Packed in their 7-by-2-foot titanium-framed fiberglass bodies are terabytes of cellphone flash storage, a dual-core ARM processor running open Linux software, a batterypack, sensor arrays, a GPS unit, and wireless and satellite communications systems.
Together with Chiang, a founder of the lithium-ion battery company, A123 Systems, the three hope they will soon have a power pack for, say, an implantable cancer diagnostic.