World's First Molecular Text Message Sent Using Vodka
After text messaging 'O Canada' using a chemical signal from evaporated vodka, York University researchers claim their simple text messaging system can be used where conventional wireless technology fails. "Chemical signals can offer a more efficient way of transmitting data inside tunnels, pipelines, or deep underground structures," says electrical engineering professor Andrew Eckford. With the help of a tabletop fan, the chemical signal was sent over 13 feet across the lab. It was then demodulated by a receiver that measured the rate of change in concentration of the alcohol molecules, picking up whether the concentration was increasing or decreasing. "We believe we have sent the world's first text message to be transmitted entirely with molecular communication, controlling concentration levels of the alcohol molecules to encode the alphabet, with single spray representing bits and no spray representing the bit zero," says York University doctoral candidate Nariman Farsad. A future application of molecular communication could be at the nanoscale, with miniature robots carrying out tasks such as targeting drugs to cancer cells.
Transcript
00:00:08 York University researchers used Vodka to send the world's first molecular text message. The message was programmed into a series of sprays and the alcohol was sprayed across the room to a receiver which determined whether the level of the alcohol was increasing or decreasing. Our goal was to show that we could use chemical signals to transfer information instead of radio. We wanted to build a simple setup that other researchers could also use and to do research, to show that this works and to take it further.
00:00:42 One way to think of the system working with a robot is for instance one robot could leave a message for another one. So the first robot could drive along and leave behind a pattern of chemical dots if you like. So maybe a pattern where there is a dot, no dot, and then a dot. A second robot comes along and drives that same strip and reads the dots. And it would basically work like some kind of chemical bar code. You can also think also think of this is as analog to I guess animals leaving messages for each other by urinating on things. I mean it's a crude example but this does actually happen in nature.
00:01:20 This new method of communicating information won't replace standard radio waves but can be used in many places where radio signals won't work There are a number of applications where you could use this. So one area would be, basically, urban monitoring. For example, Sewer Systems. It's difficult to send radio signals from underground. Other applications you could think as pipe lines or shipwrecks or collapse buildings or anything where there's significant blockage to radio communication but something like a chemical signal
00:01:54 could still propagate by diffusion and still get an important message out. Now the other direction this could be taken in is basically miniaturization. So if you could take this and miniaturize this setup into micro or nano scales that's another area that this could be used because when you go to communication at small dimensions, like nano scale or micro scale, radio again is not very good or efficient candidate.