We talk about nanofactories, but first the world will be changed by Fab Labs. One day we'll have nanobots, but on our way to that goal we'll have "speckled computing."

SCOTTISH scientists have developed a computer the size of a matchstick head, thousands of which can be sprayed onto patients to give a comprehensive analysis of their condition.

Speckled computing - some of the most advanced computing technology in the world - is currently being researched and developed by a group of Scottish experts.

The individual appliances, or 'specks', will form networks that can be programmed like ordinary computers.
Spraying them directly onto a person creates the ability to carry out different tests at the same time, for example muscle movement and pulse rate. This allows a complete picture of the patient's condition to be built up quickly.

The computing innovation, being developed by scientists at Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Strathclyde universities, will be displayed at the Edinburgh International Science Festival next Friday as part of a talk by Damal Arvind, leading speckled computing professor and director of the Scottish consortium.

Arvind said: "This is the new class of computing: devices which can sense and process the data they receive. They also have a radio so they can network and there's a battery in there as well, so they are entirely self-powered.

Wife: "It's a hair spray."

Husband: "No, it's a web-enabled neural interface!"

Spokesman: "Calm down you two, it's both!"

This is one way that computing could begin to disappear into…everything.

UPDATE: In the comments Phil asks, "What happens when you're done with them...do they just wash off?"

I would guess that now at the dawn of "speckled computing" that researchers will attempt to gather these little matchhead-sized computers back up for use later.

But as these devices enter mass production and get smaller and cheaper... yeah, you'd wear them for the day and lose them the next time you shower.

You'd get a new batch in your hair spray or deodorant.

The cool thing is the promise of what these devices (even though they are less than nanobots or utility fog) could do. Instant communications via cell and Internet access. Virtual reality or enhanced reality. Health monitoring. The list goes on.