Don't tell Cheney about this: Saudi 'Killer Chip' Implant Would Track, Eliminate Undesirables.

[proteus_lives]

Hi everyone! I saw this and I wanted to share it. Scary huh? Science-fiction or science-fact? It's my first time posting something so if belongs somewhere else or I messed something up, let me know!

http://www.geekologie.com/2009/05/inventor_denied_patent_for_hum.php

[Enrique]

1. could be useful in a ticking time bomb scenario

I say let's do it.

For the people worried about civil liberties, simple solution: don't be an undesirable and you have nothing to worry about.

[obxhead]

2. The scary part of that mindset would be

who is deciding who belongs on the "undesirable" list. Keep in mind that one day we will not be under democrat control. What "classifies" one as an "undesirable" is also a very strong thing to fear as well. I point to the problems we have had with no fly lists since 9/11 as an easy example.

[napoleon_in_rags]

3. I wonder what kind of batteries it has?

The satellite Spot device is handheld, with two regular size batteries with a life of 14 days while broadcasting little messages with the location of the user:

http://www.globalcomsatphone.com/spot/battery.html

So what in the hell powers this thing, Plutonium?

[RandomThoughts]

4. The power source of chips that could be put in people

comes from the scanner, not sure of the exact tech, but the scanning device radio signal gives enough power to read the chip. Read something like that awhile back.

I personally think all chipping should stop. First the reason people do it is usually economic forces, it is required at some work, or people get a discount for allowing it.

Second it is not a good slope to go down on issues of privacy.

[napoleon_in_rags]

7. I think you're talking about passive RFID?

That's where they send a radio signal out, and the RFID chip returns a signal back, it doesn't need any power of its own. Like that's what they put into pets. But its really short range. Specifically, I don't see how the little device could send a radio signal into space. I could be wrong, there could be something ingenious, but it still doesn't add up to me.

[KharmaTrain]

5. Lithium...

The key to this system (if it's really practical at this point) is in the recievers, not the transmitter. Satallite tracking has gotten so specific it can detect very low power signals...in conjunction with existing cell networks that do all the heavy lifting.

A majority of the power in your GPS is for the video display and other features...the actual tracking info can be with very little power. A chip powered by a lithium watch battery can last several years.

And remember, what we see on the consumer market is the products the military no longer feels are important. The big brother side of this, as others have noted, is who determines who gets implanted...or if one day becomes a government policy...another form of personal ID.

[napoleon_in_rags]

6. You should tell the spot company if you don't think the transmitters are a big deal!

Read the link above. Here is the device:
http://www.findmespot.com/en/
it has no display whatsoever. Normal GPS units are passive, they triangulate your position from satellite signals, they don't send signals up to GPS satellites 20,000 km in space so they don't count. The spot device does send a signal into space, but 14 days of tiny location signals kill its normal size batteries. I still don't see how this works.

[Quantess]

8. That's a disturbing invention.