Are you sick of forgetting your passwords? Want to just wave your hand instead? Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, is doing so with a tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) computer chip implanted into his hand. So what is RFID, then?
According to Wikipedia, it's "an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is a small object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person. RFID tags contain silicon chips and antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver." Implanting these tags into human beings is not a new idea, and has in fact attracted some criticism from members of the Christian community, who liken the devices to the mark of the beast mentioned specifically in the Book of Revelation. Graafstra, however, sees it as nothing so sinister.
"I just don't want to be without access to the things that I need to get access to. In the worst case scenario, if I'm in the alley naked, I want to still be able to get in (my house)," Graafstra said in an interview in New York, where he is promoting the technology. "RFID is for me."