In the future we may store and exchange data on thin, flexible strips of plastic by sticking them to the front of computers like Post-it notes
In the future we may store and exchange data on thin, flexible strips of plastic by sticking them to the front of computers like Post-it notes.
Although they are currently only a concept, a new start-up hopes to launch dataSTICKIES as a cheap method of data storage in capacities from 4GB to 32GB. The designers hope that they will replace USB flash drives, with users carrying small stacks of them like a pad of Post-it notes.
They will be read by an area around the computer screen called the Optical Data Transfer Surface (ODTS), where they will be stuck with a low-strength and reusable glue just like Post-it notes.
Similar sections could be added to a range of devices to enable them to read the notes, including stereo systems and televisions.
The notes will be made of an upper and lower protective layer which sandwich a sliver of graphene that holds the data. This graphene can be as little as one carbon atom thick.
Because the protective layers are not used to store data they can be customised with any pattern or colour and the top surface can be written on with a permanent marker to record its contents.
One of the designers, Aditi Singh, said: “USB-based drives can be inconvenient to use as the positioning and insertion of the drive in the USB slot needs to be done precisely.
“When the slots are at the rear of a device, as is the case for many desktop computers, this task becomes even more troublesome. Datastickies are envisaged to solve this problem by carrying data like a stack of sticky-back notes.”
