Ex-DARPA Head Wants You to Swallow ID Microchips

Bedlam

pstrron

Frankly folks, I don't know about you but eating a microchip or getting an electronic tattoo is not something I desire to do. At one point they think it's trendy and cool, I'll pass thank you.

Well, the actuality of it is less freaky than the article is written.

First, the entire "eat the capsule" thing is...rather unworkable. I'm sure it's being pushed, it's a potential product. But it's unusable as is. What the article doesn't say is that you not only have to eat the capsules regularly, but you also have to wear a near field relay device. It's a sort of strap-on cell phone sized box that interrogates the pill and relays the data to your other electronics. Personally, it doesn't seem worth it.

Second, the "tattoo" isn't. It's not a tat, it's a decal. A plastic film, sort of like a Tegaderm with electronics on. It's not the sort of thing you'd miss. Or couldn't just pull off and toss.

A NFC capable device, well, gadgets are increasing in ability every single day. I can only imagine that the signal emitted by such a swallowable chip will increase in strength (possibly exponentially) as time goes by....so, not necessarily so required to have a wearable NFC device.

Also, the tattoo...well, the idea is there. The real issue is the ink, whether or not it can conduct electricity and actually act as a circuit board or "chip".

A tattoo also could be an ID code in the form of a QR code. No need for electronics there, just the back of your hand, and submit it for scanning. But, this of course is redundant as our fingerprints and retina (not to mention lip wrinkles) are unique to the individual.


I think the important thing to think here, isn't whether or not all of this is 100% feasible right now, but, the fact that the seed is there. It's been prototyped. All it has to do now is germinate and grow.

reply to post by zeroBelief


Back in the day I read a speculative article on how some where theorizing about having a cell phone/communications/tracking device being installed permanently in one of your teeth.

Voice activated, your inner ear would hear it clearly as it ran vibration along your jaw etc.

If it weren't for the obvious Orwellian implications this could be quite convenient. Driving while talking hands free.

zeroBelief
A NFC capable device, well, gadgets are increasing in ability every single day. I can only imagine that the signal emitted by such a swallowable chip will increase in strength (possibly exponentially) as time goes by....so, not necessarily so required to have a wearable NFC device.

Only...NFC devices don't emit signals. The pill itself doesn't. It requires an interrogator, the interrogator gets the signal by load modulation. There's a hard limit imposed by physics on distance two ways - one is the "lambda wall" - a near field device can't communicate other outside the near field range. The other is a really bad problem with SNR. So no, it's never going to be one of those things that can be read at a reasonable distance.

Also, the tattoo...well, the idea is there. The real issue is the ink, whether or not it can conduct electricity and actually act as a circuit board or "chip".

You mistake what the thing does. It's not just some special ink. The thing is a flexible pc assembly put together on a polymer film like a Tegaderm. There are parts involved. You can't just tat someone with conductive ink and voila, a transmitter.

I think the important thing to think here, isn't whether or not all of this is 100% feasible right now, but, the fact that the seed is there. It's been prototyped. All it has to do now is germinate and grow.

The guy is trying to sell a bad product. It's not going to go anywhere.

Surely that cant be good for your body? i wouldnt do it thats insane.

Bedlam

zeroBelief
A NFC capable device, well, gadgets are increasing in ability every single day. I can only imagine that the signal emitted by such a swallowable chip will increase in strength (possibly exponentially) as time goes by....so, not necessarily so required to have a wearable NFC device.

Only...NFC devices don't emit signals. The pill itself doesn't. It requires an interrogator, the interrogator gets the signal by load modulation. There's a hard limit imposed by physics on distance two ways - one is the "lambda wall" - a near field device can't communicate other outside the near field range. The other is a really bad problem with SNR. So no, it's never going to be one of those things that can be read at a reasonable distance.

Also, the tattoo...well, the idea is there. The real issue is the ink, whether or not it can conduct electricity and actually act as a circuit board or "chip".

You mistake what the thing does. It's not just some special ink. The thing is a flexible pc assembly put together on a polymer film like a Tegaderm. There are parts involved. You can't just tat someone with conductive ink and voila, a transmitter.

I think the important thing to think here, isn't whether or not all of this is 100% feasible right now, but, the fact that the seed is there. It's been prototyped. All it has to do now is germinate and grow.

The guy is trying to sell a bad product. It's not going to go anywhere.

edit on 8-1-2014 by Bedlam because: (no reason given)

You truly enjoy hearing yourself talk.

You didn't put much thought into what I said, you immediately drew conclusions about *what* I said, and felt it necessary to prove yourself to be the better "man".

I bow to your superiority. No, really, I do.

Keep on trucking, bub...

zeroBelief

You truly enjoy hearing yourself talk.

No, I truly understand the technology. You don't seem to have put any effort into reading up on it past the article. I design with this sort of thing.

You didn't put much thought into what I said, you immediately drew conclusions about *what* I said, and felt it necessary to prove yourself to be the better "man".

My conclusion about *what* you said was that it was uninformed.

Bedlam

the way I see it is the proprietor will have an all-access key. namely the government. so do you want certain people to have the keys to the chariot when they DON"T right now. why does the government need the key to my front door. the access to my computer, cell-phone, car. this is what the end game is. TOTAL CONTROL. if you think america isn't a police state, think again. it is and has been for some time.

Another one of those roller coaster ride threads ! Fearful at first , because of what the thread implies...more forced surveillance with no recourse for me. Than many replies saying the tech isn't there and this idea won't fly, which is what I wanted to hear !

It all seems like another reality to me, cause I have to travel 60 miles to find a " big " town. There are no FR cameras in the towns or rural areas where I live , as far as I know. I'm more concerned with my well top freezing and having enough firewood.

I wonder if they're nice enough to put the chip into some delicious candy coating?
Probably not.

defcon5

JayinAR
Time to become a master of disguise I see. Haha

It won't do you any good. The new FR cameras are designed to see through all sort of stuff like facial hair, glasses, hats, etc...

Maybe so, but they can't see through IR light.

my thoughts would be he can take his chip and shove it up his ###

Divine Strake
I wonder if they're nice enough to put the chip into some delicious candy coating?
Probably not.

It's generally a gelatin capsule looking thing. The antenna for the NFC is spiraled around the inside of the capsule with conductive ink. There's a "battery" powered by gut electrolytes that's open to the outside, so it makes this a semi-active H-field NFC part. That lets you get the extra separation between the interrogator and the part. If it was purely passive, unless you were a kid or a model you would be too thick to get enough power to the part to run it. All it returns is a serial number, although I guess if you wanted to report gut pH or temperature you could.

Well folks they now have a new app for Google Glass you're just going to love. Like I mentioned earlier in the thread they will get Google Glass involved. Welcome to total surveillance and you will do it for them and think it's fun.

reply to post by Bedlam


Personally, I think it would be better to die with the heart of a free person than to succumb to the mindset of those want to live in a constant police state. However, once that individual decides to rebel, who will be brave enough to sing his or her praises as one who fought? How do they have the ability to, even now, turn you into a domestic terrorist today?

It's hard to feel peaceful about the future when they can pull ANY of us from our homes and businesses and paste our names and pictures on the news and call us a domestic terrorist.

Should that happen, it might be a good idea to have a friend, or even an attorney, hold onto any public statement you might want to make from wherever you're being detained. This third person could then release your statement to the media, and as the media loves controversy, they will gobble up the opportunity and may well be your only window to the world through which you can send your true message, and not something like a bomb schematic that the government says you made.

The idea of ANY chip must quelled. I will say this. . .a short, full life of freedom far outweighs a lengthy one of control and deception.

Divine Strake
reply to post by Bedlam

 

Personally, I think it would be better to die with the heart of a free person than to succumb to the mindset of those want to live in a constant police state...the idea of ANY chip must quelled. I will say this. . .a short, full life of freedom far outweighs a lengthy one of control and deception.

What this guy is pushing is the result of a product development that really went nowhere, and now they're trying to find some use for it. Not only can you not be "tracked" by it, you'll crap it out in a day or so. The original intent was to see if Nana had taken her dementia pills, or maybe had taken two or three. But they couldn't sell it. So now they're pushing it as a "key" to unlock your phone. But really, most everyone can remember their phone PIN. It's not worth eating a pill a day and having an ipod looking thing strapped to your tummy to get the wonderful benefit of not having to remember your PIN. So they won't sell this either.

The "tattoo" isn't. In GB apparently a decal/sticker is also called a "tattoo" and that's where this came from. Sort of like calling a cookie a biscuit. The "tattoo" is a clear decal with glue on. There are parts on it. You peel off the backing and stick it to yourself. It's not like some evil minion is going to hold you down, use a tat gun on you, and voila, you're forever Tina the Transmitter.

At least it's a product I could sort of see some use for, albeit really focused and not worth producing due to the small numbers involved. At least not worth some larger electronics company producing. You could, for instance, make a "Cop Corder 2020" out of it. Peel it off and stick it to your chest or neck, and you're carrying around a nice recorder that the cop won't see or confiscate.

But, I notice that you are voluntarily using a computer, and I would suspect a cell phone. Toss them in the garbage for freedom! Along with your affiliation cards, debit cards, credit cards and checks. Wear a burqa. Put a rock in one shoe. Burn your prints off with acid. If not, you're not living your "life of freedom", because they get a really good idea about what you do and where from those.