A storage device capable of retaining 4Mbits of information and transfer that data at a rate of 10Mbits per second occupies the same amount of space as a grain of rice.
Darn it. I thought the news out of HP about their latest storage device meant I could build a set of Spider-Tracers, but no such luck.
While the new devices from HP are about 2mm to 4 mm in size, and carry 4Mbits (512KB) of data, their transfer rate of 10Mbits/second only takes place in close proximity to a reader. The reading device provides power to the chip, and the data transfer takes place.
The experimental chip has been dubbed “Memory Spot” and based on CMOS. It incorporates an antenna and is completely self-contained. HP’s team detailed several concepts for using the Memory Spot, but this one looks the most intriguing:
Perfect photocopies: A Memory Spot chip attached to a cover sheet eliminates the need to copy the original document. Just read the perfect digital version into the photocopier and the result will be sharp output every time, no matter how many copies are needed, and avoiding any possibility of the originals jamming in the feeder.
HP’s team also sees several vertical markets, like health care, pharmaceuticals, and security, as potential beneficiaries of the technology. Information on an individual or a piece of equipment could be placed in the Memory Spot and worn or placed on what it identifies.
We can’t help but think privacy advocates will express concerns, loudly, about the potential for violating people’s privacy via usage of Memory Spot technology.
Corporate security types won’t like the idea of someone losing that “perfect digital copy” of the company’s business plan regarding paradigm-shifting synergies, or worse, passing the Memory Spot along in Cold-War, Le Carr fashion to a competitor.
Just imagine the possibilities when its capacity and range increase in the future. The Spider-Tracer dream lives on.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.