 |
Human-Injectable Satellite Tracking Chip
A patent for a human tracking chip has been filed by a Saudia Arabian inventor. Not satisfied with the RFID tags used to track cattle and other animals, which require a nearby RFID reader, these implanted tracking chips would be tracked by satellite.
The patent was titled "Implantation of electronic chips in the human body for the purposes of determining its geographical location." The intent is to be able to track individuals for reasons as varied as the governments who might be tempted to use them.
The obvious problems with this device would be the power required to generate a signal that could be read from orbit, along with a suitable antenna for broadcasting the signal.
A modern example of this idea was seen in the 2006 James Bond movie Casino Royale. I was hoping to scrounge some sort of blurry, barely adequate picture from the film somewhere on the 'net, and then I found this.
After subcutaneous implantation, the chip would send out encrypted radio waves that would be tracked by satellites to confirm the person’s identity and whereabouts.
(James Bond gets implanted human tracking chip)
The oldest reference I can find for this idea is the "radiant" from Jack Vance's remarkable 1954 novel The Houses of Iszm. When Aile Farr, an Earthman visiting Iszm, he was told that he would be required to be implanted with a tracking device.
Eventually the medics, shaking their heads glumly, returned Farr to the outer chamber, where he was met by an Iszic in a tight white and gray uniform, carrying a hypodermic.Farr drew back. "What's this?"
"A harmless radiant."
"I don't need any."
"It is necessary," said the medic, "for your own protection. Most visitors hire boats and sail out upon the Pheadh. Occasionally there are storms, the boats are blown off course. this radiant will define your position on the master panel."
(Read more about the radiant)
Farr is not very happy about the idea, as I imagine most of us would feel if told that this was an entry requirement for a foreign country.
From The Local; thanks to Wishnevsky for the tip.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/18/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 5 )
Index of related articles:
What is RFID?
How RFID Works
How is RFID used inside a living body?
What can RFID be used for?
Is RFID Technology Secure and Private?
Are There Concerns About How RFID Will Be Used? (Update)
Next-Generation Uses of RFID?
What Are Zombie RFID Tags?
Problems With RFID
RFID Information Technology Articles
Advantages of RFID Versus Barcodes
RFID Glossary
Contactless Credit Card Advantages
Contactless Credit Card Disadvantages
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
'Alexa For Residential' A Landlord's Dream (Tenant's Nightmare?)
'...unseen mechanical entities... that are in our very midst. One of them following each of us.' - Philip K. Dick, 1960.
Foiling Facial Recognition, Fighting Coaster Viruses, Harlan Ellison-Style
I have no mouth and I must scream.
Adversarial Pattern Shirts Confound Object Detection Systems
Ah, to be a vague blur!
A Passing Drone Has Covid-19 Advice
'Gold dots against blue, basketball-sized, twelve feet up.' Larry Niven, 1972.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
'Black Friday' Online Shopping - In 1899!
'In your days they showed you a fashion-plate,' said the tailor, 'but this is our modern development.'
DARPA's Virtual Caves Explored By Virtual Robots
'If there's anything in here worth looking at, these pups'll find it.'
Glass Dome Cities On Mars, Dreamed By Elon Musk
'They will have flung great arches and domes of glass above the wider spaces...'
Kuka Robot 'Heidi' Paints With Artificial Intelligence
Robots make art for man.
Looking Glass Display Good Enough For Science Fiction, Fantasy
'The figure seemed to be swimming toward the surface.'
Do You Need The Entire Fembot? Maybe Just The Hand
'...Men don't want real women anymore. You and I are behind the times...'
3D Printing With Sunlight And Sand
'We made a crude, small cell and were delighted...'
Samsung Gets Transparent Smartphone Patent
The Transparency of Things to Come
Monkey Gets A Bigger Brain, Thanks To Human Gene
'It's a madhouse! a madhouse!'
Solar Power Beamed From Space Studied By Brit Boffins
'Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from... the Sun.'
Pandemic Entrepreneurs! Consider Robo Esso Robot Barista
'... the perpetual beam carved in the robot face of the bartender, the classic Irish grin.'
Shape-Shifting Robot From MIT
'... the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
Tesla's 20,000 Superchargers
'To recharge the batteries, which can be done in almost every town and village...'
Smallest Rogue Planet Discovered In Milky Way
'...a swarm of rogue planets chanced by.'
New Technology For Interplanetary Communication
'... sweating, heat-blistered engineers at every interplanetary radiograph station on three planets, stood by their generators.'
First Lunar Water, Then... Monolith?
'It looks brand new, doesn't it?'
