Arphid Watch: The HP Memory Spot

It's an RFID chip, and without a battery, yet it nevertheless has half a meg of data onboard.http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060716005035&newsLang=enNice spimey rhetoric from the R&D lads here:"The Memory Spot chip frees digital content from the electronic world of the PC and the Internet and arranges it all around us in our physical world," said Ed McDonnell, Memory Spot project manager, HP Labs."This really bridges the digital and physical worlds," said Howard Taub, associate director at HP Labs. "The digital data is attached to the physical object it's related to.""Memory Spot chips have numerous possible consumer and business-based applications. Some examples are:– Medical records: Embed a Memory Spot chip into a hospital patient's wrist band and full medical and drug records can be kept securely available.– Audio photo: Attach a chip to the prints of photographs and add music, commentary or ambient sound to enhance the enjoyment of viewing photos.– Digital postcards: Send a traditional holiday postcard to family and friends with a chip containing digital pictures of a vacation, plus sounds and even video clips.– Document notes: A Memory Spot chip attached to a paper document can include a history of all the corrections and additions made to the text, as well as voice notes and graphical images.– Perfect photocopies: A Memory Spot chip attached to a cover sheet eliminates the need to copy the original document. Just read the perfect digital version into the photocopier and the result will be sharp output every time, no matter how many copies are needed, and avoiding any possibility of the originals jamming in the feeder.– Security passes: Add a chip to an identity card or security pass for the best of both worlds – a handy card with secure, relevant digital information included.– Anti-counterfeit tags: Counterfeit drugs are a significant problem globally. Memory Spot chips can contain secure information about the manufacture and quality of pharmaceuticals. When added to a drug container, this can prove their authenticity. A similar process could be used to verify high-value engineering and aviation components.http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060716005035&newsLang=en(((The arphid world seems to have two (2) size comparisons – grains of rice, and pencil-points.)))