More Smart Dust

More on Neural Dust.  More IOT nodes in more places?   Heard this called 'motes' before, but this takes it smaller yet.    The passive use of power generation is very interesting.  Applications, especially in medical applications, at the link.

Is smart dust the IoT vector of the future? by Cate Lawrence
The notion of smart dust sounds like a work of science fiction but scientists at University of California Berkeley have developed a “neural dust” that can be implanted into the body, to monitor internal nerves, muscles or organs in real time.

The sensors are about the size of a large grain of sand contain a piezoelectric crystal that converts ultrasound vibrations from outside the body into electricity to power a tiny, on-board transistor that is in contact with a nerve or muscle fiber. A voltage spike in the fiber alters the circuit and the vibration of the crystal, which changes the echo detected by the ultrasound receiver, typically the same device that generates the vibrations. The slight change, called backscatter, allows them to determine the voltage. .... " 

Neural Dust Health Sensors

In Cnet: Beyond Fitbit: 'Neural dust' puts invisible cyborg tech deep inside you ... New, tiny sensors could create superpowerful fitness trackers, move prosthetics forward and lead to treatments for conditions like epilepsy.  ... "