RFID 'Powder', dust sized chips for tracking you

This first image on the right is actually of the old Hitachi RFID chip, sized .4mm by .4mm, on someone's fingertip.

The newer ones below are 60 times smaller, at .05mm by .05mm. Shown next to a human hair.



"The new RFID chips have a 128-bit ROM for storing a unique 38 digit number, like their predecessor. Hitachi used semiconductor miniaturization technology and electron beams to write data on the chip substrates to achieve the new, smaller size. "

Tracking uses are endless. "Take a look at these earlier stories related to RFID, and consider how much easier it will be with tinier chips: RFID Sensor Tag Shower For Disasters (gentle rain of RFID), RFID-Maki: Easy Payment Sushi (just tag the sushi directly, then scan customer's stomach [no joke, see digestible tags]) and VeriChip Chairman Proposes RFID Chips For Immigrants (just dust the border). (http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=939)


Reminds me of one of my all time favorite books, The Diamond Age (a definite must read for the uninitiated!).