Scientists have successfully sent the world's first text message using evaporated vodka. Researchers from the York University, Toronto and their UK-based counterparts, who texted the message 'O Canada' using evaporated vodka, say their simple 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," said Professor Andrew Eckford, in whose lab the experiment was conducted.
The chemical signal, using the alcohol found in vodka in this case, was sent four metres across the lab with the aid of a tabletop fan. It was then demodulated by a receiver which 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 alphabets with single spray representing bit 1 and no spray representing the bit 0," said York doctoral candidate Nariman Farsad, who led the experiment.
Though use of chemical signals is a new method in human communication technology, the bio-compatible method is very common in the animal kingdom. Bees for example use chemicals in pheromones when there is a threat to the hive, and so do the Canadian lnyx, when marking territories.
Researchers say their system also fills a major gap in the molecular communication literature, by providing an inexpensive platform for testing theoretical models. This allows researchers to gain real-world experience with molecular communication, cheaply and easily.
"Our system shows that reliable communication is possible and our work motivates future studies on more realistic modelling, analysis, and design of theoretical models and algorithms for molecular communication systems," said Engineering Professor Weisi Guo at the University of Warwick, UK, who initiated the research.
"They can also be used to communicate on the nanoscale, for example in medicine where recent advances mean it's possible to embed sensors into the organs of the body or create miniature robots to carry out a specific task such as targeting drugs to cancer cells," he added. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
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