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HP's Memory Spot Chip
Iddo Genuth writes, "HP Labs recently revealed a prototype of the Memory Spot Chip, a tiny wireless chip capable of storing and transmitting data. When it hits the market in about 2-3 years, the new chip will enable a variety of applications ranging from digital wristbands that store patient medical information to sound bytes on paper or printed pictures that can be accessed using a reader-equipped device. The article has an interview with Howard Taub of HP Labs and some photos of the prototype chip." The chip can only be read at a distance of 1 mm, so it avoids many of the privacy concerns of RFID. It has about 1000 times the storage capacity and 100-1000 times the data transfer rate of RFID.
Just a thought, maybe it's because contacts get dirty, scratched, corroded, and stop working? With extrememly close wireless, you achieve a "contact" point without the maintenance issues. You could be right that it's purely a hype creator, but it seems like there might be some merit to me.
"I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability."-Oscar Wilde
RFID and Bluetooth Antennas are external and can be modified by users and manufactures for extra range. That is not the case for these devices as the antenna is on the die of the chip. It doesn't mean that you may be able to get 5mm out of the thing in a faraday cage but if you think you are going to get meters out of it I wouldn't hold my breath.
There are contactless smart cards with up to 2 megabytes of storage, built in AES, 3DES, and RSA, that have a 1 inch range and 800 kbps transmit rates. A $1 memory spot looks good compared to a $0.10 rfid chip but isn't so impressive compared to a $1 contactless smart card.
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