This chip, which is unmatched in its combination of size, memory capacity, and data access speed, can be stuck or attached to almost any object. It allows for sharing information and content previously stored mainly on the Internet or electronic devices.
Possible applications include storing vital medical data on a patient’s wrist, adding audiovisual content to photos and postcards, improving anti-counterfeiting security for drugs in the pharmaceutical industry, security used in passports and ID cards, and finally, attaching additional information to paper documents.
The experimental chip, developed in HP labs by the “Memory Spot” research group, is a device based on CMOS memory (a popular type of low-power integrated circuit), the size of a grain of rice or even smaller (a rectangle measuring 2 mm x 4 mm), with a built-in antenna. It can be stuck to a sheet of paper or any other surface, or even placed in a brochure as an adhesive dot.
– The Memory Spot chip frees digital content from the confines of computers and the Internet, making it widely available in the real world – said Ed McDonnell, Memory Spot project manager at HP Labs.
The data transfer speed is 10 megabits per second – 10 times faster than Bluetooth wireless technology and comparable to Wi-Fi transfer speeds – ensuring instant access to information in the form of documents, photos, recordings, or videos. The memory capacity, ranging from 256 kilobits to 4 megabits in working prototypes, allows for storing a short video, several images, or several dozen pages of text. There are plans to equip future versions of the chips with larger memory.
Access to the stored information is provided by a special reader that can be built into, for example, a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), camera, or printer. To read the stored data, the reader must be brought close to the chip. The latter is powered in this way, and the information is instantly transmitted to the screen of the phone, camera, or PDA, or printed. The content of the chip’s memory can also be modified in the same way.
– We are intensively looking for further promising applications for our Memory Spots. We believe they will have a significant impact on the consumer sector, from printing to photo processing, and will also find wide application in many industry markets – said Howard Taub, HP vice president and director of HP Labs.
The chip has a built-in antenna and is completely self-sufficient; it does not require batteries or additional electronic devices. It is powered by electromagnetic induction via a special device that also acts as a memory reader. The phenomenon of electromagnetic induction allows energy to be transferred from one circuit element to another using an electromagnetic field. Changing the direction of current flow in one device induces current flow in the other.
The Memory Spot can find a number of applications for companies and consumers. Below are a few examples:
– Medical records: A Memory Spot attached to a patient’s wristband provides quick access to medical history or information about medications the patient is taking.
– Playing photos: attaching the chip to printed photos allows for adding music, commentary, or appropriate sounds to enhance the viewing experience.
– Digital postcards: in a chip stuck to a traditional holiday postcard, it will be possible to include photos in digital form, recordings, or even video clips.
– Document information: in a Memory Spot stuck to paper documents, data such as the history of changes, charts, or graphics can be stored, or one’s own notes can be recorded.
– Perfect photocopies: in a Memory Spot attached to a document cover, its electronic version can be stored, enabling copies of the original to be made. Sending the digital version to a copier ensures perfect quality of every print, regardless of the quantity, and also prevents potential damage to the original or it getting stuck in the paper feeder.
– Passes: placing the chip on an ID badge or pass allows combining the best elements of two worlds – a convenient card containing secure, essential information in digital form.
– Anti-counterfeiting: fake drugs are currently a common problem. Information about the manufacturer and quality of the drug can be securely stored in a Memory Spot. Placed on the packaging, it allows checking whether we are dealing with an original product. In a similar way, expensive components used for building aircraft or other engineering structures can be controlled.