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Hitachi's Tiny RFID Chips 153

Posted by kdawson from the bugged-dust dept.
paltemalte writes "Hitachi has just come out with a new crop of RFID tags, measuring only 1/20 of a millimeter square. That's 1/8 the size (in linear dimension) of Hitachi's currently shipping mu-chips, which are 0.4 mm square. The new chip's width is slightly smaller than a human hair. These chips could put an end to shoplifting forever, but they could also be used by a governments or other entities to 'dust' crowds or areas, easily tagging anyone present without their knowledge or consent. Will someone come up with a surefire way of neutralizing chips that may be on your body or in your clothing?" Hard to pin down a source on this. The article cites another blog, which points to an article in Japanese.
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Hitachi's Tiny RFID Chips More

Hitachi's Tiny RFID Chips

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  • maybe this could be used to find all those lost children... just implant a tag and boom, instant kid finder.... not to mention the uses the government could come up with for this

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Apocalypse111 ( 597674 )
      Not really - the range on RFID chips is pretty small, you'd have to have readers installed everywhere, and privacy groups would be up in arms about that (not that they aren't already up in arms about the issue of RFID slowly pervading many aspects of daily life).
      • A 0.05mm square is 1/64th the size of a 0.4mm square, not 1/8th. Did submitter fail geometry class or something?

        • A 0.05mm square is 1/64th the size of a 0.4mm square, not 1/8th. Did submitter fail geometry class or something?
          Apparently he paid better attention in that class than you did to the summary:
          ...measuring only 1/20 of a millimeter square. That's 1/8 the size (in linear dimension)

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by sunwukong ( 412560 )
        Maybe the GP was thinking more along the lines of a multiple birth or George Foreman type situation: "George *beep* IV go and clean your room!"

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Scrameustache ( 459504 )

        you'd have to have readers installed everywhere
        Well then, people would only allow that if there was some kind of boogey man so scary that they would gladly give up their freedoms at the slightest assurance that this will protect them. Of course, first you'd want to implement full deployment of a more conventional surveillance technology... CCTV cameras, for instance. But, you're right, privacy advocates old be up in arms about that, it'll never happen.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by iamhassi ( 659463 )
        "Not really - the range on RFID chips is pretty small, you'd have to have readers installed everywhere"

        Shhh!!! This is just a great excuse for us geeks to tell some girl trying to hide out that she should strip down and get in my shower for a full body scrub down! ;)

        I can so see that happening in the next great futuristic thriller suspense movie like Minority Report.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sukotto ( 122876 )
        Yes. The same way everyone's up in arms about cameras all over the place.
    • nah--more likely it will just increase thieves' tendencies to put their kidnapped "treasures" inside lead boxes. That doesn't sound good for the children.
      • Lead would work, but is most effective against x rays and ionizing radiation - an aluminum or copper shielded box would work better and be a bit more practical...

    • Fighting back with RFID readers (Score:5, Funny)

      by parvenu74 ( 310712 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @02:59PM (#18028540)
      Is there something about RFID that allows only a certain set of RFID readers to be able to read the chip? What I want to know is: how do I get an RFID reader? I want mount an RFID reader in front of my house and log all of the cars that come by, when they come by, if they are staying within "view" of the RFID reader for a certain amount of time (like, say, arriving an hour after I leave for work and leaving an hour before I return), etc. Pretty much every car is going to have RFID tagging in the near future, if only by way of the RFID chips being placed in new tired these days [rfidjournal.com], so the only "hard" part will be correlating the RFID to a person's identity, but if the RFID can trigger a video recorder then this challenge is narrowed down. Also, I want RFID stickers and/or micro-darts I can surreptitiously plant/shoot onto the neighborhood brat's skateboard so I can log and record their presence and what they're doing around my house... and above all else: I want an RFID jammer! Why? BECAUSE I'M MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Richy_T ( 111409 )
        No longer affiliated with this place but they have an affordable kit and are helpful with questions intersoft-us

  • What they didn't tell you (Score:5, Informative)

    by JesseL ( 107722 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:10PM (#18026604) Homepage Journal
    Most RFID chips still have to be attached to a much larger coil antenna to make a tag that will actually work.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by JesseL ( 107722 )
      To elaborate, there are RFID chips with embedded antennas but they obviously have very limited range. The other issue that should be recognized by people with concerns about "crowd dusting" is just how hard it is to build RFID systems that can handle reading lots of tags at once without collisions.
      • Why did parent's clarification/elaboration on his +4 insightful post get 0 flamebaited?

        I think I need a vacation...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by JPribe ( 946570 )

      Most RFID chips still have to be attached to a much larger coil antenna to make a tag that will actually work.

      A nanotube coil antenna???

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by JesseL ( 107722 )
        Its physical size would still be dictated by the frequency being used.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by ajlitt ( 19055 )
          Lucky for you Hitachi mentions the frequency: 2.4GHz. Assuming this device uses a quarter-wave dipole, you're looking at a 6.5cm long antenna. That'd be pretty noticeable.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by sysopd ( 617656 )

      Most RFID chips still have to be attached to a much larger coil antenna to make a tag that will actually work.

      The "new" RFID innovation for embedding in clothing etc is conductive thread antennae. The antenna is woven into the clothing or item and disguises as an ordinary thread. To be less conspicuous the thread can be woven into the label or a seam.

      Philips patent for a flexible fabric antenna [freepatentsonline.com].

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by JesseL ( 107722 )
        Yep, but who is going to surreptitiously weave an RFID antenna into the clothes of everyone in a crowd?
    • Question: wouldn't the human body work nicely as an antenna?

      I mean, I know antennas that have worked better when in contact with my water-filled fat ass.
    • Also they didn't tell you that they can't take very much heat or water. So that question about how to kill an RFID chip on your clothing, or your body: the solution is to wash them.

  • Something to worry about... but maybe not so much. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Captain Sarcastic ( 109765 ) * on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:11PM (#18026610)
    The people who are concerned about "crowd-dusting" have some valid concerns. It might be one of those nifty little ways of keeping track of who showed up at the protest march, or something like that.

    On the other hand, I don't know what the effective range is on these RFID chips. If it is more than 30 feet, then I'd definitely worry. If it's less than 3 feet, then by-hand scanning or pass-through-booth scanning are the only ways of effectively managing that.

    If it's between those two ranges, then... I wouldn't panic. Yet.
    • Don't worry, we'll figure out a way to defeat these chips. Makeshift chem-warfare suits of some sort?
      • I'm picturing the reception you get, showing up at a rally in Haz-Mat gear..
    • Unless you use a large antenna (several centimetres squared) you are talking about a range of millimetres.

      • Re:Something to worry about... but maybe not so mu (Score:4, Informative)

        by sunwukong ( 412560 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:27PM (#18026862)
        Hitachi's current product, the Mu-chip [hitachi-eu.com], has a supposed reading range of 400mm with a 54mm antenna [hitachi-eu.com].

        Dunno what the proposed range and antenna requirements for the new chip will be.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Anpheus ( 908711 )
          If the range is similar to what you mentioned, then at best the law enforcement would only be able to know how many DVDs are currently in stock at Best Buy, tracking people with RFID would be kind of difficult with the shear number of devices using it unless these chips use a novel frequency.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by Djupblue ( 780563 )
          The reading distance is not so much limited by reader sensitivity as the amount of rf-power received by the chip. The chip has to receive enough power to operate, albeit very little. Then the chip creates a modulated reflection, that means that the more power you transmit the more power you get back. The specified reading range is not a hard limit, you can get a lot longer distance if you use a reader that put out more power than the spec states. We read rfid chips at up to about 10 meters in optimal condit

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by jimbojw ( 1010949 )

        I can't wait till they combine this with body glitter...

        Man: Hi honey - I'm so glad to be done with that all nighter. Boy we sure had a lot of work to do at the office.
        Wife: (gets out scanner) Oh yeah? Then who's Tiffany1456xoxoxo?!

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by DigitalLogic ( 599056 )
      Are these the same people they are going to use the microwave passive weapon on?

    • Re:Something to worry about... but maybe not so mu (Score:4, Funny)

      by SnowZero ( 92219 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:22PM (#18026816)
      you:

      The people who are concerned about "crowd-dusting" have some valid concerns.

      Summary:

      Will someone come up with a surefire way of neutralizing chips that may be on your body or in your clothing?"


      What you see as a problem, I see as a business opportunity: Everyone needs a SnowTech-1000 personal EMP! Protect your loved ones by protecting your anonymity, from corrupt governments, angry neighbors, and evil computer AIs. Pre-order[1] yours today, for only 3 easy payments of $59.95!

      [1] In order to protect your national security, we may sell this information to our sales partners, such as certain national public entities.

      • What you see as a problem, I see as a business opportunity: Everyone needs a SnowTech-1000 personal EMP! Protect your loved ones by protecting your anonymity, from corrupt governments, angry neighbors, and evil computer AIs.

        Good idea. It would make a great companion to the Bollix jammer I just mounted on my car. Now I'm saving up for platcats and a cyberlink (+3 to hit!)...

    • On the other hand, I don't know what the effective range is on these RFID chips. If it is more than 30 feet, then I'd definitely worry. If it's less than 3 feet, then by-hand scanning or pass-through-booth scanning are the only ways of effectively managing that.

      Here's a scary thought :

      You work for some branch of the Federal Government, and you attend a protest rally. You get "dusted", and when you show up for work the next day the RFID reader you walk through (in the metal detector you pass through) alerts

    • On the other hand, I don't know what the effective range is on these RFID chips. If it is more than 30 feet, then I'd definitely worry. If it's less than 3 feet, then by-hand scanning or pass-through-booth scanning are the only ways of effectively managing that. If it's between those two ranges, then... I wouldn't panic. Yet.

      I don't think you've fully appreciated the potential for people to do nefarious things with technology of this sort. I'm not trying to be paranoid, but let's just say for the sake
    • I don't know if "dusting" a group of people would work very well because after the event the tags would get on anyone that passed thru the area. You would get identified as being at the event when you simply passed thru after it was over.
      • I don't know if "dusting" a group of people would work very well because after the event the tags would get on anyone that passed thru the area. You would get identified as being at the event when you simply passed thru after it was over.

        Fascists don't care about accuracy (just look at how accurate the no-fly list has proven). If a few dolphins get caught in the net with all the tuna, that's the dolphins' problem.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by kirun ( 658684 )
      Why would they bother RFIDing the crowd when they could just spray them with Smart Water [smartwater.com]? The patrols with their hi-tech scanners could be replaced with ones wielding UV lamps.

  • Neutralize? (Score:5, Funny)

    by zyl0x ( 987342 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:11PM (#18026620)
    You could always wrap yourself in tinfoil.. but then again, you would stick out a bit more than usual.
    • That should fry those pesky chips!
      • Microwaving yourself may possibly cause you to stand out in a crowd more than being wrapped in tin foil.

    • You could always wrap yourself in tinfoil.

      Valentine's Day was yesterday. And syran wrap is the preferred kitchen-product-on-a-roll for wrapping oneself in, but whatever floats your boat.

      Besides, what if one of these tiny RFID chips contacts the full-body foil condom you're wearing? You've just given it a big-ass antenna, which makes it more likely you'll be spotted by "their" readers.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Jump in the microwave for three minutes!! Just make sure that your eyes don't start on fire [prisonplanet.com].
  • "...but they could also be used by a governments or other entities to 'dust' crowds or areas, easily tagging anyone present without their knowledge or consent."

    As we all know, you can't dust for vomit.
  • Well, during the discussion of RFID chips in passports, people were frequently suggesting that we throw our passports in the microwave for a few seconds to kill the chips. I'd imagine the same solution is applicable here, but for some reason I just don't think it'll fry- er, I mean fly.

  • Small tags have inherent limitations (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:16PM (#18026706)
    These tags are 1/20th mm square, correct? This means they are 1e-3/20 m = 5e-5m across. This corresponds to a frequency of 6 THz or for a quarter-wave antenna something like 6/4 THz = 1.5 THz. This is a very high frequency and not the easiest to make with existing technology (especially at significant power levels). This means that querying tags of this size is probably only feasible at short range using a beam that is directed at the tag as opposed to just looking in a vague region of space. Other companies have made optically addressed tags that push this direction even further but with even worse limitations. Also, at ~1 THz the attenuation due to dielectrics (or especially water) is very high and this limits the distance over which one can practically probe the chip.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Umbrel ( 1040414 )
      Besides there is the cost of the scanning equipment, I can see a supermarket putting it on their 2 or 3 doors, but for a goverment to track all the people the cost (I guess) would be too high. Of course a totalitarian megalomaniac will try to pay but increasing taxes or something but I don't think it would work anyway.

    • Re:Small tags have inherent limitations (Score:4, Informative)

      by Kadin2048 ( 468275 ) <slashdot@kadin.xoxy@net> on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:46PM (#18027104) Homepage Journal
      This is just the transciever chip; it has to have an external antenna. Elsewhere, people have discussed their current chip offerings, which have antennas in the ~50mm range. Generally they print them out in the shape of a labyrinth-like square, to take up less space, but it still increases the size pretty dramatically.

      I suspect if you took the same antenna and made it into a 3d cube instead of a 2d concentric spiral, you'd probably end up with something pretty small ... still, not "dust" size.
    • INT WTF!!!!

      WHen going to a protest, just wear a disposable outfit. Maybe like a cleanroom outfit. Wear a face-distorting mask. Oh, maybe wear a foil suit, with grounding ties or grids on the event floor to set up disruptive reflections, distortions and other effects that could ruin the bugs.

      The sponsors of the event could provide exit showers that "decontaminate" or "delouse" the attendees, lathering them in non-lethal energy waves, and then diverting the exiting attendees with lookers on near the public tr

  • Currency Tracking (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Kaikopere ( 892344 ) * on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:17PM (#18026722)
    Maybe my tinfoil hat is showing, but the first thing that sprang to my mind was "Great, now they have a way to track cash transactions". RFID chips in the currency, readers in the cash registers so you don't have to worry all that much about distance. They'll sell it as a way to prevent counterfeiting.

    • They won't try to sell it, they'll just do it. It's not like they publicize all the features put into currency anyway.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by stratjakt ( 596332 )
        And they're already there as a means of anti-counterfeiting.

        Do you really think our government is capable of putting into place the infrastructure you'd need to "track cash"?

        Every POS machine would need to have this "secert uber reader chip" installed, and have some means of connectivity to report movements.

        And still, they might know someone spend a particular $20 at 7-11 for a pack of camels and a bag of chex mix, but how do they track that to a who? I guess they install the video cameras with the face-ma

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by bvdbos ( 724595 )
      European Currency has a rfid in it afaik, just put a banknote in the microwave and after a few seconds a little point fires up. My guess is these are rfid's...
    • Well, if you need untraceable cash for porn-buying, get your favorite priest or somesuch and swap their currency for yours. Get on the bus and "mix it up" with all kinds of people and eventually it doesn't matter if your CitiBank or Joinus or Family Mart or 711 or DairyQueen dispensers give your cash to you or to a stranger, as long as the people involved don't, ummm, shortchange the others involved.

      But, the flaw with this (my) idea is that if a major crime is slammed upon someone who DID NOT do it but only
  • Someone comes up with a new tech that could be used for something "evil" and people shit themselves? If you're truly worried about being RFID tagged, or having stuff you're shoplifting being tagged, get scanner, locate the spot and apply a neutralizer (electricity, magnetics?). So I think there's no cause for world-wide panic quite yet.

    It's quite another thing with fiber-optic cameras, which are ostensibly used by doctors for gastro- and colonoscopies. However, there is irrefutable evidence from trusted sou

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by sunwukong ( 412560 )
      a new tech that could be used for something "evil" and people shit themselves?

      Damn right we did! How else do you think we're going to get rid of those RFID chips they put in our GM food?!

      "Jebus -- eat some veggies once in a while!"

    • Someone comes up with a new tech that could be used for something "evil" and people shit themselves? If you're truly worried about being RFID tagged, or having stuff you're shoplifting being tagged, get scanner, locate the spot and apply a neutralizer (electricity, magnetics?). So I think there's no cause for world-wide panic quite yet.

      This is all great and everything, but with everything spiraling downwardly the way it is, you have to fake your info on every website, provide different passwords and emails

  • Hey how about this. Everytime we see a new technology, cause we are looking at this on the bleeding edge not like law makers, propose legislation outlawing those "bad"/Orwellian uses. So in this case, cool new chip, oops can be used to crowd dust, propose law making it illegal in the US for Gov/Private companies to use it like that and for kicks to sell to any other country for that purpose or if used for that purpose.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by stratjakt ( 596332 )
      Because these bad/orwellian ideas are usually complete fantasy from either the far right, or far left, and are usually idiotic on their face.

      Seriously, do you think the US government is capable of the infrastructure needed to do such a thing? Why dust a crowd with RFID tags to ID who's there, why not take a fucking picture? Facial recognicion technology is pretty much mature. Casinos use it to flag "high rollers" as they walk in. The idea of "tagging" people like this is goofy, since the tags would easi

  • How would they put an end to shoplifting? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by unassimilatible ( 225662 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:31PM (#18026918) Journal
    An RF alarm at the door going off is NOT probable cause that a theft has occurred (since the dumb cashiers often forget to deactivate them after purchases, and due to false alarms). So any retails store dumb enough to allow its employees to detain a person based on such an alarm had better get their checkbooks out for false arrest, battery, and defamation claims...

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by maxume ( 22995 )
      Barcodes are unique per SKU, that is, each *type* of item. RFID can be unique *per item*, so you just tie your register scanner to your inventory and security systems, and any item(that is, a particular box) that isn't marked as sold will quickly be considered probably cause.

      The act of completing the sale would automatically remove the security on an item, so the dumb cashiers wouldn't be able to forget, unless you 'forgot' to pay.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by JonWan ( 456212 )
      I have to agree here. I have one of these things in my videostore. It operates on 8.2 Mhz and goes off for almost no reason. Any piece of metal that is a multiple of the wavelength is will set off the alarm. Sometimes it gets so bad I just turn it off. The investment in this thing wasn't worth it as I have only had 1 (one) movie since 1986 that someone tried to steal by hiding it in their coat, I caught that one because I saw them hide it. I have many more movies go missing because people won't bring them b

  • Better than Nazi Germany tatoos & punchcards! (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    You know, these damn things don't help find lost kids one bit. If a kid is lost no tag that basically says his name is going to be any better than the kid telling a cop his name. I think just about everybody in the world who can talk can pretty much remember their own name.

    • I think just about everybody in the world who can talk can pretty much remember their own name.

      For some reason, I find this incongruous coming from "Anonymous".

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jdgeorge ( 18767 )
      You know, these damn things don't help find lost kids one bit. If a kid is lost no tag that basically says his name is going to be any better than the kid telling a cop his name. I think just about everybody in the world who can talk can pretty much remember their own name.

      While there may be truth to what you say, it is also true that no amount of asking will get a 1 year old child to tell a cop (or anyone else) his or her name.

      If you are concerned with the privacy implications of this stuff, I certainly un
  • "Hard to pin down a source on this. The article cites another blog, which points to an article in Japanese." Stop promoting blogspam in the first place.

  • EASY to pin down a source. (Score:3, Informative)

    by 1u3hr ( 530656 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:37PM (#18026988)
    The summary says: "Hard to pin down a source on this. The article cites another blog, which points to an article in Japanese."

    RTFA FFS. It has a link to Hitachi [hitachi.co.jp], in English:

    The mu-chip is Hitachi's response to resolving some of the issues associated with conventional RFID technology. The mu-hip uses the frequency of 2.45GHz. It has a 128-bit ROM for storing the ID with no write-read and no anti-collision capabilities. Its unique ID numbers can be used to individually identify trillions of trillions of objects with no duplication. Moreover with a size of 0.4mm square, the mu-chip is small enough to be attached to a variety of minute objects including embedding in paper.

  • they could also be used by a governments or other entities to 'dust' crowds or areas


    No. No, they couldn't. As at least two other posters have pointed out, these need to be attached to a coil antenna to get any sort of range on them.

    While the privacy implications of smaller chips are certainly distressing, claiming the government can "dust" people with a sort of "RFID powder" made up of these chips is FUD, plain and simple.
  • Let's hope that the Vrije Universiteit can get their RFID Guardian [rfidguardian.org] in production soon.
  • http://www.business-i.jp/news/sou-page/news/200702 140008a.nwc [business-i.jp] Using the cut/paste box at Google Translate we get:

    Hitachi, Ltd. announced that on the 13th, size 0.05 millimeter angle, thickness 0.005 millimeters succeeded in the development of the powdered worldwide smallest most thin electronic tag which is said. You aim toward the utilization of 2 and 3 years later.

    At the same company, already electronic tag "mu tip/chip" in size 0.4 millimeter angle commercialization. It was used with purpose of preventi
  • "but they could also be used by a governments or other entities to 'dust' crowds or areas, easily tagging anyone present without their knowledge or consent." Going to a marketplace and being RFID tagged without your knowledge, so they can track when you go in and out of affiliate stores and subsequent visits to the same marketplace... doesn't that sound a little bit like cookies? (marketing guys love cookies). Even to the point of RFID tags only having short range, so you'd have to actually go inside the
  • As chips get smaller and smaller, they tend to become more and more sensitive to electromagnetic interference. ...the layer of insulation between a transistor's gate and channel is so tiny that a moderately sized EM pulse should cause it to break down permanently.

    I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that the EMP needed to disable these chips would be of a lower magnitude than would cause damage to a person - unless maybe they have a pacemaker.

    Perhaps make like the guys in Cryptonomicon and turn your doo

  • Let's see here... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by cdrguru ( 88047 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:58PM (#18027292) Homepage
    We all know that RFID can be read from geosynchronous satellites - they have shown that in lots of movies. Also, those roving satellites that they can move around whereever they are needed. I'm sure you have seen that in movies also.

    So, we have a micro-sized RFID chip that will let anything be tracked from orbit, easily and without anyone else knowing about it. This technology will soon be embedded in everything from the clothes we wear to the food we eat. That would be a really simple way to get the tracking devices into everyone, wouldn't it?

    Of course we wouldn't want to interrupt our movie-tech fantasy here with even the tinyest bit of reality. So we can forget about RFID having an EXTREMELY limited range and requiring compariatively large antennas to work. No, no. We all need to be extremely concerned about the Government (any government) wanting to track individual citizens. And employers wanting to keep track of people every second of every day so they can be sure they aren't giving any help to competitors or making money outside of their regular job. And how could we be concerned if we bothered to learn about RFID and how it really works. It is much better to read blogs and scary opinions of people that are in the group concensus about how dangerous this is.

    Remember, it is much better to be in a group of thousands and knowing they feel the same way about something rather than being the only one with the truth. Why, you'd be all alone then!
  • ... Electromagnetic pulse closets. don't forget to leave your iphone on the nightstand!
  • That "dusting" remark made me wonder:

    Can an RFID sensor read a tag if there are dozens (hundreds, thousands, tetrazillions) of tags within range? Like space junk, will the accumulation of RFID junk eventually render the technology useless?
  • Will someone come up with a surefire way of neutralizing chips that may be on your body or in your clothing?

    Now who's the idiot laughing at basement-bound nerd like me?
  • These are resonant devices right? Extremely tiny ones. One decent pulse of RF at the right frequency makes lots of toast-dust. It might smell a bit funny, but they won't be resonant any more.

  • The obvious solution: RFID spam (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dekortage ( 697532 ) on Thursday February 15, 2007 @02:49PM (#18028350) Homepage

    No need to neutralize RFID "dust" (if such a thing were really possible). Just coat yourself every morning with a good dose of random RFID tags and the government spy scanners will choke themselves silly.

    Friend: "Dude, what's with all the dandruff lately?"
    Me: "It's that new RFID-blocking shampoo I'm using. In addition to pro-vitamins and aloe vera, it contains thousands of random RFID particles that attach to my scalp. It also stops free radicals from damaging my natural curls, and gives me that extra level of metallic sheen."
    Friend: "This explains why your hair sets of all the security alarms."

  • Seems like the obvious solution, but wouldn't that be a pretty easy way to see if you've got one on you?
  • This RFID chip was presented Weds at the Solid-State Circuits Conference, see the abstract on the bottom of the second page of this PDF: https://submissions.miracd.com/ISSCC2007/WebAP2007 /2007AP_Final_S26.pdf [miracd.com]
  • Not that anyone reads these comments down here, but there is a viable *and* diy solution from my fav. feminine fabricator, ladyada [ladyada.net]. Essentially it's an RF jammer, and apparently it works quite well :).

    After reading up on what it is, I think that I'll avoid posting direct links, as that might seem to be 'advertising'. I'm not sure, but I really wouldn't like for her to get fined with 11 grand 'cause of some over-enthusiastic fanboy...
  • You'd think that a tesla coil or something might be effective in disabling them? When the local science museum here (Scitech in Perth, Australia) first got their one (without a faraday cage) the cash registers in the store below all went on the blink...

    In short bursts they probably wouldn't be _too_ damaging to human health either
  • Start looking for the "Microwave Safe" logo on your new protesting outfit!

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