RFID implants a danger

RFID chips are the latest tech to be labelled as 'dangerous', along with cellphones, WiFi and printers, according to Wired.

Associated Press has published a study which shows the chips' tumour-inducing effects in animals. Tumours grew in mice in between 1% and 10% of cases, and most of these grew around the RFID transponder itself, indicating a strong link.

RFID chips have been approved for human use in the US by the FDA, and chip maker VeriChip has already implanted 2 000 of them into humans. VeriChip maintains the tech is safe. Scott Silverman, CEO and chairman, says the company has been putting chips into animals for the past 15 years and there has been no problem.

Oxonica, formerly Nanoplex Technologies, is conducting trials with several converters that are using its nano bar codes for authentication and track-and-trace, according to Converting Magazine.

The nano bar code particles are used primarily as a covert tag for anti-counterfeiting applications, but the technology also has the ability to give each item or pallet, depending on how the company applies it, a unique identity code, allowing it to track where the product has been.

The nano-particles are made up of metals, including gold, silver and platinum, which create stripes using the different reflectivity of the metals. Oxonica can create different codes by altering the stripe order.

Lehigh University's transportation and parking services purchased new parking meters for $150 000, according to the Brown and White.

The university bought 300 new meters, but only 175 are currently in use. The remaining 125 meters will be put to use over the next few years.

The new meters also feature a five-minutes-free button and use smart card parking technology.

The smart cards are prepaid cards that provide users with a new method to pay for parking. Instead of using coins, smart card holders can swipe their cards to pay for time.