Jul 18 2006
HP Creates Tiny Wireless Chip
HP has made a break-through; a tiny wireless chip the size of a grain of rice. How cool is that!
HP is very proud of their work:
HP today announced that its researchers have developed a miniature wireless data chip that could provide broad access to digital content in the physical world.
With no equal in terms of its combination of size, memory capacity and data access speed, the tiny chip could be stuck on or embedded in almost any object and make available information and content now found mostly on electronic devices or the Internet.
What? Here is what Reuters has to say:
Developed over four years by HP Labs’ campus in Bristol, England, the chip is about the size of the head of a match and could potentially store a patient’s medical chart on a hospital band, said Howard Taub, associate director at HP Labs.
“There’s no question that it has long-term potential,” said Tim Bajarin, president of market research firm Creative Strategies of Campbell, California. “But keep in mind this is a technology announcement. It’s difficult to predict what applications will be developed and what we would call the ‘killer application’ for this.”
Consumers could store audio commentary, music or short videos on such a chip, affixed to a printed digital photograph. Devices to read and write data on the chip would then eventually be embedded in cell phones, handheld computers, personal computers, printers, or small standalone readers.
Gazotto breaks it down into simple terms:
HP says that this tiny chip can be placed or embedded in any object. The chip is 4mm by 2mm. Because it is so tiny HP thinks that they will embed them in paper and place them in a booklet which you can simple peel off and stick where needed. (Hmm a sticker that’s also a chip).
What’s also so amazing is that it can transfer 10 megabits per second which is 10 times faster than the speed of the popular Bluetooth network.
Gearater has this thought on its uses:
All products can be further reduced in size when they incorporate such a chip, but of course that is limited by a minimum size of the screen as anything smaller than 3″ makes Web surfing a pain rather than a joy.
Agreed. But, if the image was projected directly into the brain…or the closest thing to it, the cell phone!
mobilementalism.com has some additional uses:
Picture the following: Swipe your mobile phone over a DVD, and transfer a video clip of the DVD onto your phone. Or swipe it over a CD, and hear an audio clip of the tune you’re interested in. Or maybe swipe your phone over a laptop, and read reviews about it.
While this technology is amazing, it means we will be broadcasting information about ourselves to the world. Think of the issues with ID theft in the future.
From engadget:
HP seems to believe that Memory Spots can be used in storing medical records on patient’s wristbands, adding audio clips to paintings, security passes, etc., eerily encouraging your imagination to go wild. (Just think of the dirt you could get on your mobile screen passing a bus-load of tagged inmates, yikes.)
We’ll have to see where this one goes next…
