut down wireless chip)
Adding one of texas instruments analog front-ends so we can read signals from neurons/muscles aswell (i plan on 2 input channels for now, chips are available for up to 8 channels)
adding a few more failsafe mechanism.
The entire design is is done using open source software. Once it's finished and testing went ok, i'll release the design and all related documents under an open source license. This will take a bit of time tho, i'll hope to finish it before my finals, so with some luck it may be spring 2014.
iirc it never made it past the idea stage, probably due to the risk of cancer and stuff.
I have also been working with Amal to test various RFID devices. The goal has been to achieve greater reliability and increased storage capacity, so it coincides quite well with my own storage implant goals.
As for coating I am thinking about getting some liquid silicone rubber from applied silicones to dip-coat some minimalistic implants with electrode drivers on it (not the big thing pictured above). It's a bit above my budget but a single charge should be plenty and I may be able to coat other people's stuff with it as well.
Talking about active projects. I froze the big implant circuitry above until I have access to machines to actually produce them. Instead I started working on very slimmed down versions which are easy to produce. They serve as testing platforms to test functionality for each subsystem and of course, the production and surgery process.
It started as an EMG logger, but I'm ditching EMG for accelerometer data at the moment. I hope to have my dad wear it for an extended period of time and then analyze his on/off periods in his Parkinson's disease.
I made a site where you can donate bitcoin/litecoin, if you're so inclined: http://emg.mindsforge.com/
(or dogecoin: D99uh7dutGgHJREfm9UWreKGjDVRuVsH8F )
I see wearables as the precursor to implantables. While doing EMG research, I contemplated "sewing" electrodes into my skin... might still do that at some point!
I've already written some of the software, and I have most of the hardware figured out but not ordered.