Radio Frequency Identification Dust
Hitachi has developed Radio Frequency Identification tags the size of dust particles.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are tiny passive radio transponders with enough memory to store a 128-digit ID number. When hit with an incoming radio signal, a passive RFID tag uses power from the signal to transmit its ID in response.
RFID tags have been used in place of barcodes to track merchandise, as well as cattle. The tiny chips are used in US and UK passports to contain all the passport information, including a digital picture of the owner. They’re used in car keys (without the correct RFID chip, the car won’t start), libraries, quick-pass toll collection cards, and, yes…even humans: nightclubs in Barcelona and Rotterdam let VIP customers use chips implanted in their hands to pay for drinks.
The Smallest RFID Tag Yet
And now, Hitachi has made an RFID tag that’s only 0.05 x 0.05 mm — the size of a grain of powder. Hitachi plans to have these chips on the market in 2 to 3 years.
One of Hitachi’s current mu-chips is pictured on the left. New chips, 64 times smaller, are pictured on the right, along with a human hair.
Since existing RFID chips can already be embedded in paper (gift certificates, currency, etc.), one wonders what applications Hitachi has in mind for the new chips?
Think about this: RFID readers can be secretly located anywhere, including doorways and sidewalks. As Technovelgy points out, “…suppose you participated in some sort of protest or other organized activity. If police agencies sprinkled these tags around, every individual could be tracked and later identified at leisure, with powerful enough tag scanners.”
In fact, the FDA has already approved RFID implants in humans, and members of Congress have already discussed requiring seasonal immigrants to implant the tags before being admitted to the United States.
Read more Amazing, Orgasmic, and Fantastic Facts: Amasnic Fact Off Archive.
Read More: RFID, privacy, surveillance, tracking, 1984, mark of the beast
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February 16th, 2007 at 8:33 am
Are we happier and better off with all of this technology, or is it all Madison Ave. hype.
February 16th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Oh my God we are totally fucked.
February 16th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I feel tiny and frightened…
It seems that most people will put up with any amount of bullshit, as long as you attach the word “security” to it.
February 16th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Luddites vindicated.
February 16th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
PETE: I think the good/bad evens out with or without advancing technology. I mean, when I was a kid, the adults were pointing out how people used to sit around and talk to each other in the evenings instead of parking in front of a TV like a vegetable. Advanced technology has brought us these blogs, and now a lot of nights instead of watching some mindless TV junk, I’ll actually get on here and communicate with people…sort of similar to my grandfather sitting on the porch after dinner in his time. So, the technology can bring things full circle, too. As for the RFID dust, I’m sure it will allow some wonderful innovations, and as usual, it will allow some really evil things to be done as well.
Lynne: Hahhaaa…I don’t know why that makes me laugh, probably because we are totally screwed! What else can you do?
La Sirena: One of my favorite quotes, often attributed to Ben Franklin, “Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security.” Amen to that.
Indigobusiness: Who the heck is Luddites? Ok, I’m back from Wikipedia’s article on the Luddites. As Elmer Fudd said, “Vewy, vewy intewesting…”
When I was in grade school the Industrial Revolution seemed to get nothing but praise, but as the billions of people on the planet become more unsustainable, I’m guessing the evaluation will continue to tarnish…more of a double-edged sword than we ever imagined it could be…