Computer chips get under skin of US enthusiasts
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Computer chips get under skin of US enthusiasts
Thu Jan 5, 2006 10:43 PM GMT
By Jamie McGeever
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forgetting computer passwords is an everyday source of frustration, but a solution may literally be at hand -- in the form of computer chip implants.
With a wave of his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs onto his computer.
Tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) computer chips inserted into Graafstra's hands make it all possible.
"I just don't want to be without access to the things that I need to get access to. In the worst case scenario, if I'm in the alley naked, I want to still be able to get in (my house)," Graafstra said in an interview in New York, where he is promoting the technology. "RFID is for me."
The computer chips, which cost about $2, interact with a device installed in computers and other electronics. The chips are activated when they come within 3 inches of a so-called reader, which scans the data on the chips. The "reader" devices are available for as little as $50 (29 pounds).
Information about where to buy the chips and readers is available online at the "tagged" forum, (http://tagged.kaos.gen.nz/) where enthusiasts of the technology chat and share information.
Graafstra said at least 20 of his tech-savvy pals have RFID implants.
"I can't feel it at all. It doesn't impede me. It doesn't hurt at all. I almost can't tell it's there," agreed Jennifer Tomblin, a 23-year-old marketing student and Graafstra's girlfriend.
'ABRACADABRA'
Mikey Sklar, a 28-year-old Brooklyn resident, said, "It does give you some sort of power of 'Abracadabra,' of making doors open and passwords enter just by a wave of your hand."
The RFID chip in Sklar's hand, which is smaller than a grain of rice and can last up to 100 years, was injected by a surgeon in Los Angeles.
Tattoo artists and veterinarians also could insert the chips into people, he said. For years, veterinarians have been injecting similar chips into pets so the animals can be returned to their owners if they are lost.
Graafstra was drawn to RFID tagging to make life easier in this technological age, but Sklar said he was more intrigued by the technology's potential in a broader sense.
In the future, technological advances will allow people to store, transmit and access encrypted personal information in an increasing number of wireless ways, Sklar said.
Wary of privacy issues, Sklar said he is developing a fabric "shield" to protect such chips from being read by strangers seeking to steal personal information or identities.
One advantage of the RFID chip, Graafstra said, is that it cannot get lost or stolen. And the chip can always be removed from a person's body.
"It's kind of a gadget thing, and it's not so impressive to have it on your key chain as it is to have it in you," Sklar said. "But it's not for everyone."
Sklar's girlfriend, Wendy Tremayne, has yet to be convinced. She said she probably would not inject the computer chip into her body unless she thought it was a "necessity."
"If it becomes more convenient, I may," said the 38-year-old artist and yoga teacher. "(But) I'd rather have an organic life." -
Is it 100% safe?
After all, no matter how small, it is still a foreign object
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If they want us to put, who can resist the pressure?Originally posted by Troy437:Is it 100% safe?
After all, no matter how small, it is still a foreign object -
Unix Engineer Takes RFID Implant In Hand
By K.C. Jones, TechWeb News
January 03, 2006 (4:51 PM EST)
URL: http://www.techweb.com/wire/175800835
Mikey Sklar opposed RFID.
Then, he requested that the technology be implanted in his hand.
He's now among a small, but apparently growing, group of hobbyists who have voluntarily implanted themselves with RFID chips.
"I guess a lot of people like to go home and watch TV," he said during an interview Saturday. "I like to make stuff."
Sklar, who designs and makes electronic clothing and gadgets for fun, will explain at a monthly dorkbot-nyc meeting this week how and why he put a tiny chip between his thumb and forefinger. The high performance computing and UNIX engineer underwent the procedure in November. He planned to keep his presentation low-key, but he is already drawing media attention from several Web postings.
A physician friend swabbed Sklar's hand with an iodine-based antiseptic, applied a local anesthetic and sliced into his skin. The doctor then placed an injector gun with a hollow metal tube into the incision, pulled the trigger, removed the gun and stitched and dressed the wound. The physician couldn't be reached in time for this story.
Sklar said the procedure didn't hurt. The scar healed, but the reinforced glass tube can be felt near the skin's surface.
Sklar said he chose a read-only device that serves as an identifier. Using a microcontroller, open source tools and a circuit board, he wrote a program to pull down Internet content – email, RSS feeds, favorite Web sites – and send them via Bluetooth to a small display chandelier, which will light up in his apartment, like a miniature version of Times Square's electronic tickers.
If Sklar doesn't mind reading just a few letters at a time, he will be able to access Internet content about 30 feet away from his laptop, "without being chained to the computer, though it'll probably be kind of aggravating."
He said using the chip is less important than learning about RFID technology.
"I've always been a gadget person," he said.
He acknowledges the chip is very insecure and not encrypted, but it doesnÂ’t contain sensitive information. Its range is also limited. So, privacy concerns he has about RFID don't apply to his personal experiment. If he ever needs them, he has already created pockets that block frequencies used for RFID enabled credit cards.
Reseller Trossen Innovations sold the Phidget tag and reader in question. The company's Web site states that the tags are not for human use and warns of their danger.
Founder and CEO Matt Trossen said during an interview Tuesday that he believes at least two people have bought tags and readers – marketed on his site for experimental use – for personal implants. Amal Graafstra posted a demonstration of his procedure on a body piercing and tattooing Web site early last year. Trossen soon posted a warning.
"They're sold as livestock tags, but we sell to students and hobbyists using RFID kits for school projects, home projects, to let people experiment," Trossen said. "We don't store them in a sterile environment. There's a whole underground of body modifiers out there that are having fun, curious about technology, tattooing, piercing and putting things under their skin. It seems like RFID technology is appealing to them as well."
Trossen characterizes Graafstra as a good guy, who's daring, not crazy. Graafstra's procedure served as a guide for Sklar, who said he sterilized everything and has little fear of infection or of crushing the device.
Sklar said he has no plans to install another RFID device soon – at least not until the technology advances enough to store the amount of data inside an address book. -
the mark of 666
the end of the world is comin -
been watching Hellsing...
they'll turn into vampyres!
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hellsing?Originally posted by the Bear:been watching Hellsing...
they'll turn into vampyres!
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the anime at 11pm on Arts Central..
watch next episode next wednesday
Originally posted by News:hellsing? -
Originally posted by SoulFire21:the mark of 666
the end of the world is comin
The world will never end. It can only change. -
Related to the topic of this thread meh?Originally posted by the Bear:the anime at 11pm on Arts Central..
watch next episode next wednesday -
the first few episodes, there were artificial vampyres... humans were turned into vampyres by getting a computer chip implanted in them
Originally posted by News:Related to the topic of this thread meh? -
i.c i.cOriginally posted by the Bear:the first few episodes, there were artificial vampyres... humans were turned into vampyres by getting a computer chip implanted in them -
Use a parang to chop off the hand containing the chip and then use it to access all the devices that need it
