Replace papers, cards ... thanks to subcutaneous implantation, why not?

By implanting a microchip, users no longer need to carry around keycards, identification cards, and even train tickets.

Micro chips replace many papers and cards

Thousands of people in Sweden have just attended the smart chip implant festival in Stockholm. Participants implanted in chips for many different purposes, such as to change tickets to the subway, to vote in the gym .

About 3,000 people in Sweden have inserted microchips - which are as small as a grain of rice - down under the skin, over the past three years.

Users can connect the chip to a smartphone, via the app.

Alex Baker, CEO of Retail Tech X, said: 'I also decided to implant a microchip in my hand, to explore the practical opportunities this chip offers.'

About 3,000 people in Sweden have inserted a microchip - about the size of a grain of rice - into the skin over the past three years. This technology was first used in the Nordic nation in 2015. This transplant chip has helped replace many of the necessary papers and cards in everyday life.

For example, for Ulrika Celsing - 28 years old - the microchip implanted under her skin was used to replace her gym card and office lock card. Every time she arrived at work, she simply waved near a small box and typed the verification code to open the door.

In 2017, state-owned SJ railway began using hand-scanning technology of passengers with biometric chips, to collect their train fees right on the train.

Swedish railway charges via chips implanted under the skin of passengers.

Of course, these chips can be used to buy goods, similar to a non-touch payment credit card, but no one has tested this.

'Like ants burning'

Putting the microchip under the skin is similar to piercing, and a syringe will be injected into the user's hand. Celsing had a chip implanted at an event at the company, and she said it felt like 'ants' .

However, the implanted chip could cause infections or reactions in the body's immune system, said Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at the MAX IV lab in southern Sweden.

Biohacking - body modification with technology - is emerging, as more and more people are starting to use wearable technology devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit.

About four years ago, the Swedish biohacking group, Bionyfiken, began hosting 'chip implant festivals' - where groups of users inserted chips under their hands on a large scale - in many countries including the US and UK. , France, Germany and Mexico. About 50 employees at Wisconsin-based vending machine company Three Square Market volunteered to insert microchips into their hands, so they could use them to buy snacks, log on to computers, or use the machines. photocopy.

Tony Danna, vice president of Three Square Market, is getting a microchip implanted at his company's headquarters in Wisconsin in August 2017.

Sweden is perhaps the country that is willing to test new technologies, more than most other countries in the world. 10 million people in this country are more willing to share their personal information than anywhere else. This information has been recorded by the Swedish social security system and can be used at any time. People can see how much others pay, just by calling public tax authorities.

X-ray image of a hand with a microchip implanted between the thumb and forefinger.

Many of them don't believe that microchip technology is advanced enough to be hacked.

Libberton, a microbiologist, also said that the data collected and shared by these implant chips is too limited, so users do not have to worry about being hacked or being tracked.

Meanwhile, Hannes Sjoblad, founder of Bionyfiken, said in 2015: 'The human body is the next big platform. The connected body has become a phenomenon, and this transplant is only part of it. '

'We have been updating our bodies with technology on a large scale, through wearables. But every wearable device we wear today will probably be implanted in about 5-10 years. Who wants to carry an ugly smartphone or smartwatch, when they can put it in the palm of their hand? I think that's the direction this technology is heading , ' explains Hannes Sjoblad.

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