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7.5 Micron Thick RFID Tag

YesSir writes "The EETimes is reporting that Hitachi has a breakthrough in RFID technology that they are planning to show at this years ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference). The new RFID chip is their newest mu-chip that, measuring in at 7.5 microns, is ten or more times thinner than a sheet of paper and comes complete with 128-bit identifying goodness."

28 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. RFID Scares me.. by guildsolutions · · Score: 2, Funny

    Pretty soon we will be carrying our tin foil encrusted wallets and clothing interlaced with foil to foil the detection system of the aliens watching us.

    I wonder if government will advocate tracking of people using RFID, or advocate banning the tracking of people via RFID?

    1. Re:RFID Scares me.. by TubeSteak · · Score: 2, Funny
      I wonder if government will advocate tracking of people using RFID, or advocate banning the tracking of people via RFID?
      Can't I just leave me cell phone on all the time?
      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
  2. small enough? by joe+155 · · Score: 2, Funny

    are they not already small enough; I have one in my card and its the same size as any other credit card. I alwyas like to see people pushing the realms of what is possible but haven't we already reached a situation when its already "small enough"... not to mention the fact that now they are so small I'll not know where to put the tinfoil... dam it, the tinfoil could even have RFID in it :O...

    --
    *''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
    1. Re:small enough? by aunticrist · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now what was that again about a mark in the palm or the forehead and not being able to buy anything or travel anywhere, etc? Yeah. RFID. Mark o' da beast is here! woot! Now, about those horsemen...

  3. Great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    So instead of just being on our food packages. It'll be in our food.

    Yummy.

    1. Re:Great... by JediTrainer · · Score: 2, Funny

      LOL. Take this the next logical step. Your health insurance company parks outside your house and sets up a Pringles Can RFID scanner to see what's coming down the sewer.

      Your premiums just went up because you ate too many pork rinds.

      --

      You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
  4. OMG! This is thin enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...to RFID tag tinfoil hats, and you would never even know it except for the black helicopters following you.

  5. The smaller they are, the harder they fall by Jordan+Catalano · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Shouldn't a smaller chip mean that even less radiative power is needed to overload and inactivate the tag? So... good news?

  6. RFID signatures in art by Soloact · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This seems to me that artists could embed an RFID chip in their art, such as under paint, or even in a tatoo, to identify their work. Such a thin tag could be under the label layer in a CD/DVD/etc to identify the origin, to identify whether the work is original and/or authorized. But, of course, someone will eventually find a way around this as they did with CSS and other encryption.

  7. just one word by iplayfast · · Score: 2, Funny

    PAPERCUTS!

  8. Possibilities by JustinKSU · · Score: 2, Funny

    I wonder if McDonalds will start tracking where we go after we scarf down a Big McRFID.

  9. Math illiteracy by MyNymWasTaken · · Score: 3, Funny

    ten or more times thinner

    That little bit of ineptitude is nowhere in the article; so the blame passes to the submitter.

    "10 times thinner / (less in any form or fashion)" is exactly like saying "300% less". It is an ridiculous statement made by a math illiterate. It is, by definition, impossible for anything to lose more than 100% of it's value.

    People see the statement "3 times larger" and, because they can barely add 2+2 without an electronic calculator, they think "3 times smaller" is a valid statement.

    [/rant]

  10. Re:Maybe paper, probably not by mpapet · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There might be some problems with putting it in paper:

    1. Module has to stay in the paper. This is harder than it sounds.
    2. Antenna (for contactless) has to be much thinner and more flexible than paper. Many transit systems using microcontrollers embedded inside tickets might already have this, but the paper is pretty thick.
    3. Antenna has to stay in the paper.
    4. Paper tracking can be done already with UV inks. I'm not sure which would be cheaper though.

    Does anyone know what kind of microcontroller is used on the transit system tickets?

    --
    http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
  11. This technology is taking off very slow by blueZ3 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I remember seeing an ad a few years back about how you would be able to push your loaded cart through the check-out and all the groceries would be scanned and totaled and you could just pay and go without the need unload the cart and wait for the checker to scan and reload everything. The closest I've seen is the "self checkouts" at the grocery stores (anyone else have these?) where you scan and bag the items yourself. (I'm still wondering how they would handle items that are sold by weight)

    Like any technology this could have its uses (as the above example) and I really think a lot of the concerns are exaggerated (I have a hard time getting my RFID badge to trigger the door locks here, even when it's practically touching the reader). The tinfoil hat crowd and their "the black helicopters will read these as they fly over your house" don't make a lot of sense to me. But maybe the joy of the thing is in conspiracy, not the logic? My read on this is that in order to generate enough power to be read at any great distance (like from outside your house) you'd have to paint the tags with enough radio to fry the occupants.

    Anyway, so far it's all talk and nothing much else of practical value. Maybe the packaging of the next Duke Nukem will have RFID? :o)

    --
    Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
    1. Re:This technology is taking off very slow by asuffield · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Like any technology this could have its uses (as the above example) and I really think a lot of the concerns are exaggerated (I have a hard time getting my RFID badge to trigger the door locks here, even when it's practically touching the reader). The tinfoil hat crowd and their "the black helicopters will read these as they fly over your house" don't make a lot of sense to me.

      To repeat a point that Schneier made recently (can't find the link, sorry), there's three ranges involved here and you're making the common mistake of confusing two or more of them.

      There's the expected operating range - that's the distance at which the device is intended to function. In order to keep costs down, and to prevent false triggers (which are regarded as worse than false misses), door opening systems, checkout scanners, and similar devices are designed with an intended operating distance of a few inches. At that range it should always work, when the hardware is not defective.

      Then there's the maximum operating range - that's how far you can manage to pick up the signal with the same equipment on a good day, if you wave it about a bit and tilt it to get a better angle and clear any metal objects out of the immediate area, etcetera. That's usually a few feet on the same devices.

      Then there's the maximum operating range for a person with special equipment. No longer using that cheap $20 RFID reader in the door sensor or checkout. Now we're using an expensive, high-gain antenna with an expensive amplifier, and a specialised computer device on the back end doing noise compensation and stuff. That's usually on a scale of somewhere between dozens of yards and miles (depending on exactly what variation of RFID you are dealing with), reading the same tags that we were reading the first times. The cost of this equipment is measured in hundreds or thousands of dollars. Too much to be installed in a door sensor, but there's absolutely no reason why you couldn't own one if you wanted to, and scan all the RFID tags on your street. Anybody who can afford a helicopter can certainly have one of those.

      You are observing some combination of the first two distances and wondering why people are worried about the third one. Saying that the government wants to do this might be a conspiracy theory, but saying that it can be done is not - hobbyists do this kind of thing all the time. Bluetooth has the same issue (normal operating range is a few feet, maximum is some number of miles). Most wireless devices do, to some extent.

      The difference between these ranges is just economics at work. You can buy better equipment if you want, but the companies who install hundreds of fixed devices buy the cheapest equipment they can get away with using.

  12. That's great news! by catdevnull · · Score: 3, Funny

    I was worried that the older ones would be visible under my forehead.

    --

    I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
  13. Tracking my trackers.. by modi123 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Oh greatest news of all! With this RFID tag being so small I now have a solution for tracking all my RFID tags.. I tried to adhere two RFID tags together, but that was way too bulky. Now I can have wafer thin tags on my bulkier, older tags, and I finally know where any of my RFID tags are at any point of the day! Oh joys of joy!

    Additionally, as I am thinking about this new miracle invention, I also have a way of tagging all my M&Ms and Skittles.. yeah! I will soon find out who has been eating my Skittles in my apartment.. *angry fist shaking*

  14. Re:Maybe paper, probably not by TubeSteak · · Score: 2, Funny
    Does anyone know what kind of microcontroller is used on the transit system tickets?
    Usually the microcontroller is an abrasive female, but occassionaly it's a worn down guy.
    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  15. Five Medical Futures by handy_vandal · · Score: 2, Informative

    I fear the moment we use this kind of chips inside our own body. At this moment there are several studies in development to apply the RFID chips in Medicine.

    Scenario #1: RFID nano-medicine saves my life. GOOD THING.

    Scenario #2: RFID nano-medicine tracks my location, rogue Pinkerton agents hunt and kill me. BAD THING.

    Scenario #3: RFID nano-medicine extends my life. GOOD THING (but see also TOO EXPENSIVE).

    Scenario #4: RFID nano-medicine used to collect statistical bio-data from millions of people, including me. NOT SURE.

    Scenario #5: RFID nano-medicine makes me immortal. NOT SURE ....

    -kgj

    --
    -kgj
  16. Could care less about size... by doormat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What I really want out of RFID tags is the ability to scan 1000s per minute. I've got a large room, a library of documents. If I RFID tag each one, I want to be able to run a wand past all the documents and inventory all 100,000 documents in 15 minutes. Right now, the people I've talked to say its not possible. That is what I am waiting for.

    --
    The Doormat

    If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
  17. Makes no sense by Pedrito · · Score: 2, Informative

    I see stuff like this all the time and it makes no sense to me:

    measuring in at 7.5 microns, is ten or more times thinner

    Okay, I assume this means that paper is roughly 75 microns thick. But to say something is 10 times thinner means that it's 10 x 75 microns thinner. In other words, somehow, 7.5 microns = 75 microns - 750 microns.

  18. 128-bits is enough for everyone by MobyDisk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How do they assign RFID numbers? 128-bits is probably plenty if they are given out efficiently. Or are they giving them out like IPv4 blocks and we are going to run out eventually?

  19. Re:More Thinner? by windowpain · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This weird locution is becoming increasingly common. I wish I knew where it came from.

    I'm fully expecting to see a box of something on the supermarket shelf that's half the size of the regular box with bold lettering on its front declaring "NOW! TWICE AS SMALL!"

    --
    Insert witty sig here.
  20. Top SECRET FACT:Most modern cars tracking ALREADY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They have been grain-of rice sized for years, mainly for all car tire embedding.

    TOP SECRET FACT:Most modern cars have tracking transponders ALREADY! While you drive on highways. Wires in the road and 14 feet above work fine.

    Spy transmission chips embedded in tires that can be read REMOTELY while driving.

    A secret initiative exists to track all funnel-points on interstates and US borders for car tire ID transponders (RFID chips embedded in the tire).

    Yup. My brother works on them (since 2001).

    The us gov T.R.E.A.D. act (which passed) made it illegal to sell new passenger cars lacking untamperable RFID in the tires allowing efficient scanning of moving cars.

    Your tires have a passive coil with 64 to 128 bit serial number emitter in them! (AIAG B-11 ADC v3.0) . A particular frequency energizes it enough so that a receiver can read its little ROM. A ROM which in essence is your GUID for your TIRE. Multiple tires do not confuse the readers. Its almost identical to all "FastPass" "SpeedPass" technologies you see on gasoline keychain dongles and commuter windshield sticker-chips. The US gov has secretly started using these chips to track people.

    Its kind of like FBI "Taggants" in fertilizer and "Taggants" in Gasoline and Bullets, and Blackpowder. But these car tire transponder Ids are meant to actively track and trace movement of your car.

    Taggant chemical research papers :
    http://www.wws.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/byteserv.prl/ ~ota/disk3/1980/8017/801705.PDF
    (remove spaces in url from slashcode if needed)

    I am not making this up. Melt down a high end Firestone, or Bridgestone tire and go through the bits near the rim (sometimes at base of tread) and you will locate the transmitter (similar to 'grain of rice' pet ids and Mobile SpeedPass, but not as high tech as the tollbooth based units). Sokymat LOGI 160, and Sokymat LOGI 120 transponder buttons are just SOME of the transponders found in modern high end car tires. The AIAG B-11 Tire tracking standard is now implemented for all 3rd party transponder manufactures [covered below].

    It is for QA and to prevent fraud and "car theft", but the US Customs service uses it in Canada to detect people who swap license plates on cars when doing a transport of contraband on a mule vehicle that normally has not logged enough hours across the border. The customs service and FBI do not yet talk about this, and are starting using it soon.

    Photos of tracking chips before molded deep into tires! :
    http://www.sokymat.com/index.php?id=94

    PLEASE LOOK AT THAT LINK : Its the same shocking tire material I have been trying to tell people about since the spring of 2001 on slashdot.

    a controversial dead older link was at http://www.sokymat.com/sp/applications/tireid.html

    (slashdot ruins links, so you will have to remove the ASCII space it inserts usually into any of my urls to get to the shocking info and photos on the embedded LOGI 160 chips that the us Gov scans when you cross Mexican and Canadian borders.)

    You never heard of it either because nobody moderates on slashdot anymore and this is probably +0 still. It has also never appeared in print before and is (or was) very secret.

    Californias Fastpass is being upgraded to scan ALL responding car tires in future years upcoming. I-75 may get them next in rural funnel points in Ohio.

    The photo of the secret high speed overpass prototype WAS at :
    http://www.tadiran-telematics.com/products6.html ...but the shocking link finally died in July 2004 and the new location 2005 does not have a photo of a RFID bridge underpass RFID database collector. But this 20005 link below does discuss their toll booth

  21. They'll do both! by wheresjbob · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "I wonder if government will advocate tracking of people using RFID, or advocate banning the tracking of people via RFID?"

    They'll likely do both! Track people using RFID while banning others from doing the same.

  22. ... but you still need an antenna by helix_r · · Score: 3, Insightful


    Yes, of course, its not surprising that the RFID chip itself can be incredibly small. What most commentators are missing is that YOU STILL NEED AN ANTENNA to access the thing.

    A "long-range" (> few inches) RFID tag needs a relatively large area antenna, like the size of a business card.

    A "near-field" tag can have an antenna that is a few millimeters wide, but then your reader has to be very close-- almost touching.

  23. Re:So for arguments sake... by $ASANY · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Every piece of clothing sold has an ultra thin RFID chip imbeded in the hem. You purchase said clothing with a credit card now said clothing is linked to your name. Now all thats needed is to install scanners at stratigic locations and wham they know who and where you are.

    Phooey.

    And just how and where does this "linking" happen? Do you think the cash register is going to have an embedded EPC Class 1 Generation 2 RFID tag writer which will for convenience's sake rewrite the tag to include a credit card number? Or would Wal-Mart decide it makes good business sense to host petrabytes of pretty useless data linking credit cards and EPCglobal RFID tag values?

    All of these scenarios have a box in the middle of their systems architecture that reads "A miracle occurrs here" where data integration supposedly happens. Until someone figures out a way to perform such miracles, this dog won't hunt.

  24. Re:another easily circumvented solution by $ASANY · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Easy. Carry a battery-powered baby monitor that uses the 900MHz band in your pocket. Those things are wonderfully capable of farking up any and all passive RFID tag reads. Just about anything that uses the 900MHz band will do. The reflective signal of a passive tag is extremely weak, and any powered emissions source at close proximity will mask an RFID tag's signal. Chances are that since there's no error correction in Gen 1 and Gen 2 tag constructs, the signals from any baby monitor will cause numerous phantom reads as well.

    Look at the biggest challenges in passive RFID today, and it'll show you exactly where the vulnerabilities are. Proxomity to metal, proximity to liquids, proximity to other tags, false reads frequency, sensitivity to interference and tag failure rates provide all sorts of opportunities for general mayhem. It don't take much.