8/25/11
Human Tracking Chip Tries to Safeguard Against Kidnapping - Mobiledia
Image via WikipediaTraditionally, companies develop radio frequency identification (RFID) chips for use in products where they exchange data with nearby readers. They can be found in a growing number of devices and objects, including mobile phones, passports, credit cards, price tags, and even medical implants, and are used with sensors and connected devices to create a large pool of information available for software and services to draw upon.
Now, some companies in Mexico are trying to use RFID chips to keep track of people themselves, by implanting them under the skin, especially as the incidence of kidnapping rises.
Kidnappings in Mexico have increased by as much as 370 percent in the past five years, sparking interest in RFID implants that are touted as tracking devices to locate abducted individuals. Media reports and anecdotal evidence in Mexico may inadvertently perpetuate a false security in these RFID devices, which may be creating bigger problems for the population. ...more
Privacy and Security Fanatic: Future TSA: Track All 'Daily Travels To Work, Grocery Stores & Social Events'
Image via Wikipedia Senior policy analyst at the Center for Health and Homeland Security Vernon R. Herron told MSNBC that your official travel document "will not only have information as to who you are and where you have traveled, but it will also ... allow government officials to track your travel not only in the air, but your daily travels to work, grocery stores and social events." In the future the "government will detain passengers who have traveled to places that are suspicious in nature" once they enter an airport, Herron added. "All these measures seem extreme. However, after we declared a war on terror, we must be more proactive than reactive when it comes to airport security." ...more 
8/13/11
Electronic tattoo 'could revolutionise patient monitoring'
"An 'electronic tattoo' could herald a revolution in the way patients are monitored and provide a breakthrough in computer gaming, say US scientists.
They used the device, which is thinner than a human hair, to monitor the heart and brain, according to a study in the journal Science.
The sensor attaches to human skin just like a temporary tattoo and can move, wrinkle and stretch without breaking.
Researchers hope it could replace bulky equipment currently used in hospitals.
A mass of cables, wires, gel-coated sticky pads and monitors are currently needed to keep track of a patient's vital signs.
Scientists say this can be 'distressing', such as when a patient with heart problems has to wear a bulky monitor for a month 'in order to capture abnormal but rare cardiac events'.
Solar cells
With the tattoo, all the electronic parts are built out of wavy, snake-like components, which mean they can cope with being stretched and squeezed.
There are also tiny solar cells which can generate power or get energy from electromagnetic radiation....more
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