Thursday, 1 May 2008

Future Technologies

RFID is our future and the future is now. Shadowrunners know what I'm talking about. In the Shadowrun universe RFID chips (Radio Frequency Identification) are everywhere. Every Coke can and car is equipped with a small chip which emits low or high frequency radio waves.
So what can these little things do in our universe?

  • In Japan almost every new cellphone has a RFID chip which allows the user, if he has signed a contract with NTT DoCoMo (the largest communication provider), to pay with his cellphone.

  • In Spain and the Netherlands are certain nightclubs which use RFID implants. They implant a RFID under your skin which saves your bill.

  • Many countries (USA, Ireland, Japan, Pakistan, Norway, Malaysia, New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and The United Kingdom) use RFID in their passports to scan and check the personal data. If your passport is checked, the state knows where you are and where you're going.

  • Another usage is the collection of tolls. Once again, if you pay via RFID, they know where you are.

  • Other uses include product tracking, schools, universities, animal identification, libraries, access control, museums.

I may say that it's not a large step from animal identification towards human identification. By the way, Shadowrunners avoid using RFID tagged products since their position could be determined. Think about Google and intelligent advertisement; with RFID in your body the companies would be able to make a behavioural model of you. All in your interest. All in your interest.



A RFID transponder:
Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

No comments: