Couple's implant chips take love to a new
level
Updated Thu. Feb. 16 2006 1:59 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Grand gestures of love take many forms on Valentine's Day --
flowers, chocolate, romantic dinners -- but a tech-savvy couple has
taken it to a new level.
Jennifer Tomblin and Amal Graafstra have made the most modern
declaration of their affection for each other, with implanted
electronic chips that allow them unfettered access to each other's
lives.
It's called Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID. Both have had
a small electronic chip embedded under their skin that grants
access to each other's front doors and home computers.
The system works like a key-card. A simple swipe of the wrist
across an electronic sensor, and they're in.
The couple sees the decision as a modern declaration of love that
also happens to be functional.
"It's convenient and all of that. But it's definitely neat to have
access to each other's things. nobody else has that, definitely,"
Tomblin told CTV's Canada AM.
Tomblin, 23, lives in Vancouver, while Graafstra, 29, lives in
Washington.
Graafstra got interested in RFID several years ago, and began
researching the possibilities. He works in remote server
management, so it was a natural step to order his first chip, have
it implanted by a cosmetic surgeon, then begin writing software to
go along with it.
"I got interested in RFID, essentially, as a way to replace my
keys," Graafstra said.
He had a second chip put in later, and after witnessing his
successful experiment, Tomblin followed suit and got her own chip
about six weeks ago.
"He was writing a book and he was building all these really neat
projects, and he'd get into his house and car and computer with it,
and I decided if I could do something like that too.
it would be really neat," Tomblin said.
The chip itself is just two millimeters by 12 millimetres, and can
be inserted under the skin with an injection needle.
Graafstra's interest has continued to grow, and he has now written
several pieces of software to go along with the chip. That interest
has developed into a book project called RFID Toys, which comes out
later this month.
The book will include the RFID programs he has written, and will
reveal his self-implanting method.
Graafstra's work has made him somewhat of a pioneer in the field.
Though another researcher working on a different project had a chip
put in his forearm, Graafsta was the first to implant a chip in his
hand, and the first to plan to teach others how to follow
suit.
The chip is embedded in a tiny glass tube, and once implanted it is
invisible.
The chips are surprisingly inexpensive, not much more than a few
U.S. dollars, and can easily be ordered online. The hardware ranges
from $30 up, and software is still difficult to come by --
Graafstra wrote all his own programs.
Graafstra obtained his first RFID tag from www.phidgetsusa.com/.
The site has a variety of inexpensive options for various uses, but
the glass tube-style tags on the site come with a warning against
doing what Graafstra and Tomblin did.
"We do not advise or encourage users to implant the RFID tags we
sell into humans or animals in any way," reads the warning. "These
tags are not sold as medical products and are NOT sanitized for
medical use. Phidgets USA and Trossen Inc
strongly advise against
any such use of the tags we sell."
However, the trend is likely to gain momentum as Canadians seek new
ways to implement technology into their daily lives, and just
maybe, to demonstrate their love for each other.
Like a tattoo, Tomblin said, it's a unique way of connecting with
her significant other.
