Wireless Tech Chat

As if the brave men and women in our Armed Forces don’t have enough on their minds, the Department of Defense (DoD) is contemplating the idea of implanting RFID chips in soldiers’ brains in order to track their health information.

The DoD has contracted with Clemson University to develop a biochip that will contain sensors that will measure and realy information on soldiers’ vital signs 24 hours a day. In addition, in a “Big Brother-ish” twist, there has been talk of using these chips to put soldiers under surveillance when they are off duty. (Imagine if they had this when Bill Murray and the rest of his platoon went to the mud-wrestling club in Stripes?)

According to scientists at Clemson, the RFID chip implant is at least five years away from the human trial stage, so we will have to wait to see what kind of health and psychological effects this will have. But, this certainly raises questions as to the extent of the “control” of our soliders on and off the battleground.

[Via The Intelligence Daily]

We’ve heard for a while now that RFID technology is finding its niche in supply chain management and inventory control applications by many companies, especially those in the retail sector.

We’ve also heard for a while now how critics of RFID technology believe that companies will abuse it and do everything possible to get personal information from their customers and clients so they can bombard them with endless marketing messages to get them to buy their goods and services.

It’s a fine line that adopters of RFID have to walk to convince others that they will not misuse it and invade other peoples’ privacy in order to gain a competitive edge, but it’s as much a selling job as anything else.

With that in mind, Best Buy’s CIO Bob Willet said this week that the retail industry has to do a better job to explain to consumers that retailers will not exploit their personal information, and must show how RFID can be used to improve a customer’s shopping experience. Examples include making it easier to find items in a store, and speeding up the checkout process.

In fact, Willet said he hopes to see RFID eventually eliminate checkout lines, but it remains to be seen how this can be done. Most likely it would entail more consumers having RFID-enabled smartphones they can swipe at various locations throughout a store to pay for items.

This is the type of informational “sales pitch” that companies, especially retailers, have to do in order to “sell” the use of RFID technology in their consumer-targeted operations. There still will be privacy concerns, but if examples like the ones mentioned above can be demonstrated to customers, some of those same fears may lessen considerably.

[Via PC World]

Teams from both the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas-Arlington are in the process of developing a RFID-based monitoring system that will track acid reflux disease in patients.

According to both parties, a dime-sized RFID chip is attached to the esophagus which tests for electrical impulses that deliver signals on acidic or non-acidic liquids that travel through the esophagus. The data is then transmitted to a wireless sensor that is worn around the patient’s neck.

The device is still undergoing testing and further research, however it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that any system that can help patients and their caregivers better understand the mechanisms of acid reflux will help in the eventual development of enhanced pharmaceutical drugs to alleviate the symptoms of acid reflux.

[Via United Press International]