Today the EIEIO standard-setting body is scheduled to release the first draft of the 40103a standard for computer hardware meant to be implanted in the user’s body. The first version of the standard, popularly called “Biowire,” is meant to cover the two classes of hardware consumers are likely to see over the next year: “implantables” and the more flexible “dermal sockets.”
“In the past,” says industry spokesperson Simon Bourg, “consumers have had to put up with a lot of incompatibility and inconvenience as they moved to upgrade hardware and software. But with these new devices, which involve medical procedures and some degree of physical discomfort, we need as an industry to make upgrade paths as smooth as possible.”
What that means in practice is that when a user goes to upgrade, say, a subcutaneous MP3 player behind the ear, the existing surgical cavity and the nerve connectors will be entirely compatible with the new hardware, making the upgrade process literally a matter of minutes. The general-purpose dermal sockets on the skin surface (for hardware that can be unplugged when not needed) will be standardized as well. While power users may require multiple sockets, say on the forearm and the neck, any Biowire-certified hardware will work in any location (although manufacturers are allowed some leeway in how external hardware is actually mounted on the body).
A surprising number of organizations collaborated–and clashed–in order to make Biowire possible, including both the medical and body art communities. In the early drafts of 40103a, both implantables and dermal sockets were to require installation only by licensed MDs, which manufacturers complained would unnecessarily increase the cost to consumers and slow the adoption of the new technology. As an alternative, the industry coalition brought the National Association of Body Modification Artists into the deliberations.
“Our practitioners,” says NABMA spokesperson Rusty Tules, “are medical professionals in their own right. Their extensive expertise with tattooing, piercing, scarification and other body modification procedures makes them entirely capable of performing these relatively simple installations. In addition, they are uniquely attuned to the needs of the younger consumers who are likely to be the early adopters of implantable technology.”
Initially the conflict between the medical community and the body modification practitioners appeared likely to derail the Biowire effort. But after several months of negotiation, a compromise arose: body artists would be permitted to install dermal sockets, and the professional qualification for subcutaneous implant installation would be lowered to include second-year medical students and registered nurses.
The installation compromise was actually brokered by the major computer retailers, who are depending on Biowire to revive the currently stagnant computer upgrade market. In the plan they presented, computer retail stores will open small installation clinics on their premises, overseen by licensed MDs, although lesser-licensed personnel would perform the actual procedures. An industry-wide Biowire Retail Association (which will include the major online retailers as well) will fund blanket malpractice insurance for the installation clinics.
“What is great about 40301a,” says Bourg, “is that while insuring compatibility, it gives individual manufacturers maximum flexibility to create their own visions of implantables.” Skin-mounted control surfaces, for example, can range from subtle tattooed or scarified images to actual surgical steel buttons. A company like Apple could create a whole range of edgy, fashion-coordinated implantables, while manufacturers that sell into the office environment can produce more “dressed up” versions that would be appropriate even in the boardroom.
In terms of interfacing with the consumer, the Biowire industry is clearly off on the right foot. It will be interesting to see if this well-intentioned effort holds together as the implantable computer market grows increasingly competitive. In addition, over the course of the next year, discussions will begin on an enhanced version of Biowire. The next-generation 40301g standard will be the first to allow actual device implantation within the skull, and will also specify the plug format for direct interconnects to the cerebral cortex. Given the excellent industry collaboration thus far, says spokesman Bourg, the 40301g standard should be complete sometime around April Fool’s Day, 2004.
