Last week, Mark linked to Flickr photos of a guy who had an RFID chip implanted in his hand. The always-fun Body Modification Ezine made contact with the gent, Amaal Graafstra, and posted a lengthy interview. Here's an excerpt:
BME: Now, who actually performed the implant procedure?AG: As I have not asked the doctor for permission to publish their name, I can't give that out, but they happen to be a cosmetic surgeon, so it seemed the natural choice. However, it was not hard to find someone to do the procedure; I have many MDs for clients and the day I got my chips, I asked two and both said they'd do it…
BME: Ideally, what sort of accessibility do you hope to see this implant give you in the future?
AG: Well, because I'm writing my own software and soldering up my own stuff, pretty much anything I want. Well, more accurately, anything I have the time and inspiration to do. Ultimately though, I think true keyless access will require an implantable chip with a very strong encryption system; right now I'm only looking at this type of thing in a personal context.
As for society at large, nightclubs in Spain are already using RFID chips to let customers put drinks on their tabs and enter VIP lounge areas, and I think Australian pubs are doing the same as well. I'm not sure if they use encrypted implants or not. I was more interested in just getting something simple, cheap, and fun to play with.