Microchips Now In Tombstones, Toilets, & Fish Lures 83
Hugh Pickens writes "Steve Johnson writes in the Mercury News that microchips are going into a staggering array of once decidedly low-tech items — from gravestone markers and running shoes to fish lures and writing pens. In the future, 'where won't we find chips?' asks analyst Jordan Selburn. 'The answer is pretty close to nowhere.' For example, one company sells a coin-size, stainless steel-encased microchip for gravestone markers that tells the dead person's story in text, photos, video or audio histories, which visitors can access by pointing their Internet-enabled cell phones at it. The company says it has sold thousands of 'Memory Medallions.' There's AquaOne Technologies, who sell a toilet containing chips that automatically shut off the water when it springs a leak or starts to overflow, but Japanese company Toto goes one better with an intelligent toilet that gathers health-related data from the user's urine. Pro-Troll puts a chip in its fish lures that 'duplicates the electrical nerve discharge of a wounded bait fish,' prompting other fish to bite it."
Reminds me of 2050 (Score:4, Interesting)
Reminds me of the 3 part series that was done on Science Channel called "The year 2050" The first episode was about medical advancements and the wired home, second one was about the wired city with a old 2000's virus like outbreak, and the 3rd was about space.
Had some pretty good insights... One of which was the toilet that would analyse your urine and shoot the report to your health care provider. The guy in the scenario was using fake pee in the toilet to "pass" the screening because he didn't want the health provider to know about his binge drinking [or drug use] he did the night before.
Re:Microchip in a fishing lure (Score:3, Interesting)
Once upon a time, we (I) were involved in an experiment measuring waves breaking on the shore on the Oregon coast. We had the idea of putting a laser with a line generator pointing at the bottom, monitored by a camera, and we could monitor the erosion or accretion of the beach. It wasn't bright enough (the laser, not the idea) to see in the daylight, so we waited patiently until dark.
We fired up the camera and the laser. About ten seconds later the first dungeness crab showed up. It planted itself right under the laser beam. The waves would come by and try to move it, but it held on for dear life. About ten seconds later, a second crab showed up. Then another. Then another. They all fought to be right under the light, holding onto the bottom and digging in so the waves wouldn't move them. In about five minutes, the beach eroded to the point that the line was no longer visible off the bottom of the image.
Now, I don't know what fish would do with this kind of thing, but crabs appear to love red light at night. I will not go further afield into the obvious puns...