Three Square Market’s RFID chip can be programmed for making payments, medical information, remote vehicle starting and more. (Image credit: 32chip)
It’s been a year since Three Square Market tagged their (voluntary) employees with RFID chips, which they use to pay for items just by waving their hands in front of an NFC scanner. The company builds ‘Micro Markets,’ that’s akin to a mini 7-11, for companies and businesses based on their specific needs. Need a quick sandwich, maybe some fresh produce, chips or a salad? They can be tailored to whatever those businesses need, and so can the payment options.
Like any Micro Market company, Three Square Market has an R&D division (32Market) where they dabble in RFID and NFC technology that can be adapted for a variety of applications, including the ‘Internet of People.’
The idea behind utilizing the chip for Three Square Market employees came about when President Patrick McMullan was in Sweden, where some of the population are outfitting themselves subcutaneous microchips, allowing them to enter secure buildings or to purchase goods and services.
The chips themselves are about the size of a grain of rice, and like any RFID device, they’re passive and don’t require any power to function. The chip activates and draws power when near an NFC scanner that requests data from the chip.
The company has stated that employees had the option to get the chip voluntarily (and about 50 out of 70/80 did), or they could opt for wearing a ring or bracelet with the chip stored inside. McMullan said that the chip doesn’t have any GPS capabilities, as some were concerned about privacy or having their personal data (bank accounts, passwords, etc.) somehow hacked.
With that said, 32Market is now developing a chip that will indeed have GPS tracking capabilities and will be powered by the human body. Three Square Market CEO Todd Westby stating in a recent CNBC article, “We started with a simple little chip, and now it's evolved into a whole other business. We're in development right now of an actual chip that will be powered by the human body ... and it will have GPS-tracking capabilities along with voice recognition.”
Would you get chipped?
Have a story tip? Message me at: cabe(at)element14(dot)com
http://twitter.com/Cabe_Atwell
