A Wireless Chip the Size of Grain!
Techtree News Staff HP has announced the development of a miniature, wireless data chip that according to the company, is capable of providing broad access to digital content in the physical world.
"Memory Spot", a research team at HP Labs, has developed this memory device based on CMOS (a widely used, low-power integrated circuit design). The chip is just about the size of a grain of rice or smaller (2 mm to 4 mm square). These chips can be fixed on a sheet of paper or stuck to any surface, and the company says, will eventually be made available as a booklet with self-adhesive dots.
Some of the potential applications of this device include storage of medical records on a hospital patient's wristband; provision of audio-visual supplements for postcards and photos; help in the pharmaceutical industry's fight against counterfeit; beefing-up of identity card and passport security; and supply of additional information for printed documents.
Ed McDonnell, memory spot project manager, HP Labs, said, "The Memory Spot chip frees digital content from the electronic world of the PC and the Internet, and arranges it all around us in our physical world."
HP claims that the chip has a ten megabits-per-second data transfer rate, which is ten times faster than Bluetooth wireless technology, and comparable to Wi-Fi speeds, giving users instant retrieval of information in audio, video, photo, or document form.
With a storage capacity ranging from 256 kilobits to 4 megabits in working prototypes, the device can store a very short video clip, several images, or dozens of pages of text.
The information can then be accessed by a read-write device, incorporated into a cell phone, PDA, camera, printer, etc. To access information, the read-write device is positioned closely over-the-chip, which is then powered so that the stored data is transferred instantly to the display of the phone, camera, or PDA, or is printed-out by the printer. Users can also add information to the chip using various devices.
According to HP, the chip also incorporates a built-in antenna and is completely self-contained, with no need for a battery or external electronics.
Poster Comment:
Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!
I wonder how big of an EMP would be needed to zap these.