Q: Would you want a micro-robotic device implanted in your child, capable of tracking and identifying them worldwide?
Micro RFID tags have been used in domestic pets for a number of years to identify them by veterinarians and animal shelters. When answering, assume this microscopic device could be removed (painlessly), and they would have the option of having it removed once they were of legal age. Assume also there would be no medical complications and the device could not be “hacked” easily. Power can be derived from the body’s natural motions (walking etc.).
Information provided by the chip can include:
*GPS location
*name & age
*blood type & allergies
*other essential information
Although not implantable, the SFE Ubertracker relays GPS data in real time. Combined with a credit-card sized RFID Tag, the two would be able to both track and identify a child. However, RFID tags are programmed separately, so a general RFID reader would not have the same information / database as the original, making the data almost useless to a third party. The challenge would be to shrink all these components into a device small enough to be implanted yet also comfortable. Paper-thin electronics, MEMS and PICs might provide a start, but the second challenge is the power.
The technology to miniaturize GPS into an implantable chip, with a power supply capable of lasting a decent amount of time is close, though not yet commercial. The best option is to use an external system such as the one described in the previous post, combining a GPS tracker: SFE UberTracker GPS Tracker with an RFID tag: RFID Tag - Credit Card Sized. We cannot suggest any specific companies researching this technology, though we suggest you do a search on the internet to find more information.
To play devil’s advocate: shouldn’t a parent know exactly where their child is before they reach legal age (18 in most cases)? If your preteen son or daughter is lying about their wherabouts, isn’t that cause for concern? Once an individual reaches leagal age, they should have the option of having it removed. The recent movie fictional “Gamer” (despite being very violent) indicated that each individual could have their own “IP” address. Note though that adults can be tracked based on credit and debit purchases, as well as cell phone pings.
Thanks for your immediate reply.I am very interested on rfid implants.Just in case you will be selling rfid implants please let me know.Regarding GPS base products,im also interested…but my question is, isnt it hard to set up or configure those GPS base products?Can you give me some existing application of GPS base products?
I, as a parent, am 100% responisible and accountable for my child. If anything were ever to happen to them, the onus should be on me to fix and correct. What is the point of alerting police to find a missing child that could be miles away by the time you find out.
I want a GPS tracker inserted inside my children that alerts me and the police as soon as they are more than 20 feet from where they should be i.e. school.
I am of the opinion that there are two sides of the same coin. On the one side implanting your child a RFID chip is useful in order to track them if something happens to them but on the other side there is the ethical aspect. Using the RFID in order to track the exact GPS postition of your child could also be an invasion of privacy.
I am not quite sure if I would want that my child has a RFID chip implanted.
There is currently no such device on the market, though there are external devices available from a variety of manufacturers that can be placed in backpacks or as part of a child’s clothing that alerts the parent if their child leaves a specific radius. There are also GPS trackers that send the GPS coordinates via cellphone frequencies to your computer.
